Removing a Scratch from a Car

[LittleM]

I put a dandy in the hood of my wife's car last night.  Is there a quick fix that could either make it look less noticeable or even remove it?  Something that someone who is not handy (except for demo work) could do?

[not on the rug]

is it just in the clearcoat or is it in the paint?

 

what did you scratch it with and how big is the scratch?  

 

take a pic of it if you can?

Edited January 17, 2017 by not on the rug

[LittleM]

Into the paint (I think), its about 2 -2.5" in length.  Scratched it with a piece of metal (utility lighting I was trying to get by with) I can take a pic of it this evening.

[1957Buck]

I put a dandy in the hood of my wife's car last night.  Is there a quick fix that could either make it look less noticeable or even remove it?  Something that someone who is not handy (except for demo work) could do?

You may own it as far as a quick fix. there are surface scratches and below the surface scratches. In the days of just Paint Coat, it was almost a quick fix. Today clear Coat has made it harder in some instances. Since it is the Hood it is harder because it is very visible.  You do not Compound clear Coat. or just buff it out. if it is a big deal take it to a Body shop. 

T

[not on the rug]

Into the paint (I think), its about 2 -2.5" in length.  Scratched it with a piece of metal (utility lighting I was trying to get by with) I can take a pic of it this evening.

You can DIY it if you have some patience and time. The results may vary though.  It also depends on the current paint job.  It it's an older car and the paint is faded, you may have a tougher time getting a paint match.  If it's a newer car with fresh paint, you'll have an easier time patching it, but your work has to be spot on or it will be noticeable.  Might be worth sucking it up and having a pro take a look at it

 

More importantly, has your wife noticed it yet?

[LittleM]

Yea, she knows.  It's not a big deal.  It bother's me more than her, I think. It's gonna piss me off every time I look at it.   I was wondering if any of that crap you see on TV where you squirt it on and its like magic, works.

[mazzgolf]

I just went through this - I fixed a couple scratches myself on two of my vehicles last week. One was caused by a rock or something that chipped away the paint and had rust starting to form underneath (this had been there a while, I finally decided to do something about it before the rust got worse), the other was just a normal scratch, but it went into the paint, too.

 

I followed this:

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/g173/how-to-fix-a-car-paint-scratch/

 

I went and bought the following at AutoZone:

 

1. one of those small $8 vials of OEM paint to match the color (you can buy them at a dealer to match your color if AutoZone doesn't have it).

2. Wet-dry Sandpaper - you can buy a set of 1000 through 2500 grit

3. TurtleWax polishing compound

4. DupliColor Clear Coat in a spray can

5. Primer in a spray can (I bought Rust-o-leum Rusty Metal primer because I was trying to cover up some rust.)

 

You have to clean it first - I used rubbing alcohol mainly - that cleaned off all the dirt and grime.

 

Hope that helps.

 

I

[bigfish525]

Its only a piece of metal that will be another piece of junk in a couple of years. Tell her to get over it.

[LittleM]

 

Tell her to get over it.          

You saw my earlier post, correct?

[mazzgolf]

You can DIY it if you have some patience and time. The results may vary though. 

 

Agree totally. It's not a "let me buff this on and in 5 minutes its all fixed." You have to wait between coats (sometimes overnight - especially in this cold weather when its still in the 30s and 40s), you'll have to take time to buff out the sandpaper scratches, etc, etc.

 

And even after all that your results may vary because the color may not match perfectly, you may not have buffed out all the light sandpaper scratches all the way, the clear coat might not be smooth as you'd like, etc.

 

The one repair I did over the rust spot - the repair is obvious. But its an older car and i just wanted to cover up the rust and make sure it didn't get worse. I don't care about the looks.

 

The other one was like a 6 inch scratch on my new Tacoma  . You can definitely still see where it was if you know about it (I'll still notice it at least) but it is at least covered up and won't rust, and the color was a fairly good match. It's my hunting truck, I'm not too worried about it, so long as I don't get rust. But for sure, neither has "disappeared". If you want it to "disappear" you'll  probably need a pro to do it at a shop, and pay a thousand bucks for the privilege 

[LPJR]

All good advice in the posts above...Be careful. I used to detail cars many years ago and only last year took the advice of a friend to "wet sand" with the least abrasive sandpaper possible a small section on the rear fender of my car. My goal was to eliminate small spots of acid rain that apparantley were in the clear coat. Well, the inconspicuous 2 foot long by 1 foot section of black paint wet sanded by my friend looks worse now than before it was touched. All the clear coat was sanded off, lol. Fortunately it is my commuter Accord, not my Chevelle. If it were the Chevelle I don't think we would be friends any longer, lmao!

[mazzgolf]

All good advice in the posts above...Be careful. I used to detail cars many years ago and only last year took the advice of a friend to "wet sand" with the least abrasive sandpaper possible a small section on the rear fender of my car. My goal was to eliminate small spots of acid rain that apparantley were in the clear coat. Well, the inconspicuous 2 foot long by 1 foot section of black paint wet sanded by my friend looks worse now than before it was touched. All the clear coat was sanded off, lol. Fortunately it is my commuter Accord, not my Chevelle. If it were the Chevelle I don't think we would be friends any longer, lmao!

 

Use TurtleWax polishing compound to rub out any sandpaper scratches on that spot (I was surprised how well that actually did work when I did it - hopefully you used sandpaper that was something like 1000 or 2000 grit). Then grab some of that DupliColor Clear Coat in a spray can and apply 2 or 3 thin coats to that spot. At least it will put back your clear coat and protect the paint. And if you were able to polish off those sandpaper scratches, it might not look too bad (assuming the paint wasn't screwed up and it really was only the clear coat).

[Zipper]

You can't go wrong with this stuff. I have been using it for years.

 

[tcook8296]

for some odd reason, this came to mind lol

[hemlock]

I have a top notch guy. He is a body man,mechanic and detailer I use him for everything.