Treasuring our car and taking good care of it is perfectly normal considering we spent our hard earned money just to buy it. But no matter how careful we are, we cannot control our surroundings. There are people who are reckless or are simply out of their mind keying others’ cars. Bringing your car to a professional for a repaint because of a small scratch will just cost you. In fact, there are damages that may look like a scratch, but are actually not. This happens when the material that rubbed your car is softer than its paint such as plastic, rubber, or even other paint. If such, then the mark just sits on top of the paint which you can easily clean with an adhesive remover, aerosol tar, lacquer thinner, or acetone.
If using one of these solvents would not work, using a rubbing compound then buffing, polishing, and waxing the area could let the stubborn marks disappear. On the other hand, if the material of the object that rubbed your car’s body is harder than the paint, then that is a scratch. Some scratches can be salvaged but for some, repaint is already needed. For quick fix, below are simple steps to follow to remove scratches without the need of repainting the damage.
- You first have to check how deep the scratch is. Is it just on the clear coat wherein the color is still underneath? Or did it go through the primer or the paint? Most scratches are a combination of the two where part of it is just on the clear coat, and then it goes deeper. Salvage what you can and just ignore what needs to be repainted for the meantime.
- Thoroughly wash the damaged area and let it dry.
- Apply a shoe polish with contrasting color to fill in the scratch so that you can clearly see the damage. If your car’s paint is light-colored, then choose black; otherwise, use white shoe polish.
- Sand the surrounding area until it reaches the same level of the scratch. Use a sanding block with 2000 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper dipped in cold water, plus two drops of liquid dish soap. Lightly sand the area by moving up and down the scratch and wetting the paper from time to time until the contrasting color of the shoe polish completely disappears.
- Dry the surface, and then use a rubbing compound to polish it. Buff in circular motion. You can also use a polishing wheel but do not buff excessively and go through the next layer of paint.
- When the scratches are gone, remove the rough compound with a soft cloth and wash the area.
- Then, finish off with a car wax.