Helptionary!

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Nearly all vehicles will get scratches and to keep your car in tip-top condition you must repair it as soon as possible. Aside from marring the beauty of the car finish, scratches can make the paint that surrounds weaken, causing further damage like the paint chipping or cracking. The metal will get exposed to the elements and rust may begin to appear. You might not be able to use your car for a few days if you bring it to the auto paint repair shop. Professional paint repair is quite expensive and insurance usually does not cover this kind of repair costs unless the scratches came from a reported accident and minor or major body repair work has to be done.

Assess The Damage

Do a close-up inspection of the entire car so you will see all the scratches that exist. Mark each scratch by framing it with masking tape. Run your index finger along the line of the scratch. If you can hardly feel the crevice, then it is a light scratch. If the edges of the scratch are sharp, then the scratch is deep. If you do not feel anything at all, it is not a scratch but deposited material from contact with things like rubber or wood.

Light Scratches

If the scratch is just on the surface or it is material deposit and does not penetrate the protective clear coat, you may get rid of it by rubbing it off using either acetone, lacquer thinner, aerosol tar, or an adhesive remover. Saturate a small part of a clean rag with any of these solvents and rub it off using small light strokes. If these solvents do not take of the offending marks, you can use a rubbing compound. Make sure the area is clean by washing it with soap and water, and apply the rubbing compound using circular strokes and buff off with polishing cloth.

Deep Scratches

Deep scratches penetrate the clear coat and color layer. If they are extremely deep, it will cut into the primer and expose the metal body of the vehicle. To remove deep scratches, first clean the car part well using soap and water. Place some shoe polish to fill up the scratch as a guide line to help you know when enough paint has been sanded off.

Sand the surrounding area with 2000 to 3000 grit wet and dry sandpaper with the aid of a sanding block and using short, 60 degree angled strokes. The sand paper has to be constantly dipped into a mild dishwashing liquid and water solution as this is a wet sanding process. When all the shoe polish is gone, apply rubbing compound to smooth out the area using circular motions then buff off and wax.

Latest Scratch Removal Technique

There is a new innovation that can get rid of scratches from a vehicle fast. The Simoniz Fix It scratch remover is the easiest and most efficient method to remove scratches. All that has to be done is to line in scratch remover solution in with the tip of the pen-like applicator and the scratch will disappear right before your very eyes. It can be used on any paint color and you will be done with the repair work in a jiffy with professional looking results.