Repairing scratches on car

shellstar

Good morning.

Well, I managed to ding my car on a bush this morning in the car park at work. My bf is pretty upset about it (despite it being MY car) so I'm on my own in repairing it, I can't take much more of the lecture that would come if I asked him for help!

I'm not too bothered about how it looks, but I am concerned about rust. I need my car to last me another 2-3 years before I have the money to replace it. I've been recommended T-cut, but when I read up on it, it takes off the lacquer and I always thought that was a bad thing. The car itself is in pretty good nick so I don't want to make the problem worse just so it looks nice.

Can anyone advise on the best way to improve the appearance of the scratches (if possible, one is very deep) and stop them from rusting in the future. The car is only worth a few hundred, so it's not worth me taking it to a shop, I'm just keeping it going until I can afford to replace it.

Thanks

Hintza

Well if it is down to the metal get a touchup colour and just brush it in to keep the rust away. I have based this on the fact the car is a banger and I am assuming looks don't really matter.

Otherwise from what you say it really needs a respay.

Strider590

The lacquer won't be that thin that T-cut will do any harm.... Besides if the scratch has gone through the lacquer, then what's the difference?
T-cut is a very mild cutting agent anyway.....

shellstar

Thanks for the quick replies. The car is old (S reg) but in very good condition both mechanically and in appearance, so I'm pretty annoyed with myself, but it's not worth spending out on a paint job I don't think.

My worry with T-cut and the lacquer was that a the mo there is a small area exposed to rust, but T-cut might make the area much bigger. As I'm worried about rust more than looks, it struck me that it might not be the best product.

I think I will try to buff out what I can and then paint any bad scratches. It wont look great, but I'm not going to sell it. As long as I keep the rust at bay until I've saved enough to replace the car.

motorguy

shellstar wrote: »

Thanks for the quick replies. The car is old (S reg) but in very good condition both mechanically and in appearance, so I'm pretty annoyed with myself, but it's not worth spending out on a paint job I don't think.

My worry with T-cut and the lacquer was that a the mo there is a small area exposed to rust, but T-cut might make the area much bigger. As I'm worried about rust more than looks, it struck me that it might not be the best product.

I think I will try to buff out what I can and then paint any bad scratches. It wont look great, but I'm not going to sell it. As long as I keep the rust at bay until I've saved enough to replace the car.

Only touch up the scratches that are through to the metal. Are you sure thats whats happened?