Scratched car wheres best place to go?

johnnyroper

iltisman wrote: »

Most scratches are in the clear coat on top of the colour try a tin of clear coat from halfords etc you will be amazed at the result.
Test on an area that does not show first to get the method.

do not do this unless you are good at painting cars,it will need a large section to be done with the clear and then wet sanded and finished with compound to get anything like a decent result.
i would rather leave the scratches alone than attempt this suggestion.
if you only paint or clear coat a small section then you will never get a good match,at best you need to paint up to a break in the panel like up to a piece of trim where the paint ridge can be hidden.

C_Mababejive

If the cars anti corrosion/body warranty is still current/valid then you should have it done at an approved body shop.

Pay cheap..get cheap.

blue_monkey_2

I've got a 5 inch scratch on my car (courtesy of some ignorant twonk) and chips away wanted £200 to sort it.

C_Mababejive

blue_monkey wrote: »

I've got a 5 inch scratch on my car (courtesy of some ignorant twonk) and chips away wanted £200 to sort it.

That IS cheap. Better to go to a quality body shop and get a proper job done. mind you,it depends on age/quality/value of car and paint system used on car. Base coats and top laquer cars are pricey to fix properly.

gabyjane

Hi thanks for the replies.

Ok well the car is an MG 2005 model BUT when we bought it, it was immaculate..absolutely pristine other than 1 tiny dent, dh was sensible looking under the bonnet and i was busy checking the bodywork! I have scraped the back wheel arch when reversing into a very narrow drive and although you have to look to see it i know it is there..again this is not huge but right on the front and being a black glossy car the mark stands out (to me anyway) like a sore thumb!
We have 3 choices really..pay where i'm taking it and hope it's a good job, pay somewhere else say £200+ but doubt it will get the money back when sold or 3 leave it but expect it will only get worse not sorting it out.

Lirin

Rough pricing at a decent bodyshop is 150 per panel, this covers a slight sanding and fresh application of paintand lacquer. Obviously this depends on the colour, car, panel area you live in etc....I believe England's the most expensive for this.

There is a good compound but off the top of my head can't remember the bodywork version- the glass version is ScratchX. Yours sounds maybe a bt deeper than this though- it's hard to know without seeing pics.

It is also worth getting a quote with a male asking- I've had some outrageous quotes from people assuming that because I'm female, I know nothing about cars....

I'm not a huge fan of a touchup job- it nearly always shows even faintly, and even after 4 hours detailing the car, taht would still annoy me. Really depends on whether you want a cover job that hides most, but may be faintly visible, or a complete panel spray, which will cost more but give better results.

Talk to a good bodyshop, as the paint on your car may be the old 2pac, which isn't allowed to by used by a bodysprayer anymore (health reasons), but can still be bought in some shops. Buying it and doing it yourself is one option- depends how handy you are.

Lirin

Sorry! Meant also to say not to attempt doing it yourself unless you've a good idea what you're doing- I practised on an old bonnet for ages before buying my first proper spray gun.

gabyjane

Hi thanks Lirin. Yeah tough call as i love the car BUT it is an older car so cannot justify spending hundreds getting a small patch done! I have sanded and touched up the doors where they catch on the edges (as we have a stone wall either side of our drive and the wind sometimes knocks the door against it!) and that if i say so myself is a good job BUT the wind has knocked it since doing and needs doing again! Like the scratch now this is the same prob there are a few flaws obviousaly due to age so cannot do them all.

missile

gabyjane wrote: »

Hi thanks for the replies.

Ok it's not really tiny, wrong wording! it's just not a huge scratch..either way i want it repaired or the car is going to look rubbish at this rate! I took it to a body repair place and he is doing it on Thursday for £35 i will do before pics tonight. He is doing a panel but the whole front (as there are a few other minor marks) will cost £130 so said to leave them as i can touch them up.

I would suggest you go for the £130 workscope. If he does a reasonable job, that sounds like a bargain to me. Have you checked examples of his work?

Touch up is not as easy, but you have done it before. :T

gabyjane

Missile i took it up there this morning and he had forgot, he had booked another car in literally and said 'i had no chance' i have to say i was rather annoyed as took it up ready and he was apologetic but that was that. He said he was going to be doing the whole front of an MG and had the panel all masked up, said it was lucky as it was the same colour as mine so he would have some paint if i could change to next Thursday..not quite sure what he would have done if the Mg wasn't being done in regards to paint?!
As i left about 2 hours later as took the kids to the play area near by he pulled up and apologised again saying he was very sorry.

I think the bit to touch up may look better just a bit as opposed to the whole front as i suspect despite looking nice and shiny everywhere else the whole panel may stick out like a sore thumb in comparison to the rest of it with it being an older car?
As for the touch ups i did art at college so am quite good with a paint brush but yeah not as easy as it looks and took me ages just to do the 2 small door bits!

Thanks for the reply x