Ways of getting rid of scratches

thor

I have got a couple of light scratches on my car and am considering whether to do something about them. I know that you can get touch up paints or sprays but will they ever blend in with the rest of the paintwork even if they the official colour of the car? What is the best way of doing this for yourself, i.e apply the paint then wax and polish?
If it is not possible to stop the new paint standing out then I will probably leave the scratches as they are.

chuckles1066

thor wrote: »

I have got a couple of light scratches on my car and am considering whether to do something about them. I know that you can get touch up paints or sprays but will they ever blend in with the rest of the paintwork even if they the official colour of the car? What is the best way of doing this for yourself, i.e apply the paint then wax and polish?
If it is not possible to stop the new paint standing out then I will probably leave the scratches as they are.

There are a range of coloured polishes available; you choose the colour closest to the colour of your car and apply.

They claim to mask light to moderate scratches.

I've never used one so can't vouch for their effectiveness.

In the good old days you used T-Cut and then a polish :j

Hintza

I have just had my lease car touched up for return and my chum in the trade just said about the light scratches..."Ach they'll just polish out" and sure enough they did.

Colour coded polishes might also help.

I have also head that wax crayons of the appropriate colour might do the job, however I have never tried that.

iolanthe07

The wax crayons work well, with a bit of a polish after applying.

kitchpoo

Plenty of forums on dealing with scratches. If you have revealed the undercoat colours you have limited yourself to colour polishes or respraying.

If they are lighter than that start with a mild abrasive and become more aggressive.

1. I know this sounds daft but I used to use Maguires ScratchX, that is quite mild, but someone suggested using toothpaste! And it is as mild as scratchX, takes a bit more rubbing to get the residue off but is a good starting point.

2. Then a mild scratch mask such as ScratchX (it isnt a cutter and will need re-applying every 6 months or so as all it does is silicone fill the scratch),

3. if the ScratchX doesnt hide it move up to T-Cut (original or metallic) which is a stronger abrasive. I wouldnt go any stronger than that without any pro kit. - Halfords own is just as good as TCut.

4. If after the T Cut I would then look at the colour match polishes, make sure it is not a hot day as this stuff hates direct sunlight. Some also come with a chipstick, which may mask cuts in to the undercoat.

5. Apply a good high quality wax over the area afterwards to seal in any repairs you have done - Meguires NXT is good and easy - especially in spray form.

Keith

I used I think colour magic's black polish to hide a number of scratchs before selling a car, I don't know how long it lasted as it was collected the following day

goldspanners

ive used the black turtle wax colour magic,it lasted about 3 or 4 washes before it needed reapplying.

thor

So it looks like some sort of polishing is required and I think that it will work for one of the scratches. The other one is probably slightly deeper but I can't decide whether it has reached the undercoat or not.
kitchpoo - What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an abrasive compared to a coloured polish and are coloured polishes available for specific car colours, in my case a mazda 6?

Inactive

Nobody has mentioned the easiest and quickest method of repairing minor scratches, especially to bumper scuffs on metallic paint.

Make sure the scratched area is free from dirt and polish, then get an aerosol of clear laquer, spray over scratch, as long as the scratch isn't too deep, it will magically disappear before your eyes.

This is a tip given to me by a car body repair specialist, it does work in most cases, and if it doesn't, you havn't lost anything, as it is clear anyway.

No polishing required, job done...sorted.

kitchpoo

thor wrote: »

kitchpoo - What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an abrasive compared to a coloured polish and are coloured polishes available for specific car colours, in my case a mazda 6?

The colours are generic - choose the one nearest to your car colour.

An abrasive will cut deeper while a polish builds layers on top - so if it doesnt go to the base/undercoat then you can cut it down a bit then build up olish on top. If it goes deeper then you dont want to cut too much as you wont get remove the scratch, just thin the paint layers.

Conor_3

Just to add, if you do use a touch up paint DO NOT use the brush that comes it with, it's too big. Instead, get some tissue paper and twist it until you end up with a fine point. Dip that in the paint then gently dab it along the scratch, barely touching it. That way, the paint is likely to end up the same level rather than the horrific 1/4 inch streak you usually end up with using the brush.