Blog

There’s a well-known saying “When you walk away with a scratch you know you did well.”But imagine yourself going to an ice cream parlor on hot summer noon you are driving on a smooth road to your destination but suddenly a bike nearby goes away scratching your car. Terrible right? It is a horrible feeling to get scratched on one of the most valuable things you own. 

But minor scratches are unavoidable, it can be from this negligible driver on the bike or some kids playing around your car.
But other than looking horrible scratches must also need to get fixed as they can easily become a breeding ground for rust as the surface is now exposed to oxygen moisture and various contaminants, which can be so harmful to the metal. So this article tells you about how to fix scratches on the car. 

Here are some of the tips, to shoo.. your scratches away. Say hi to your brand-new car!

What Are The Different Types Of Scratches?

So, every scratch is different and has its complexities due to the difference in the material that gave the scar and the force it was scarred. Also, it can vary according to the material the scratch is made upon for example it can be on the headlights due to the polycarbonate which is prone to UV ray damage or it can be there due to some branches of the tree that could ruin the top that could ruin the roof of your car. Every scratch is unique in its way, but what are the most common types of scratches? Read the article below to find out.                                                  

1. Clearcoat Scratch:

The scratch is generally caused due to ignorantly washing the car with a cloth, mitts, or sponges filled with dirt. These are little blemishes of the scar and are easiest to work with. They can even be just areas of fadedness in the glossy background.   

These kinds of scratches can be prevented if the car is washed using a good quality cloth or sponge and not the cheapest one available since we think that we can use rough old cloth for washing we choose a cheap cloth or sponge filled with dirt and filth that are nearly as bad as small rock particle causing the disaster to happen.

2. Paint Embedded Scratch:

This kind of scratch can easily be identified but not as easy to remove on your own, when the scratch embeds deep into the clear coat and eats into the paint that’s when you know the scratch is a paint embedded scratch. This can happen if someone scratched away your car with some stone or key maybe, putting out all of their anger on your car’s Bumper. But now your car has the scar and you have got to fix it, here’s what you can do.

3. Primer Deep

While the paint is visible you can still consider the scratch to be repairable on your own, but once it gets past the primer, that’s when difficulties arose. 

Any scratch beyond the primer invites rust on the metal, so even though you think you repaired the scratch with your paints, the surface can still be exposed and can breed rust, leading to harmful results.

4. Bare Metal Deep

A bare metal exposed to the atmosphere can be truly disastrous as this is a clear invitation to oxidation and corrosion, to see a technician is the first thing you must do, after seeing a bare metal scratch.

But until you reach the place to repair you need to spray a clear coat of paint to avoid rusting but should not be considered a permanent solution ever.

How To Fix Scratches On Car?

Fixing scratches on a car can be tough and expensive, but knowing the correct technique to repair can help you to make the scratches disappear easily without paying a penny to the technician, but it simply depends on the situation of your scratch. Learn how to fix scratches on a car yourself and the average cost of fixing it if it is not fixable on your own. 

1. Fixing Clearcoat Scratch: 

These kinds of scratches can easily be fixed by using paint correction which is done by applying a cutting/polishing compound to a surface area with the help of an electric and a microfiber buffing pad. As the pad circulates, the varying levels of compound cut into the clear coat, layer after layer, slowly polish away the surface scratch. But to DIY fixing the scratch you have to go deep and know the anatomy of that scratch you want to get rid of, So the car is coated up with a clear coat of catalyzed enamel, and to fix that you have to use something that can look alike that enamel.

The paint that you are using cannot be catalyzed enamel for obvious reasons, you can use primer paints or any color paints but while applying being careful is very necessary as the paints you are using are Lacquer that leaves the solid behind and evaporates so that must shrink while shrinking if you apply another coat that would be a disaster as it will leave the surface rather wrinkly than smooth. So, to avoid this, you must wait for a day after applying a coat of paint and then apply the next coat after a day when the paint is fully dry and it shrunk as much as it could.

2. Fixing Paint Embedded Scratch

So to fix paint embedded scratch you must scrape out its surroundings to almost a level where its surface area matches with the surroundings.

And then go over with painting that area with your paints coating it almost every day until it again looks like the same.
But in my view you should just go to some technician since for quality results you need to have expertise in that area and these are hard to fix, so any small mistake can lead to a big blunder.

3. Fixing Bare Metal and Primer Deep Scratch

Well, to fix such scratches you must visit an automotive expert with some experience in such an area who will get the scratch fixed

Don’t ever believe in some DIYs such as the toothpaste oven that was going too viral and is nothing but a waste of your toothpaste and the efforts.

How Much Does It Cost To Repair A Scratch On A Car?

Now you know how to fix scratches on the car, but if the case is severe, you have to visit a technician and get your scratch repaired. The cost of fixing the scratch depends upon the intensity of the scratch and the affected zone area.

Full body rubbing and polishing start with $300 for a clear coat scratch but for a primer deep scratch, the cost can start from $569 similarly bare metal requires PDR which starts from $1161.

Conclusion 

So, some of the scratches can easily be repaired while some of them require a technician’s expertise to be fixed, but however you fix it, you should always get it done as these can become a breeding ground for corrosion and further rusting.  

Now that you know how to remove scratches in your car, let us know which method worked out for you in the comments below