No one enjoys finding a scratch on the car that they spent lots of money on. It can be frustrating, and most of us don’t really know what to do about it. But never fear! There are ways around the problem.
There are a few ways to deal with scratches, and the method you choose depends on the extent of the damage to the vehicle. For small scratches, you can perform the repair yourself! Anything much bigger will probably need professional help.
Removing Barely Visible Scratches
If the scratch on your car is very light and barely even visible, you should be able to deal with it pretty quickly using just a couple of steps:
Sand the Paint Scratch
Begin by wetting the scratched area of the car and 3000-grit sandpaper. Sand the damaged area gently until the surface starts to look dull and the scratch becomes even less obvious or noticeable. You can then clean the area with a microfiber cloth.
Apply Rubbing and Polishing Compounds
You can then use a rubbing compound and apply it to a polishing pad. You can use a polisher or drill set to 1200 RPM to rub it into the surface that you previously sanded down. You’ll create a light haze, and when you’ve done that you can use a polishing compound to create a shinier finish.
Removing Small Scratches
If the scratch is a little deeper than the barely visible scratches discussed above but is still relatively small, here are the steps you’ll need to take in order to deal with it.
Apply a Scratch Removal Product
Before attempting to remove the scratch, wash your car. When you’ve done that, you can start by applying a scratch removal product to the surface area of the car where the small scratch is located. You can rub it in and work it into the scratch and the area immediately around the scratch. When you’ve done that, you should start to see a difference in the noticeability of the scratch.
Clean Away Residue
You should then clean away any of the residue that was left behind after using the scratch removal product. This can be done with a microfiber cloth or any other soft cloth you have at hand, as long as it’s not rough.
Repeat the Process
With this method, you won’t necessarily achieve perfect results after the first attempt. But it’s something that you can repeat over and over, as many times as you want. As you repeatedly go through the steps described above, you should start to notice the scratch reducing and becoming less visible.
If you’ve found a scratch on your car, the guidelines and steps above should give you a good idea of how to remove them. If the steps above don’t work for you, you can take your vehicle to a reputable collision repair shop to get the scratches fixed.
You don’t have to despair because fine scratches are relatively easy to fix. Give it a try, and you’ll find that out for yourself!