Scratch repairs
Discussion
The first thing you need to know is clear coat pens aren't a magic cure for scratches like the advertisers will have you believe.
But they do have their place in what amounts to quite an involved process.
First you need to properly appraise your scratch.
In simple terms you need to understand if the scratch is just in the clear coat or if it's breeched the paint.
Clear coat scratches can look much worse than they are, or at least you can make surprising improvements with a good compound or polish, even by hand.
Start by working on your scratch with some good old T-Cut and a microfiber cloth, you'll be amazed what can be achieved.
But dont forget the secret ingredient "Elbow Grease", you need patience and time to get good results but normally 70% of even a bad scratch can be rendered invisible.
It's now time to use your touch up paint if the paint layer is affected, you are looking to fill the crevice or pockmark with paint to the level of the original surface.
This can require many attempts because when the paint evaporates it sinks, I suggest using a tiny amount of good quality acrylic stopper to fill the void first.
Let the stopper (sometimes called putty) set over night then very lightly flat with wet & soaped 1500 grade paper.
The paper will make your clear coat coat go misty, you'll think you've fooked it up but dont worry it'll come back to clear later.
Now you can apply your touch up paint sparingly over the filled area, you may still need two or three very thin coats, letting each one dry thoroughly before flatting again with the wet & lubed 1500.
Bored yet? Well you're not finished!
Only now you can use your magic clear coat pen, again the trick here is to apply it sparingly, with the clear coat you normally just need one light application.
Be warned at this point you will have an area of what looks like matt paint with a line of clear coat over the scratch, it will look total rubbish but don't panic you are actually nearing the end.
Leave the clear coat to harden overnight, the following day give it a very light going over with the 1500 then move to your 2000 grade using it gently in the opposite direction to the 1500.
Finally use a good quality compound, followed by your T-Cut to bring the clear coat back to it's transparent state.
Every scratch is different, deeper ones need stopper, flatting, paint, more flatting ect ect.
Lighter clear coat scratches can often be completely sorted with T-Cut and patience.
Whatever type of scratch or chip you are tackling I recommend using some T-Cut first to see what you're left with, you wont do any damage with T-Cut & you may be surprised by the results.
Like I said at the beginning, clear coat pens have their place but they certainly aren't a magic cure.
The line of clear coat you lay on will always need flatting or it will just look like a line of clear coat.
If you want everything (except the paint) in a box then the Turtle Wax scratch repair kit has it covered.
At £15.00 from Halfrauds it's expensive for what you get, but it does take the thinking out of the process and can give excellent results that will be a lot cheaper than paying Chips Away to do it.
But they do have their place in what amounts to quite an involved process.
First you need to properly appraise your scratch.
In simple terms you need to understand if the scratch is just in the clear coat or if it's breeched the paint.
Clear coat scratches can look much worse than they are, or at least you can make surprising improvements with a good compound or polish, even by hand.
Start by working on your scratch with some good old T-Cut and a microfiber cloth, you'll be amazed what can be achieved.
But dont forget the secret ingredient "Elbow Grease", you need patience and time to get good results but normally 70% of even a bad scratch can be rendered invisible.
It's now time to use your touch up paint if the paint layer is affected, you are looking to fill the crevice or pockmark with paint to the level of the original surface.
This can require many attempts because when the paint evaporates it sinks, I suggest using a tiny amount of good quality acrylic stopper to fill the void first.
Let the stopper (sometimes called putty) set over night then very lightly flat with wet & soaped 1500 grade paper.
The paper will make your clear coat coat go misty, you'll think you've fooked it up but dont worry it'll come back to clear later.
Now you can apply your touch up paint sparingly over the filled area, you may still need two or three very thin coats, letting each one dry thoroughly before flatting again with the wet & lubed 1500.
Bored yet? Well you're not finished!
Only now you can use your magic clear coat pen, again the trick here is to apply it sparingly, with the clear coat you normally just need one light application.
Be warned at this point you will have an area of what looks like matt paint with a line of clear coat over the scratch, it will look total rubbish but don't panic you are actually nearing the end.
Leave the clear coat to harden overnight, the following day give it a very light going over with the 1500 then move to your 2000 grade using it gently in the opposite direction to the 1500.
Finally use a good quality compound, followed by your T-Cut to bring the clear coat back to it's transparent state.
Every scratch is different, deeper ones need stopper, flatting, paint, more flatting ect ect.
Lighter clear coat scratches can often be completely sorted with T-Cut and patience.
Whatever type of scratch or chip you are tackling I recommend using some T-Cut first to see what you're left with, you wont do any damage with T-Cut & you may be surprised by the results.
Like I said at the beginning, clear coat pens have their place but they certainly aren't a magic cure.
The line of clear coat you lay on will always need flatting or it will just look like a line of clear coat.
If you want everything (except the paint) in a box then the Turtle Wax scratch repair kit has it covered.
At £15.00 from Halfrauds it's expensive for what you get, but it does take the thinking out of the process and can give excellent results that will be a lot cheaper than paying Chips Away to do it.
If your based in the Midlands, I'd try Stuart Wilkinson at Carsmetic. I asked him to deal with a few blemishs on my car after I'd seen the work he'd done for my old man. He comes in a mobile van and charged me £175 for 3 and a bit hours, in which time he sorted out all my stonechips, scrapes and scratches. Some of the best money I've spent on the car. His mobile number is 07876 505115. Nice bloke as well.
TUS 2 CON said:
If your based in the Midlands, I'd try Stuart Wilkinson at Carsmetic. I asked him to deal with a few blemishs on my car after I'd seen the work he'd done for my old man. He comes in a mobile van and charged me £175 for 3 and a bit hours, in which time he sorted out all my stonechips, scrapes and scratches. Some of the best money I've spent on the car. His mobile number is 07876 505115. Nice bloke as well.
Morning Guys - many thanks for that - I think that I will try to see if Carsmetic are close enough to do a visit.Cheers
Steve
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