Scratch removal/masking
Discussion
I am no one's idea of a detailer, but looking from some advice from the experts in the PH polishing community;)
Thanks to a close encounter with a Welsh hedgerow, my car now has a nice set of fine parallel hairline scratches down the nearside doors and rear wing. They are through to the white primer but not to the metal. The car is metallic red (Mazda Soul Red to be precise) so the fine white lines stick out like a sore thumb.
I know enough to realise that attempting to tackle them with touch up paint and lacquer would make a bad situation worse. Is there any magic product that will cover or mask the scratches? Like the scratch cover stuff you can get for furniture. I am not looking for perfection or anything like it - the car is what the trade would call a four foot car anyway - but would like the white lines to go away or at least be less visible!
Thanks for any tips or advice, even if it's just 'no there isn't'.
Thanks to a close encounter with a Welsh hedgerow, my car now has a nice set of fine parallel hairline scratches down the nearside doors and rear wing. They are through to the white primer but not to the metal. The car is metallic red (Mazda Soul Red to be precise) so the fine white lines stick out like a sore thumb.
I know enough to realise that attempting to tackle them with touch up paint and lacquer would make a bad situation worse. Is there any magic product that will cover or mask the scratches? Like the scratch cover stuff you can get for furniture. I am not looking for perfection or anything like it - the car is what the trade would call a four foot car anyway - but would like the white lines to go away or at least be less visible!
Thanks for any tips or advice, even if it's just 'no there isn't'.
Clean any dirt off then spray them with water.
If they seem to disappear when wet the damage is confined to the lacquer & your choice is polish along the lines to take the eye off them or try & polish the area smooth again. The latter is the riskier option as you're taking more material off.
If they seem to disappear when wet the damage is confined to the lacquer & your choice is polish along the lines to take the eye off them or try & polish the area smooth again. The latter is the riskier option as you're taking more material off.
Edited by paintman on Sunday 17th April 22:44
paintman said:
Clean any dirt off then spray them with water.
If they seem to disappear when wet the damage is confined to the lacquer & your choice is polish along the lines to take the eye off them or try & polish the area smooth again. The latter is the riskier option as you're taking more material off.
Tks paintman. I did wash the car after it got scratched, and the marks remained visible when wet. I don't think they will polish out. Anything else I can do, short of getting a lower half respray down that she of the car? If they seem to disappear when wet the damage is confined to the lacquer & your choice is polish along the lines to take the eye off them or try & polish the area smooth again. The latter is the riskier option as you're taking more material off.
Edited by paintman on Sunday 17th April 22:44
^^^^That.
I've had some limited success doing that, but found it works best with darker colours.
Mask tight to both sides of the scratch, apply paint with a fine brush then remove tape while still wet.
Allow to fully cure & using a hard block carefully sand flat with 1500 wet&dry used wet.
Polish & see if you can live with it.
You've nothing to lose so worth giving it a go.
Possible bonus is that as it's not on the driver's side it's not in your face every time you go to the car!
I've had some limited success doing that, but found it works best with darker colours.
Mask tight to both sides of the scratch, apply paint with a fine brush then remove tape while still wet.
Allow to fully cure & using a hard block carefully sand flat with 1500 wet&dry used wet.
Polish & see if you can live with it.
You've nothing to lose so worth giving it a go.
Possible bonus is that as it's not on the driver's side it's not in your face every time you go to the car!
paintman said:
^^^^That.
I've had some limited success doing that, but found it works best with darker colours.
Mask tight to both sides of the scratch, apply paint with a fine brush then remove tape while still wet.
Allow to fully cure & using a hard block carefully sand flat with 1500 wet&dry used wet.
Polish & see if you can live with it.
You've nothing to lose so worth giving it a go.
Possible bonus is that as it's not on the driver's side it's not in your face every time you go to the car!
I will give that a go tks. Not much to lose as you say, can always cough up for a repaint if it doesn't help much. I've had some limited success doing that, but found it works best with darker colours.
Mask tight to both sides of the scratch, apply paint with a fine brush then remove tape while still wet.
Allow to fully cure & using a hard block carefully sand flat with 1500 wet&dry used wet.
Polish & see if you can live with it.
You've nothing to lose so worth giving it a go.
Possible bonus is that as it's not on the driver's side it's not in your face every time you go to the car!
Yes NS is an advantage, i don't have to look at it all the time;)
Been considering doing some tactical supermarket parking in the hopes of getting it fixed on someone else's insurance, but sod' s law being what it is I'd just collect a scratch on the drivers side!
Killboy said:
Some fine individual has added some pin striping to my car for me, from the rear all the way to the front.
The front and doors are not as bad as the rear. So a removal specialist is quoting 192.50 for a panel, so with VAT it will work out at about £924.
I'm exploring other options.
Sorry about that. There are some scrotes about. That scratch on your rear wing looks similar to the ones on my doors. Maybe yours is a bit worse, but I have more;)The front and doors are not as bad as the rear. So a removal specialist is quoting 192.50 for a panel, so with VAT it will work out at about £924.
I'm exploring other options.
Is rhat quote for repainting, or polishing out?
V8covin said:
What is a removal specialist ?
What is their method of removal.
For me there's 2 ways of removing a scratch permanently .
Flat and polish.Or if it's too deep, respraying.
If someone is charging you 900 quid to flat and polish they're having your pants down
Plus 1 from meWhat is their method of removal.
For me there's 2 ways of removing a scratch permanently .
Flat and polish.Or if it's too deep, respraying.
If someone is charging you 900 quid to flat and polish they're having your pants down
Only 2 options for scratches as said above.
dontlookdown said:
I am pretty sure its down to lacquer. Will post pic when I can - not at home right now.
Can def feel them with a fingernail yes.
It can be deceiving. I discovered this on my daily the other day:Can def feel them with a fingernail yes.
I could feel it with my fingernail and was convinced it was down to the primer because of how it looked. 10 minutes with my heaviest polishing compound had it looking like this:
dontlookdown said:
I am no one's idea of a detailer, but looking from some advice from the experts in the PH polishing community;)
Thanks to a close encounter with a Welsh hedgerow, my car now has a nice set of fine parallel hairline scratches down the nearside doors and rear wing. They are through to the white primer but not to the metal. The car is metallic red (Mazda Soul Red to be precise) so the fine white lines stick out like a sore thumb.
I know enough to realise that attempting to tackle them with touch up paint and lacquer would make a bad situation worse. Is there any magic product that will cover or mask the scratches? Like the scratch cover stuff you can get for furniture. I am not looking for perfection or anything like it - the car is what the trade would call a four foot car anyway - but would like the white lines to go away or at least be less visible!
Thanks for any tips or advice, even if it's just 'no there isn't'.
You can sometimes take your eye off things with with Turtle Colour magic Thanks to a close encounter with a Welsh hedgerow, my car now has a nice set of fine parallel hairline scratches down the nearside doors and rear wing. They are through to the white primer but not to the metal. The car is metallic red (Mazda Soul Red to be precise) so the fine white lines stick out like a sore thumb.
I know enough to realise that attempting to tackle them with touch up paint and lacquer would make a bad situation worse. Is there any magic product that will cover or mask the scratches? Like the scratch cover stuff you can get for furniture. I am not looking for perfection or anything like it - the car is what the trade would call a four foot car anyway - but would like the white lines to go away or at least be less visible!
Thanks for any tips or advice, even if it's just 'no there isn't'.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181967070531?epid=14079...
Or if it is lacquer damage only, a bit of T-Cut followed by a few coats of a polish with filler in it, for example Autoglym Super Resin Polish.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224204483203?epid=25033...
Using the above easily available products I have hidden scratches on a couple of our cars, to a point where you wouldn't see them even if I told you which panels they are on.
V8covin said:
What is a removal specialist ?
What is their method of removal.
For me there's 2 ways of removing a scratch permanently .
Flat and polish.Or if it's too deep, respraying.
If someone is charging you 900 quid to flat and polish they're having your pants down
What is their method of removal.
For me there's 2 ways of removing a scratch permanently .
Flat and polish.Or if it's too deep, respraying.
If someone is charging you 900 quid to flat and polish they're having your pants down
repairer said:
To repair paintwork / scratch damage: prepare, prime, paint, blend, lacquer & polish the NS
front wing and NS rear quarter.
So painting. front wing and NS rear quarter.
I've since washed the area - its a lot better, but still fairly noticeable. Tried polishing, that had hardly any effect. However I think a good compound/wet sand should hide a great deal of it. Not worth spraying I think - at least until I am no longer parked on Brixton streets.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 20th April 09:45
Gassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff