You bought a new car, drove, did not know of any problems, and then you noticed incomprehensible scratches on the body of your swallow. You do not even understand where you could have scratched it like that. Do not panic. Maybe not everything is so bad, and the problem can be solved. To do this, you need to determine the severity of the damage and find out what means you can use to repair the car scratches yourself.
The severity of the injury refers to the depth of the scratch. The complexity of further repair depends on the depth. Knowing it, you can quickly calculate the losses and get rid of the damage.
Cars have several layers of a protective coating that separate the metal base from external influences. The topmost layer of protection is varnish. There is a layer of paint under the lacquer coating. In the depths, under the paint, there is a layer of primer. The primer is the final layer of protection, with the metal underneath. Any damage is directly related to these layers.
Damage is divided depending on the depth and can be:
- small - only the lacquer layer is affected;
- medium - the scratch has reached the primer;
- severe - in this case, the damage has gone deep through all layers and impacted the metal.
Before starting all work, be sure to set the depth of the scratch. To do this, take a regular sponge and a bucket of water. We wet the sponge and carefully wash all the damaged areas to see the features of the damage. If the color of your car is preserved in the crack, it means that you have damaged only the upper, protective layer. In this case, the repair will be simple.
If you still did not see the color of the paint, it means that the depth of damage has reached the primer layer. In this case, the repair will be longer and more expensive than in the first case, but this is not as critical as in the third.
The worst option is to see bare metal; this means that a time-consuming and costly process of restoring the protective layer awaits you. If you postpone repairs, then serious consequences can ensue. The metal will begin to oxidize, rust will appear, which, in turn, will violate the integrity of the structure of the entire part, and this can provoke its rotting.
Repairing scratches on a car
To carry out repairs, it is important to know how to remove scratches on a car, taking into account a three-level damage scale.
How to remove small scratches from the car body? Shallow defects in the lacquer finish are a minor problem. To remove them, you need to wash the area thoroughly. Purchase a car polish for scratch removal (different from seasonal body polish) from a specialist retailer. You will also need a polishing machine, but if it is not there, then it's okay; you can use the most ordinary, even the cheapest, dishwashing sponge.
Next, we rinse the area that needs to be polished, wait for it to dry completely. Then we put the polish on a washcloth and rub it directly into the scratch until there are no white spots on the car body. If done correctly, no damage should be visible.
Repairing scratches that have reached the primer requires you to familiarize yourself with the technical data sheet of the car and find information about the body color; this is important if you want your car to look like it just left the dealership. Knowing the color, you can contact a specialized store, where they will help you choose the right paint. You will also need polish, sandpaper (coarse and fine), paper tape, white spirit or kerosene to degrease the surface, and a primer.
How to remove scratches on a car in this case? Pre-wash the part of the body on which you found the defect. To prevent primer and paint from accidentally splashing onto the undamaged parts of the car, tape paper around the area you are treating.
Use coarse sandpaper to erase the entire area around the defect. Rub until the surface is matted. After that, degrease the surface with white spirit or kerosene and let the surface dry. When the preparation has come to an end and the surface is dry, apply a coat of primer. Apply paint on a dry primer. Be sure to wait until it dries, and then start polishing.
The most unpleasant type of damage is deep damage to the metal. To fix it, you will need:
- white spirit;
- putty;
- primer;
- dye;
- automotive rubber spatula;
- anti-corrosion agent;
- polish;
- fine-grained and coarse-grained sandpaper.
To repair scratches on a car, you must first prepare the body. The very first step is to wash your car. Then you should treat the scratch with an anti-corrosion agent and rub the entire surface with coarse sandpaper. After that, you need to degrease the surface with white spirit, kerosene, or another degreasing agent.
Apply a layer of putty to the degreased and dried area, trying to repair the damage as much as possible. After that, let it dry and sand it with fine-grained sandpaper. On top, apply a coat of primer all over the matte area. After the primer is dry, sandpaper with 1200 grit paper; this will make the entire surface perfectly smooth.
If the damage is minor, there is nothing easier than painting over the scratch yourself. It is necessary to get rid of the dust on the body, degrease the desired area, and apply paint. It can be sprayed from a special spray can. After painting, it remains to polish the entire part and leave the car for 12-24 hours in a dry garage to dry the paint.
85% of cars get scratches in the first year of operation. If you do everything right, your car will be as good as new!
Basic types of car scratches can you fix them yourself FAQ
- What to do if I can't fix my car scratches?
Do not torture your car. The best action is to contact a service station or buy a new body part. You can do this in our PartSouq online store. Here you will find body parts for a wide selection of different cars at a great price and, most importantly, in good quality.
- Is it necessary to contact the service station if only the varnish is damaged?
If the damaged area is small, then it is better and cheaper to repair it yourself. How to fix your own car body, read in our article.
- Is it possible to polish a car without a special polishing machine?
With a polishing machine, it is much easier and faster to polish the car body. But if you don't have one, have nowhere to borrow one, or don't have the money to buy one, then you can even use a regular sponge for washing dishes.
- What to do if rust appears at the scratch site?
If you want to patch up a scratch, the first step is to get rid of the rust; this can be done mechanically, namely with brushes or power tools. But this is if the site is small and easily accessible for the tool. It is best to use a dedicated rust converter in all situations.