Car scratch removal

Do you still get cold shivers when you think back to the moment when you accidentally scraped your two-week-old car along the wall of the narrow underground car park? 

Scratches in your car's paintwork are always annoying, but sometimes you can't do anything about them yourself: scratches occur when small stones hit the front of the car or a marten leaves its mark on the bonnet on its way to the engine compartment. If you have intentions of selling your car, scratches are undesirable and it is best to remove them yourself as much as possible. 

You don't have to drive straight to the workshop for paint damage to your car. You can remove many small scratches yourself, especially if they only damage the clear coat. This applies to most everyday damage, for example to door handles or around the fuel filler cap. In this blog you can read which scratches you can remove yourself and how you can do this best.

The paint structure of a car 

What you recognise in your car as misano red pearl effect paint or metallic tenorite grey is the result of state-of-the-art technology: car paint consists of four layers which, together with the sheet metal, are only as thick as a human hair, about 1 millimetre. The actual colour layer is the thinnest at 0.015 millimetres.

If a scratch only damages the clear coat, you can polish it yourself with just a few tools. If the basecoat has already been damaged, you should only lend a hand yourself as an experienced hobbyist. For all other paintwork damage, trust the experts in your workshop or bodyshop. Two simple tests will show you how deep the scratch goes into your car's paintwork:

• Look closely at the scratch: If you see a different colour than the paint on the damaged area, the scratch has already reached the primer. Polishing no longer helps.
• Feel the scratch: carefully run a fingernail over the scratch. If you get stuck, this point is too deep to polish.

How to polish paintwork scratches

Ingredients:

• sponge
• hot water
• Liquid Washing Silicon-Free Polish
• cleaning cloths
• terry towel 

And this is how it works:

1. First clean the affected area thoroughly from dirt and dust, for example with warm water and soap, and rub it dry with a polishing cloth. This is important so that the lacquer can work properly later.
2. Treat the scratch over a large area by the lacquer with the polishing cloths provided and rub in with circular movements. The lacquer works like a very fine sandpaper and removes the scratch by removing some of the paint. So be very careful not to make the damage to the paintwork even worse.
3. The varnish creates a film on the paint. Let it dry thoroughly and then treat it with a terry towel. You should then see that the scratch has disappeared.

How to remove scratches from rims

Ingredients:

• Sponge
• hot water
• Detergent
• Car Wheel Cleaner
• A very fine abrasive specially made for car rims
• Touch-up stick in the colour of the rims
• Sealing (sealing paint)

And this is how it works:

1. First, clean the rims so that they are free of dust and dirt. 
2. Carefully roughen the scratch with a small piece of fine sandpaper and then thoroughly clean the rims again.
3. Now you can touch up the scratch with the retouching pen (Touch-up stick). Let it dry well!
4. Apply sealing varnish to the repaired area using circular motions. Then polish with a soft cloth.

Be careful with deep scratches: if they already form cracks, there is a risk that the rim will break while driving. A simple cosmetic repair is not sufficient. Only a new rim can ensure safe driving.

Removing scratches on plastic parts

Some parts are painted along. This is obviously more work to restore. 

Ingredients:

• sponge,
• hot water,
• detergent,
• Wettspray oil or felt-tip varnish
• special sandpaper
• Clear Varnish
• Bumper Filler
• Car paint in the right colour

And that is how it works:

1. Start by cleaning the bumper and making it grease-free using a powerful degreaser.
2. In case of a crack or hole, reinforcing film with resin can be used to reinforce the plastic bumper again.
3. Use a special bumper putty to restore a crack, hole or dent to its original shape.
4. After applying the 2K putty to the car bumper, the bumper and putty can be sanded smooth.
5. Spray a plastic primer to prime the bumper.
6. Use a car paint spray can to paint the bumper back to the car's original colour.
7. Spray the colour paint with a 2K clearcoat to give the sprayed paint gloss and protect it from external influences.

Is the damage that bad and you want to totally replace a bumper or other body part? Then you can also look for a suitable second-hand part. We have outlined the pros and cons of second-hand parts in this article listed.

Removing scratches on glass and chrome

For scratched chrome parts, special cleaners and polishes are available from specialist dealers to remove the damage. If the windows are scratched, you should go to the workshop and have a professional stone chip repair done. If necessary, even very minor damage can be repaired with a stone chip repair kit.

Using toothpaste to remove scratches?

The only reliable remedy for small scratches in the home is regular white toothpaste. Press the toothpaste onto a damp cloth and rub it over the scratch. Little by little, the toothpaste - and thus the scratch - will disappear. This is because there are small abrasive particles in the toothpaste which, together with small paint particles, penetrate the car paint and fill the scratch. If the scratch has not disappeared after the first procedure, repeat the process. Usually, the repair works.

Nail polish is also recommended time and again to repair scratches. But that is one thing. Firstly, the nail polish usually does not match the colour of the car paint. Secondly, in the summer, when it gets very hot, the nail polish can blister or crumble.

Which scratches need to be sprayed?

Small, fine scratches are one thing, deep scratches are another. A branch hangs too far into the driveway and the paint is damaged down to the metal plate or putty. Then it usually doesn't help to remove the scratch yourself. Now you have to take the car to the workshop to get it repainted.

What are the most common paint defects?

These spots on the car are most likely to get scratched. But why is that?

• Behind the door handle. The reason for this is usually rings worn on the hand, which scratch the paintwork when the car door is opened. 
• On the sill/threshold on the driver's side. And not because the leather or rubber soles of the shoes damage the paintwork, but small stones embedded in the profile of the sole.
• Next to the fuel cap. Some drivers have the habit of leaning against the car while refuelling. That way, the small rivets of the jeans come into focus.
• The round parts of bumpers. Sometimes the parking space in the underground garage is just narrower than the day before. Or did someone move this pillar from one day to the next?
• The loading edge of the boot can only be seen when the tailgate is open, but this is where beverage crates and shopping bags and skis and things from the hardware store etc. get scratched. 

Do you still want to seek professional help?

Do you still want to hire professional help? Then consider the company AAS Day Recovery, for example. They can help you well with damage such as light car scratches removal. They will also use polishing to repair minor scratches which will make the scratch disappear.