Clear coat scratch or something deeper. How to repair?

[Kristi2k]

I scratched the side of my vehicle with another piece of metal. Around the scratch there was white powder like substance that I brushed off... it must have been some of the clear coat. It's about 2" long and 1/8" wide scratch. I don't think that it went down to the metal.

I used Meguiars Scratch-X 2.0 and it cleaned it up a little but I still see some white in the scratch (the paint is a midnight blue). How can I repair this? I have OEM touch-up paint, should I use that?

 

[ino uno soweno]

I scratched the side of my vehicle with another piece of metal. Around the scratch there was white powder like substance that I brushed off... it must have been some of the clear coat. It's about 2" long and 1/8" wide scratch. I don't think that it went down to the metal.

I used Meguiars Scratch-X 2.0 and it cleaned it up a little but I still see some white in the scratch (the paint is a midnight blue). How can I repair this? I have OEM touch-up paint, should I use that?

Any chance of a picture, ??>

 

[Kristi2k]

Here are the photos:
http://imageshack.us/a/img844/4127/8irf.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img7/1983/74cw.jpg

 

[Black2na]

That's pretty noticeable you can clean it up a bit and polish it up and taken the sin off of it but being a darkheavy metallic color I worry because its through the clear any wet sanding would lead To a more noticeable spot. There is always repaint but kinda expensive for that.

 

[Kristi2k]

I'm not going to re-paint the entire door, I was hoping something less expensive. I basically want it repaired so that it doesn't rust. If I can get it to less visible that would be great too.

 

[ino uno soweno]

I totally agree, no repaint on the whole door, .

Can you tell us make and year model. please.

And can you try and measure how "deep" the scratch is, is it a v, ? or w.

It looks a flat scrap, Do you know how and what did the damage, ??.


((((( Use SCRATCH X 2.0 and buff the damaged area, allow to dry, and wipe off the film to reveal a deep, polished shine. If applying SCRATCHX 2.0 to your entire car, remember to work one section at a time. Now that you’ve found the solution--apply it! ))))


(((allow to dry, and wipe off the film to reveal a deep, polished shine. )))

Trouble is jumping in and rubbing what looks to be a polymer, contaminates the scratch, ,

Do you have a buffing machine,? do you have any or much experience with sanding or painting, , ?,

I can try doing a simulated scratch and repair on a metallic black or dark blue Audi bonnet, later tonight,[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

 

[ino uno soweno]

Also do you wax the whole car, ??, with what,, ??.

How long ago was this car buffed, ??.

I am guessing at about $25 will set you up with a life time scratch repair kit,

 

[Kristi2k]

It's a 2012 Honda CRV, I do wax it with Merguiers crystal wax. I took it to Honda when I bought the touchup paint and they said that they couldn't buff that out. They said I could try wet sanding but I don't like the idea of that. The scratch is deep. The metal base of an iMac scrapped against the vehicle. I can't exactly tell but it kind of looks like a v scratch.

I found this clay kit and am wondering what you think: http://scratchwizard.net/

 

[ino uno soweno]

It's a 2012 Honda CRV, I do wax it with Merguiers crystal wax. I took it to Honda when I bought the touchup paint and they said that they couldn't buff that out. They said I could try wet sanding but I don't like the idea of that. The scratch is deep. The metal base of an iMac scrapped against the vehicle. I can't exactly tell but it kind of looks like a v scratch.

I found this clay kit and am wondering what you think: http://scratchwizard.net/

Hey Kristi,

Lots of options here,

But one question first please, how well do you want this fixed, would you like it virtually invisible to you, ? do you love your car that much, or as long as no one else notices, ?, you do not care, ?, or close enough is good enough, ??.

I note the scratch is on the passengers side, ??. is that right, ?



Don't worry,

 

[Black2na]

I would advise against wet sanding what's gonna happen being a metallic paint when you sand the clear you are gonna end up sanding some of the basecoat which then will look different as you have sanded away the metallic and exposed other metallic layers while close doesnt look like the top coat. Only true 100% way to fix that would be a respray. At this point its finding the best way to make that scratch as least noticeable as possible.

 

[ino uno soweno]

Kristi2k
It's a 2012 Honda CRV, I do wax it with Merguiers crystal wax. I took it to Honda when I bought the touchup paint and they said that they couldn't buff that out. They said I could try wet sanding but I don't like the idea of that. The scratch is deep. The metal base of an iMac scrapped against the vehicle. I can't exactly tell but it kind of looks like a v scratch.


Sorry, off line for a few days,


Metallic dark blue, 2012 Audi paint, I think the 2 scratches with red arrows are similar to your situation, I used a grinder to make the marks,
I will have a play around and get back to you with pictures , asap,,

 

[ino uno soweno]

oops, sorry,

 

[Arkaign]

This is worth reading in it's entirety.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/how-to-fix-a-car-paint-scratch#slide-1

It's not perfect, and many will have differing opinions on methodology, but it's a great place to start.

 

[Kristi2k]

I read the article but I really don't want to wet sand my car. I have two options and want to know what you think is best:

1. Do I just fill in the scratch with my OEM paint pen from Honda and leave it?
2. Do I buy that clay kit I linked to? Is it safe for the paint? http://scratchwizard.net/

edit, to answer another question, I want to fix the scratch so that it doesn't rust out. I'd love to have it not visible at all but if I have to spend a lot of money, I'm not doing it.

 

[Zenmervolt]

I basically want it repaired so that it doesn't rust.

It's not down to bare metal. Even if you do absolutely nothing, it won't rust.

What you will get, however, is peeling clearcoat starting at the scratch since the scratch is through the existing clearcoat. Using touch-up paint would cover the edge of the clearcoat and prevent pealing, but it would definitely be noticeable still. You're looking at some combination of touch-up paint and polishing for a "good enough" fix, but sanding and repainting would be ideal.

ZV

 

[Kristi2k]

I'm just afraid that if I went sand it will stick out even more. Would the Quixx High Performance Paint Scratch Remover work? I see that it uses wet sanding and some sort of clear coat application...

 

[ino uno soweno]

Ok, sorry, such a drama trying to get new modem working,






I have to post these pictures just to see if it works, ??

 

[ino uno soweno]

Surprize surpize, it worked,

Ok, Kristi.

I can assure you and those who do not know, repainting the door might match on the day, or a week , or a year, but soona or later it will mismatch is some way, like this,



So, what I did was to first grind a few stratches as seen above, top pic,

Then using p1000 wet dry sand paper, ( $1 ) to "mostly " remove the top layer (white ) damaged clear coat, ( fold and tear off a 3" x 3" section, and fold around a old thin credit card )

Then p2000 wet dry sand paer to finish removing the remaining, (white ) damaged clear coat ,

At no time sand "out side" of the scratch area / mark ,also sand in the same direction as the scratch and only use very light pressure,


First with the p1000, very lightly, with the small 3" x 3" folded sand paper sheet, around the credit card, you will see the damaged ( white ) scratch mark reduce in intensity,

Then change to the p2000 to remove the rest and all of the white damaged clear, coat,



This picture, shows where I ground through the colour, ( white dot, ) then I rubbed on with my finger some buffing compound, to polish inside the scratch,

Sorry having lots of problems with computer, please let me know if you decide to have a go, I know you can do it,

 

[ino uno soweno]

A bit more sanding and buff,

(please not the white spot, Blue arrows, is where I ground through to undercoat),

Yellow arrows show chrome pie in back ground, ( not a scratch, just a reflection ),




Also please note, no wax or silicone chemicals used,

 

[Fritzo]

This actually works pretty well for clear coat scratches:

 

[ino uno soweno]

Hey Kisti

I hoped to have some pictures of repairing or levelling or filling in the grooves in the bonnet to show, but sorry,
My thoughts are as follows, if I apply metallic dark blue paint over the white spot where I ground the paint with the grinder, then apply a clear coat, we will never know where the scratches were,
So, what I will do to paint the white spot and grooves, is to sand the base of the grooves,p2000 then paint a thin coat of primer, and on top of that, some “ red Paint “ instead of the dark blue metallic, then clear coat it. We should be able see red on dark metallic blue, covered and level or even slightly thicker, clear coat,
My experience is just painting colour to fill level the grooves, leaves the scratch area a bit duller then the clear coat.
Hey Fritzo,
I am a bit concerned about "water resistant". but UV activated is interesting,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Sorry,
I forgot to mention, my line of thought is once anyone can repair a scratch correctly like above, even if it is through to metal,



They will have no problem repairing door chip, stone chips, cracks in paint layers, small and be time key scratches, lifting or bubble paint,


Also if you purchase the correct matials to do the first big scratch, you will have enough for lots more repairs in the future,


I just thought the above relevant,

 

[Fritzo]

Hey Kisti

I hoped to have some pictures of repairing or levelling or filling in the grooves in the bonnet to show, but sorry,
My thoughts are as follows, if I apply metallic dark blue paint over the white spot where I ground the paint with the grinder, then apply a clear coat, we will never know where the scratches were,
So, what I will do to paint the white spot and grooves, is to sand the base of the grooves,p2000 then paint a thin coat of primer, and on top of that, some “ red Paint “ instead of the dark blue metallic, then clear coat it. We should be able see red on dark metallic blue, covered and level or even slightly thicker, clear coat,
My experience is just painting colour to fill level the grooves, leaves the scratch area a bit duller then the clear coat.
Hey Fritzo,
I am a bit concerned about "water resistant". but UV activated is interesting,

I've used that pen on my BMW with good results. You HAVE to follow the instructions carefully though. There's a bunch of video demos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICXJFg4fcYE

 

[Kristi2k]

What kind of clear coat do you recommend for me to buy or does the Honda OEM paint touchup pen come with it?

 

[ino uno soweno]

What kind of clear coat do you recommend for me to buy or does the Honda OEM paint touchup pen come with it?

I keep looking at your pictures and I really do not think you have scratched below the clear level,
These pictures shows the scratches are deep enough to show colour,Royal Blue.







So my line of thought is you will not need to apply any colour,


You will only need to apply colour if colour has been lost, I am thinking that metallic paints have a last clear coat over the colour, maybe 2 coat of clear,


And I am also thinking you should only sand p2000, wet and dry, I wet sand the white damaged chalky layer away, but only wet sand for a minute, and dry out the groove to check, I am sanding in the right place, all sanding should run with the groove, and be gentle, you do not want to break through to colour or undercoat, or metal, once you have cleared /sanded the white chalky layer, you will be able to see if you need more colour,


An important point to note here is the car is a factory spray job, and the surface of the paint on the vertical panels of most late model car is not flat, they call it “off the Gun”,


I can see in the pictures, the reflection lines are not quite clear, meaning the surface is not flat,


I have no experience with Pen applicators, except some people can make them work, and people like these people, I found on the pen internet site,
This guy says,


I tried to fix a scratch on my new car. Not only did it not work, but it left a super-glue type residue on the car that I could not wipe away with the dry paper towel immediately after applying it to the car. I will have to get the spot professionally repainted. Beware of this product, it can actually damage your car!


And this guy says,


After the unpleasant surprise of finding a scratch on my still shiny 2-year old car, I thought straight away of this product. While I know that advertisements do exaggerate, I thought this still might do something to better the situation without incurring steep body shop repair costs. How wrong I was! This product is practically useless and, despite following the instructions to the letter, just left my car with a raised clear scar-like line on top of the scratch, which is still visible. To make matters worse, the actual construction of the pen is very poor, and the nib quickly jams (it's based on a pump action method to immerse the nib in the 'healing' liquid). In my case this happened after just one use. Please do read, and believe these reviews and save yourself time and money.


But we know some people can make it work, ??.


Again my line of thought is to make the scratch finish or surface over the scratch area, the same as the surrounding area, use a brush, a very small fine pointed soft paint brush, ( set of six fine soft paint brushes is $3 at cheap shop, ) to dab the coating on, ( not long strokes, please note, long strokes lay the coating flat ), using a fine brush, one drop of clear coat dabbed on at a time, will give you time to blend into the surface texture to match exactly what is on the rest of your panel, while not over building the edges,


As for the clear coat, I agree, go to Dealer, and ask for recommended clear coat in a small touch up bottle, or a spray can is good, because you can spray a small amount of clear coat spray into the lid, then dip into that with the paint brush, I tend to dab droplets of paint on then wait a few minutes for those droplets to dry a little, then another quick spray into the lid next time, before doing some more, ( less chance of the weight of the paint to sag on vertical surfaces, )you can leave it 15 minutes, ( if you clean the brush in solvent), if the scratch is deep,


Looking at your pictures, I do not see deep scratches as shown in above picture,


No more sanding required, no pen problems, no over spray, and if you get a really small bottle of solvent for the clear coat, you can wipe out or off any mistakes, until you have it perfect,
And sit in a chair or on a box, level with the scratch, rest the back of your hand on the panel, and slowly bring the brush into contact, and you should be able to see the new clear coat blending in a soon as you start,
Good luck,