Repairing Scratches on your Vehicle

Most have us have scratched our vehicles’ paint in some shape or form. If you get a scratch on your car, can you fix it yourself or do you have to take it into a professional? Many scratches can be fixed on our own but if they are very large, you will need a professional.

Before you repair the scratch all by yourself there are some things you need to do. You need to find out if the vehicle has enamel based paint. Some new vehicles have paint that doesn’t blend well with the lacquer based primer paint. Talk to someone at an auto store to help you out and figure out what the color of your vehicle is; not all reds are the same. Look at the vehicle identification number to get the right paint to match. You can also call your dealership and they will tell you the color.

After this you need to buy primer paint. You should wash the area and sand the scratch with very fine sandpaper. Brush away all the dust that comes off and then use masking tape and newspaper to seal off the scratch area. Then take a plastic putty knife and apply body compound to existing deep scratches. When the compound gets hard you can sand it flat and wipe off all the dust. Now spray primer and dry over night or 8 hours. Paint the area with the touchup paint and let that dry overnight.

If you have a large scratch on your door or hood then you may need to have a repair shop paint the whole panel. It is important to repair scrapes and scratches; when they go a while without being repaired they will rust and that won’t be fixable.