Got Scratch Marks On Your Car? 4 Steps To Getting A Spotless Finish

Discovering a dent, scuff mark, or a scratch on your vehicle can be downright frustrating. It can happen for many reasons; chief among them are car accidents, parking mishaps, and vandalism.

The trouble is that paying a body shop for a new coat of car paint can be expensive, costing you hundreds of dollars to fix a seemingly minor flaw. On the other hand, the DIY route has its risks as well – using the wrong fix can further deteriorate your car’s paint job.

But don’t freak out just yet. If it’s a minor scrape or scruff, you can fix it by yourself at home. Keep reading to find out how.

At the same time, it is also essential to understand that these small touch-ups won’t work for significant nicks and abrasions. You’ll have to get professional repairs in that case.

How To Tell If A Scratch Qualifies For DIY Repair

Here’s what you need to do to tell light scratches apart from deep ones: glide a fingernail in the direction of the scratch – if the nail seamlessly glides on it without catching, the scratch can be buffed out easily.

However, if it catches the fingernail, be prepared to set aside some cash for professional repairs.

DIY Remedies For A Spotless Finish

Here we’ve listed down some quick and reliable fixes using ingredients that are most probably in your home already.

They don’t cost much either, so sourcing them won’t be a problem.

Let’s learn how to remove the scratch marks on your car with these easy, affordable ways:

1-    Shine With The Shoe Polish

Use soapy water to clean the scratched surface thoroughly, and then leave it to completely dry. Next, apply shoe polish in and around the scratched surface, be sure to get a shade darker than your car’s paint job.

The polish should fill the void left by the scratch and spread around it.

Now get some sandpaper and very gently sand down the paint in the surrounding area.  Don’t exert too much force when sanding; otherwise, you might end up making the scratch even worse.

Keep sanding until there is no polish left behind, and it all looks like one uniform color. Once done, use a soft cloth to buff the area. By now, the small scratch should have disappeared.

2-    Nail Polish That Blends In

Many car owners prefer this method as its nail polishes are available in hundreds of colors, making it possible to get a good match for your car’s paint job.

And you won’t even need to buff or sand the affected area in this case — fill the scratch with nail polish until it starts to match with its surrounding. Put another layer or two of nail polish if need be.

3-    Sand In With Toothpaste

Back when CDs and DVDs were a thing, people used to buff them with a bit of toothpaste to cover any scratches that kept them from playing smoothly.

The idea here is the same; smear some toothpaste on a soft damp cloth to effortlessly erase the minor scratches on your car. But before getting started, clean the area with soapy water and let it dry some. You don’t want to buff the dust and dirt into your paint.

Toothpaste helps even the car’s glossy sheen. It fills in the tiny microscopic dents to make the paintwork look even again.

4-    SuperGlue It

Superglue has the innate capability of smoothing itself out, filling up any tiny dents, holes or scratches that may come in its way. And since it’s transparent, color matching won’t be a problem either.

Carefully fill the scratch up with it, and then once it’s semi-dry gently sand it. In a couple of hours, the scratches will pretty much disappear and won’t be discernible to the naked eye.

What About The Deeper Scratches?

The methods mentioned above are quick remedies for light scratches, and they won’t be of much help when it comes to deep ones. However, you can give it a go and try out some of the ideas mentioned above.

But at most, these quick DIY fixes will tide you over until you bring your car over to paint professionals.

For guaranteed results, it would be best to drive down to the local garage and get experts to buff out the paint scratches and refresh your car’s paint job for the best possible solution.

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