Damaging their beloved vehicle is every car driver’s nightmare, but even the most careful and skilful of drivers are prone to mistakes from time to time. Not to mention other drivers may be guilty of damaging your car, especially when parked in narrow areas. If you have a minor scratch to your car’s bodywork, there are several DIY fixes you can try yourself instead of paying a fee for a repair.
Infratech Automotive Solutions have provided a summary of some of the best ways to fix scratches to a car’s body paintwork.
1) Rub Toothpaste onto the Scratch Mark
Yes, you read that right! It might sound like a silly idea to rub toothpaste on your most prized possession, but this is one of the most effective and common methods for fixing a scratch. This technique is suitable if the scratch marks haven’t fully penetrated your car’s paintwork. All you need to do is dab some toothpaste to a damp cloth and rub it onto the scratch area in a circular motion. Toothpaste is essentially a sanding tool, so it should wear away the scratch mark and present you with a clean bodywork.
2) Use a Scratch Repair Kit
If toothpaste seems too basic of a solution, there are ready-made scratch repair kits that you can purchase. These kits include a selection of items that can help you make your car look like new. A scratch repair kit is a fantastic DIY solution and can be found at many of your local automotive stores. Typically, these kits will polish, treatments and brushes which are simple to apply to your paintwork.
3) Take the Car to a Professional Bodyshop
Perhaps you can consider the option of taking your car to a professional auto bodyshop. If you find a specialist business like this Phoenix Auto Body Shop to carry out your repair work, there’s less chance of error. Bodyshops are well-equipped to perform SMART repairs, an industry-standard process that will get your car back to showroom quality. This option is more expensive than the rest, but the results will be easier to achieve and likely superior. If your vehicle is badly damaged and requires more than a simple scratch repair, a professional bodyshop may be the only choice you have.
4) Touch up the Bodywork with Paint
Perhaps you’re more interested in an advanced solution for your car scratch? Should the previous repair options not suffice, you could always try touching up your bodywork with a new coat of point to the scratch area. Be careful, however, as it’s quite easy for this method to cause a shoddy end product if not done right. You need to know what type of paint to get, the exact colour required, and how much to apply. The more intense car drivers may even wish to use this as an opportunity to turn their bodywork into a themed artwork!
