Repairing scratches on your car can be a demoralising experience. There is nothing like having a fantastically pristine body to your car, only to have some act of nature (or act of parking lot) put a scrape in the side. No matter how your car got scratched however, you are going to want to get it seen to as quickly as possible.
When talking about car dents and scratches, there are essentially two types. There are deep scrapes that go down through the various different layers of the car, and there are far shallower scratches that may just be on the clearcoat of the car. Some can be handled at home with the right kit to hand – others may need the skilled hand of a professional.
In this article we’re going to explore three different methods of removing scratches, from the very basic, to the slightly more complex. Let’s explore polish, store bought kits, and getting a professional.
Three Methods for Repairing Scratches on Your Car
Depending on the type of scratch you have on your car will depend which method if best scratch repair – from surface level to deeply engrained into a panel.
Using Polish to Reduce Scratches
Light scratches don’t need to last for long on the body of your car. The least impactful, but arguably most irritating, type of scratch is that which gently marks the surface of the car. From a technical perspective, car paint is made up of five (or more) layers of paint – the top level of which is known as the clearcoat. Light scratches that barely penetrate the clearcoat are by far the easiest to get rid of.
Polish is a fantastic substance. Where it is known for its namesake – namely it creates a shiny outercoat on the exterior of a car – polish can be so much more than that.
It is a relatively unknown fact that polish, by its very nature, is actually an abrasive substance. Through polishing your car it is actually possible to buff out scratches, and leave your car looking as good as new. This is because the polish wears away at the surface of the clearcoat and blends the scratch into its surroundings.
It is because of this abrasive quality that it is always incredibly important to follow the instructions as using polish incorrectly can actually cause damage to the car.
Using a Store Bought Car Scratch Repair Kit
If the damage to the car is a little bit deeper than the very top clearcoat layer of the car, then you may want to consider a store bought solution.
Store bought car repair kits come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, containing an even wider variety of techniques and solutions designed to minimise the impact of scratches on your car. Typically speaking though, they may comprise of a filler, a paint stick or swab, a wax and/or a polish.
Store bought solutions do have their benefits in that they are generally speaking a cheaper solution than having a professional repair your car. That being said they are not without their disadvantages.
There are two core considerations when looking at store bought solutions. The first is what the instructions are, as (like with polish) sometimes it is possible to do more damage to the car than good.
Secondly, the other thing to consider is the quality of the finish. Due to the fact that store bought solutions can vary in their quality, they aren’t always the best at repairing scratches in a way that blends in with the surrounding area. This means that it is possible to use a store bought solution, to use it perfectly, and for the result to not actually match the surrounding area.
Professional Car Scratch Repair
Where polish and store bought solutions can provide satisfactory solutions, the best solution a car scratch is to get it professionally repaired.
Professional SMART repair, like that offered by ChipsAway Dublin, used colour matching technology in order to perfectly blend the repair into the surrounding area. Through using a mixture of different techniques, SMART repair allows for scratches to be repaired whilst still leaving the panel on the car. This is contrary to traditional repair shops, where the cost for the repair is often inflated by the fact that the panel is often repaired by removing it from the car. SMART repair does away with that and allows for a small section to car to be repaired at any one time.
Having a professional car scratch repair service take a look at the body of your car is often only slightly more than a store bought solution, and can give you peace of mind when getting your car repaired. You can know that you will receive a high quality repair, that will blend perfectly into the rest of the car.
Here at ChipsAway Ireland, our goal is to get your car looking amazing again in no time. You can contact us today using our enquiry form, or you can call us on 1800 937 226 to discover more about how we can help you repairing scratches.
