scratch repairs
will it fix the scratches on my car?
Our paint system is primarily designed to address chips, but it can also be used to repair deep scratches that have removed the paint and have exposed the bare panel of the car. The information below identifies what to look for when determining whether the Dr. ColorChip touchup process will effectively repair the damage on you car:
Deep Scratches – Deep, narrow scratches(visualize a key scratch) which have gone down to the bare panel will generally hold paint, and as a result will make the repaired scratch blend in with the car’s original color. In most cases this repair will make the scratch much less noticeable. The repair also creates a moisture barrier providing protection against possible rust and will help prevent any further erosion of the car’s undamaged paint around the area of the scratch. We recommend the use of a squeegee on deep scratches as it is easier to level the paint across the length of the scratch creating a better fill of the scratch.
Wide Scratches – Wide scratches which have removed a wider than approximately 3mm area of paint across the scratched area can still effectively be repaired. We again recommend you use the squeegee to flatten the paint over the exposed area. The larger the exposed are, the more likely you will want to carefully use the Sealact blending solution to wipe around the edges of the damage and avoid going overtop the fresh paint that is covering the damage.
Light Surface Scratches – Surface scratches(often caused by tree branches or or an object lightly brushing up against your car) often can be buffed out. Use of a fine compound in some cases will allow you to remove the light surface scratch from the panel. Surface scratches only impact the clearcoat and not the paint beneath the surface of the clear. One way to determine the depth of the scratch is to use what we call “The Fingernail Test”. Simply place your nail on one side of the scratch and lightly swipe it perpendicular across the scratch. If you nail glides smoothly over the scratch then most likely the scratch is a surface scratch which might be completely removed using a buffer and fine rubbing compound. If your nail gets caught up in the scratch, that indicates the scratch has penetrated the clearcoat a bit deeper. An experienced detailer can wet sand and buff the scratch to see if it can be removed or if it will require touchup paint.
Key Scratches – Key scratches in most cases will have various depths of penetration along the length of the scratch. The deeper areas will hold paint better, and the those areas of the scratch with less depth will be less receptive to paint grabbing onto its surface. Its frustrating to have your car keyed. Often the decision on how your address the repair comes down to how much the scratch bothers you. Do you want the damage to be completely removed? If so then the body shop respray is the best option…..albeit the most expensive. If your goal is to simply lessen the appearance of the key mark and save the cost of a body shop repair……then Dr. ColorChip is an excellent alternative. Results with darker colored vehicles will tend to be better than the visual impact of repaired key scratch on a silver or gold car. The metallics in these lighter colored silver and gold car’s paints will make the appearance of the paint in the scratch look darker or lighter depending on the angle you are viewing the repair. We want our customers to have enough information to form realistic expectations on the outcome of the repair. This is not a magical cure for the long key scratch across the entire panel of a silver or gold car. The longer the scratch the more visible it will be even after the repair especially on a lighter silver or gold car.
Vehicle Color – Darker colored vehicles…..Blacks, Blues, Reds and Grays absorb the reflection of light better than lighter metallic silver and gold colored cars. Not only do the lighter colors reflect light more drawing attention to the area, but the metallic flakes in the paint take on a different color hue depending on the angle at which you are viewing the repaired scratch.