[tommiez]

A dog jumped on my new 2010 Elentra and left a 4 inch scratch on my car door - much to my dismay. It's not very deep and hardly noticeable but I see it every time I get in the car. I tried rubbing it out with a plain cloth and was able to remove most of it but there's still a faint scratch remaining. I don't want to use any chemicals and/or removal compounds that will harm the paint. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[jeff3820]

QUOTE (tommiez @ May 10 2010, 10:00 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=321412

A dog jumped on my new 2010 Elentra and left a 4 inch scratch on my car door - much to my dismay. It's not very deep and hardly noticeable but I see it every time I get in the car. I tried rubbing it out with a plain cloth and was able to remove most of it but there's still a faint scratch remaining. I don't want to use any chemicals and/or removal compounds that will harm the paint. Thanks for your feedback.

Those first few scratches on a new car are painful! You can get rid of most surface scratches or surface paint from other cars when they open their door and rub your car with special "scratch out" abrasives. I use Kit Scratch Out with very positive results. Rub it on with a WET applicator and rub in a circular fashion. Repeat as necessary. The abrasive should not damage the paint or surface coat. When done, re-wax the affected area. I have done this on my cars for years with very successful results.

Other have told me they use toothpaste successfully as well. Again, products with a very mild abrasive is the key.

If you got most of it out with a plain cloth, this should do the trick.

 

[samkent]

I am assuming the scratch did no t go below the paint into the primer.
I would spray the entire door with another light coat of clear from a can.

 

[lovemysantafe]

QUOTE (samkent @ May 10 2010, 10:55 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=321481

I am assuming the scratch did no t go below the paint into the primer.
I would spray the entire door with another light coat of clear from a can.

I would not recommend that at ALL.

If you don't have access to a buffer yourself I'd call around to a trusted local detailing shop and see if they can polish it out using a finishing polish. That's the least abrasive type of polish and is used for finishing down after using heavier cutting compounds but it can be used on its own for lighter defects. If you can't hook the scratch with your finger nail, chances are good that it can be buffed out.

 

[samkent]

Here’s the overall picture as I understand it.

A scratch has removed material from the door.
Buffing will remove more material around the surrounding areas.

Personally I would want to add material.

Last week I painted a new hood for my son’s car. I screwed up when I sprayed the clear and created a run. My cure was to sand the run down with 600 paper. Which of course left terrible scratch marks. I then re-sprayed the entire hood with additional clear. This filled the scratch marks perfectly and you cannot tell where they were.

This assumes that your scratch did not penetrate beyond the clear coat. I am not a professional but that’s the way I would handle it. Don’t they make those pens that contain clear? I’ve seen them on TV and they work on any color so I figure they use clear.