If you're wondering “how to fix scratches on a car?” The answer depends on the severity of the scratch. If the scratches are not very deep, you can either use toothpaste or certain scratch removal products, and if the scratch is deep, you need to sand it and paint the entire impacted area.
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There are plenty of reasons causing scratches on your beloved vehicle's body. Some of these reasons might be related to troubes accidents, issues with parking, problems with vandalism, and more.
Scratches can impact the overall appearance of your vehicle and if you would go to a repair shop to get rid of these scratches, the bill might be very costly.
The good news is that there are some simple DIYs you can try at home to help you get rid of the scratches without needing a professional repair shop. For example, you can use toothpaste or probably certain scratch removal products or paint to get rid of the scratches.
This article will help you answer the question of “how to fix scratches on a car?” By walking you through a step by step guidance on some of the very common DIYs. Keep in mind that selecting the type of DIY depends on the severity of the scratches.
How to fix scratches on a car using toothpaste?
One of the very common household items you can use to get rid of minor scratches on your car is toothpaste. Keep in mind that toothpaste is a very handy product to remove only shallow or surface scratches. You might need to give it a try and fix deeper scratches, but the results will not be as good as when the scratches shallow.
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Check if the scratch is surface or deep
Using the tip of your fingernail, run through the scratches and see if they’re surface or deep. For instance, if your fingernail could catch a scratch, it’s deep, and it’s not recommended to go with toothpaste as it won’t be very effective.
On the other hand, if your fingernail didn’t detect the scratch, then the scratch is surface, and you can go ahead with using toothpaste.
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Clean the scratch area
One of the biggest mistakes drivers can make to apply toothpaste to the scratched area of their vehicles without cleaning it. Did you know that any debris or contamination might make the scratch worse, especially if you rub it around?
Thus, there should be some preprocessing step of clean up before applying the toothpaste. You have two options to clean the car: going to a car wash or washing your car using soap and water.
If you decided to go with the second option, make sure to rinse the car body with water and dry it out using a dry cloth or towel.
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Using a microfiber towel, apply the toothpaste
Once the area is completely cleaned and dried, apply about one-quarter-sized toothpaste to a dry microfiber towel and apply it to the impacted area.
Even if the scratch is not deep, you will need to add more or less than the toothpaste you applied.
According to experts, whitening toothpaste is the best kind you can use to get rid of minor scratches.
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Buff out the scratches
Using the fiber towel, press a little harder and rob in a circular motion to ensure that all the toothpaste is covered and rid of the scratches. Make sure that when you rob the toothpaste, you don't leave areas with more toothpaste than the other because, in the end, your vehicle's external body will look uneven. It will clearly show that you've been trying to get rid of this crash manually without getting help from a professional mechanic.
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Get rid of any access toothpaste
Once you're done with rubbing all the toothpaste around the scratches, you recommend using a hose of water and spraying it around the area to remove any excess toothpaste.
After cleaning the area, you can go ahead and use another microfiber towel to dry the area. Some other people might prefer using a wet microfiber towel instead of spraying the area with water to avoid damaging the toothpaste they just applied. You can choose whatever works best for you.
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Apply the toothpaste at least twice
It is recommended that you repeat the process at least two times to ensure you have two layers of toothpaste covering these scratches. You might even need another application of toothpaste if the scratches still show.
Keep in mind that after applying the toothpaste more than three times, it might indicate that this is not working effectively for you, and you must try another product.
How to fix scratches on a car using scratch removal?
If the toothpaste would not help you get rid of the scratches, you might need to try designated products for removing scratches. These products are referred to as scratch removals, and you can find them at any auto repair shop or buy them online on Amazon.
Here's all you need to do to get rid of the scratches using scratch removals:
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Get rid of any dirt
Like applying toothpaste, you have to preprocess the area by getting rid of any debris or contamination to avoid damaging the surface when rubbing the scratch removal.
You can either use I want to go to a car wash or use water and soap to clean the impacted area.
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Select the best scratch removal kit
The market is filled with tons of brands for getting rid of scratches from your vehicle's body. Spend time and effort reviewing the mean pros and cons of each product before making a final decision. You don't have to buy the most expensive one. It all depends on the severity of the scratch and your budget.
Keep an eye on any sales or discounts available on certain platforms. Also, consider reviewing what comes with the scratch removal kits. Some might have their towels, while others might have extra additions to help ensure the best scratch removal results.
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Apply the scratch removal using a microfiber towel
Whether the towel comes with the scratch removal kit or not, you still need to apply the scratch removal on a certain towel before putting it on the impacted area of your vehicle's body. Make sure that the towel is completely dry.
You can start applying about 1/4 sized amount of scratch removal to the area and see if you need to add more.
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Distribute the scratch removal evenly
When you apply the scratch removal, make sure that you are working around the area and you're not leaving any spot with more product than the others because it's going to show at the end that the surface is not even.
It's recommended that you apply slight pressure as you're distributing the scratch removal but not a lot.
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Clean any access scratch removal product
Like the toothpaste approached, make sure that there is no scratch product left around the area where you don't need it. To do so, you can either use a wet towel or apply some water to get rid of this excess product.
Once you're done, dry the area using a dry microfiber towel.
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Apply the scratch removal product at least two times
It is recommended that you repeat the process at least twice to ensure that the scratches are removed completely. If you notice that the scratch removal is not helping even after three application times, you need to move forward with repainting the area instead.
How to fix scratches on a car? Deeper scratches
All the methods we discussed before do not apply to deeper scratches because it really won't help much. Therefore, after inspecting the scratches, if you notice that these scratches are deep, you have only one option: repaint the area.
Although repainting the area might sound a little complicated, you can try to do it at home, especially if the impacted area is not very huge.
If you're feeling comfortable painting your vehicles external and getting rid of deeper scratches, here is all you need to do:
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Clean the impacted area
As we had already indicated before, you don't want to start any treatment, getting rid of scratches without getting rid of debris or contaminations. Smaller particles could make scratches look worse, especially if you started rubbing a certain paint or product to eliminate the scratches.
Therefore, you can either go to the car wash or use soap and water to clean up the area before the application.
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Using sandpaper, sand the impacted area
Another important preprocess step here is to sand the area tear it when you're using the sandpaper; you must sand the area in the direction of the scratches, so you don't make them worse.
After sending the area, you can use clean water to remove any residual in the same fashion as cleaning up the area before applying any product.
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Apply a premiere before painting
When it comes to painting the impacted area, you need at least to have a couple of premier coats and allowing them to set about 10 minutes each time so he can dry out.
It is recommended that you choose a premier color very close to your vehicle's final product paint color so it doesn't look odd once you're done your job.
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Use the right paint
You might need to check your vehicle's manual or consult a professional tool to purchase the right paint that matches your vehicle's externally. It is important to apply a couple of paint coats and allow them also to sit for about 10 minutes to dry out each time.
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Use car wax
If you're looking for the best results, it is recommended that you apply car wax after painting the area, so it matches and blends with the rest of your vehicle's external. You don't have to purchase the most expensive car wax. All you need is a small amount that is enough to cover the impacted area.
As you're playing the wax, you can apply moderate pressure, not a lot. When you apply the wax, you don't apply it on certain areas but not the rest because it will show at the end that the surface is not even.
Conclusion
Scratches can impact the overall appearance of your vehicle. Without your planning to sell your car or don't like driving a car with scratches, you might need to familiarize yourself with different methods for getting rid of these scratches.
The good news here is that removing minor scratches can be done at home without needing a professional mechanic. You can simply either use toothpaste or a designated scratch removal product. If these scratches are deeper, you might need to send the area and repaint it.
Keep in mind that if your car has major problems, it might not even be worth spending your time and effort trying to make it look nice because what's under the hood is not in good shape. Therefore, evaluate whether it's the right time now, so look hard to Cash Cars Buyer. This way, you can use the payment towards a vehicle with no scratches or any major mechanical problems.
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