Not every scratch needs a body shop. Some polish out in an afternoon. Others go through to bare metal and will rust if they are left alone. The repair depends on how deep the scratch goes, so start there.
The layers of car paint
Factory paint is built in layers, and together they are thinner than a sheet of paper:
- Clear coat on top, which gives the shine and protects the color.
- Base coat, the color itself.
- Primer, which helps the paint bond and protects the metal or plastic.
- The panel, steel, aluminum, or plastic.
A scratch’s depth tells you which repair fits.
The fingernail test
Run a fingernail lightly across the scratch.
- Your nail does not catch: the scratch is probably only in the clear coat. These can often be polished or compounded out, by hand or with a machine polisher.
- Your nail catches slightly: it may be into the base coat. Polishing can soften it but will not remove it.
- You can see gray, white, or bare metal: it is through to the primer or the panel. This needs paint.
Your options
Polishing or compounding removes a tiny amount of clear coat to level out light scratches. It works well for light marks and swirls. It cannot remove a scratch deeper than the clear coat, and over-polishing thins the clear coat.
Touch-up paint is fine for small chips, such as stone chips on a hood. It seals the metal and makes chips less noticeable from a distance. It rarely looks invisible on a long scratch.
Refinishing the panel is the right repair for deep or long scratches. The area is sanded, primed if needed, painted with color matched to your car, and clear-coated. To make the repair disappear, the new color is usually blended into the panels next to it, so your eye does not catch a line where old paint meets new.
Do not wait on deep scratches
A scratch that reaches bare steel will rust, and in a humid Texas spring and summer that can start quickly. Rust spreads under the paint around the scratch, which turns a small paint job into a bigger one. If you see metal, at least seal it with touch-up paint until it can be repaired.
What affects the cost
- Depth. Clear-coat scratches cost the least to fix. Through-to-metal scratches need full refinishing.
- Length and how many panels. A key scratch down the side of a car can touch three or four panels.
- Color. Tri-coat pearls, metallics, and some specialty colors take more materials and labor to match.
- Blending. Matching aged paint usually means blending into adjacent panels.
- Plastic versus metal. Plastic bumper covers need flex additives in the paint.
Find your paint code
Your car’s paint code is usually on a label in the driver door jamb. On some cars it is under the hood or in the trunk. Any dealer can also look it up from the VIN. Having it ready helps with touch-up paint and with an estimate.
Get it looked at
Call us, book a time, or bring the car to 3801 Wadford St in South Austin, Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. We will tell you whether it needs paint. See our auto paint and refinish service.