DIY car scratch repair

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of scratches on a car from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Damage to the paintwork spoils not only the appearance of the car, but can also cause corrosion. In the publication we will talk about such an unpleasant phenomenon as a scratch on a car. How to remove or mask it as much as possible, as well as what is the best way to use it in this case, we will consider further.

Removing scratches on a car without painting is not possible in all cases. First of all, the quality of the repair done with your own hands depends on the depth of damage to the paintwork layers. Recall that the factory coating consists of several layers:

  • phosphate / cataphoresis soil that covers the "bare" metal. Primary soil is the main stage of metal protection against corrosion;
  • secondary soil;
  • base coat that gives color to the car and serves as a final protective layer against mechanical damage and environmental influences. There are two main technologies for painting a car: base for varnish and acrylic enamel. In short, in the first case, the base pigment is first applied, which gives only color, and after that the part is covered with a layer of varnish, which serves as protection from sunlight, reagents and mechanical damage. The second type of coating consists of a pigment, which imparts color, and a hardener, which gives the coating strength and protective properties. The fineness of removing scratches on the car will depend on the type of coating.Image - DIY car scratch repair

Several types of scratches can form on your car:

  • small. Only the varnish is damaged, and the base layer of the pigment is not exposed. In the case of an acrylic coating, there are only minor grooves in the paint, and it is still relatively far from the ground;
  • medium size. The base color layer has been disturbed through which the ground can be seen;
  • deep scratches on the machine, which lead to destruction of the protective anti-corrosion coating. If the metal is not galvanized, damage will become a hotbed of corrosion in the future. Such damage cannot be repaired without painting.
Video (click to play).

Even numerous small scratches can be removed with abrasive polishing. In order to remove scratches on a car, you will need:Image - DIY car scratch repair

  • polishing machine. We strongly do not recommend using angle grinders, even if it is with speed control. The minimum revolutions of the grinder are much higher than those that can be set on a polishing machine;
  • fine-grained sandpaper (P2000);
  • polishes of varying degrees of abrasiveness. You can buy several tens of grams by weight for local polishing. You can choose from the products of companies: 3M, Farecla, Rivax and others. Each manufacturer designates its own gradation of abrasiveness;
  • polishing wheels of different hardness;
  • microfiber cloth to remove polish residues.Image - DIY car scratch repair

DIY polishing basics can be placed in several positions:

  • thoroughly wash the surface to be polished, remove bitumen stains and degrease;
  • Soak the sandpaper 5-10 m in water, and then with a little effort clean the area with scratches. As soon as the surface is dull, stop;
  • apply a little paste to the surface;
  • without turning on the machine, rub the paste along the plane of the repair area;
  • start polishing by periodically pouring water over the surface. For the first stage it is worth choosing a "hard" wheel and a coarse-grained abrasive. Then a medium wheel with a fine-grained polish. Final processing takes place with a soft wheel with a non-abrasive polish.Image - DIY car scratch repair

Eliminating paintwork damage in this way has a number of pitfalls:

  • do not stay in one place for a long time so as not to overheat the varnish.A medium polish will be enough to remove small and smooth out medium scratches;
  • be careful not to rub the varnish to the base coat of paint;
  • the quality of the polish depends on the color of the car. For black colors, you will need a finishing anti-hologram (holograms are barely noticeable scuffs that are left by a circle and fine debris, dried paste) polish and many others.

The topic of DIY polishing is quite complicated and requires separate consideration.