What to do about a scratch in your paint

A brush against a pillar in the car park, a branch on a narrow track or someone passing too close with a shopping trolley. Scratches are almost unavoidable. The question is what to do about them, and the answer depends on how deep they go.

The layers of paint

Car paint is not a single layer. On top of the metal there is anti-corrosion protection and a primer; above that, the colour coat; and finally the transparent clear coat, which gives gloss and protects the colour from sun and weather. The deeper a scratch goes, the more work it takes to fix.

How to tell how deep it is

1. Wash and dry the area. Many marks are paint or rubber transferred from another object and come off with water or a mild cleaner.
2. Run a fingernail gently across the scratch. If it does not catch, it probably only affects the clear coat.
3. Look at the colour at the bottom. If you see the car's own colour, it is in the clear coat or colour coat. If you see grey or whitish, it has reached the primer. If you see shiny metal, it has reached the panel.

What can be done in each case

• Light scratch in the clear coat: it can often be greatly reduced, or removed, with professional polishing. Polishing removes a very thin layer of clear coat, so it should not be overdone.
• Scratch into the colour coat: polishing disguises it but does not remove it. It usually needs a touch-up or repainting of the area.
• Scratch down to primer or metal: the surface has to be prepared and primer, colour and clear coat applied. If metal is showing, do not leave it for long.

Why not to leave it

A scratch that exposes bare metal is an open door to corrosion. In coastal areas, with humidity and salt in the air, rust can start sooner than you might think and spread beneath healthy paint. Today's thin line can become a rust bubble that means repairing a much larger area.

Be careful with DIY products

Touch-up pens and supermarket polishes can help with a small mark, especially to protect bare metal until you get the car to a workshop. But bear a few things in mind:

• A very abrasive polish, applied by hand without experience, can leave the area dull or with swirl marks.
• A touch-up pen rarely matches the exact shade, especially with metallic colours.
• If the area is repainted later, those products have to be removed first, which adds a little work.

Repainting only part of a panel

When repainting is needed, it is not always necessary to paint the whole panel. Sometimes the damaged area can be repaired and the colour and clear coat blended into the surrounding area so the transition does not show. Whether that is possible depends on the size of the damage, where it is and the colour.

A small, recent scratch is nearly always easier, and less work, to fix than one that has been out in the weather for months.

At Green Car Service Tenerife we assess the damage and tell you whether polishing is enough or a partial respray makes more sense. Send us a photo on WhatsApp or ask for an estimate.