08/12/2022
Everyone has had it happen at least once or twice... a scratch shows up out of nowhere on your beautiful new car, and it drives you BANANAS having to look at it every day! The most common question I get about scratches is, "will this buff out?"
That depends...
If the scratch is only in the clear coat, and does not go all the way through to the "base coat" or color coat, it might be fixable by buffing. But this means removing a very thin layer of the clear coat by wet sanding with a super fine grit sand paper, and then buffing it back to its original shine by using a compound that is similar to toothpaste in consistency, and a rotary buffer tool.
If the scratch goes all the way through the clear coat, buffing and polishing is not an option, because you cannot leave the base coat exposed. Sometimes this can be fixed by prepping the surface with light sanding and re-shooting the entire panel with new clear coat.
But if the scratch goes through to the base coat, or worse, the primer layer, the panel has to be refinished. The scratch will have to be feathered out, to make the surface completely level again. Then, the base color will have to be sprayed and blended in to the surrounding area. Lastly, the entire panel must be re-cleared with new clear coat in order to bring it back to its original appearance.
The cost of fixing those parking lot scuffs and scrapes can be as little as $60 for a light scratch restoration, and can cost as much as $300 or more if a base coat blend and panel re-clear is required. Total cost will also depend on what color your car is (bright colors are VERY expensive).
If you've got a scratch that you just can't stand looking at any more, send me a message with a picture, and I'll give you an eyeball estimate on how much it will be to make that ugly scratch go away!
