Best way to cover the key scratches?

[ginkang]

HI all

Today, my car got keyed and there is 2 inch long white car scratch mark on my car. I have a grey Runner.
I am just wondering what is the best way to cover the scratch (key) mark? I know I can take it to the body shop but is there any other way to cover the mark? The mark is located on center of the door.
Thank you for your help.

 

[r32]

Get some rubbing compound, a buffing wheel, and 2 pads.

First, wash the car off and then use the compound first at a medium, speed with the buffer. The scratches should be removed (depending on depth of scratch).

Then put the clean pad on the buffer, wash the car off again so all the compound is off.

Next, you want to use the polish and a higher speed.

Dont use any other abrasive than medium
stay away from edges and corners/body lines. You can burn through the paint in under 1 second, then your talking a new paint job. So be careful!

 

[josh220]

Before you go ape-sh*t on your paint with a buffer, some more information would help. How deep is it? Can you catch your finger nail on it? A scratch remover might be all you need. ie: 3M, Mothers, Zainos, etc.

Always use the least abrasive/harsh method first. Never jump straight to a full detail job for a simple scratch, because you may cause more harm than good.

 

[ginkang]

Before you go ape-sh*t on your paint with a buffer, some more information would help. How deep is it? Can you catch your finger nail on it? A scratch remover might be all you need. ie: 3M, Mothers, Zainos, etc.

Always use the least abrasive/harsh method first. Never jump straight to a full detail job for a simple scratch, because you may cause more harm than good.

Thank you both of you to answer by questions.

The key mark is deep enough that you can see the white mark (My car paint is gal. grey.) I can definitely can catch my finger nail on the key mark too. Also it is located on the center of the door so it is very visible.
It is little longer than 2 inches long and both of front and back doors....
So many cars got vandalized over the weekend including mine with somebody scratching cars with some sharp object like using a key......

Do you know app. (ball park figure) how much it will be to paint the doors at the body shop without going to the insurance because I do not want my insurance rate to go up next year.
I just want to prepare everything before I go to the bodyshop so.
Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Fuzion]

I have galactic grey as well.
I would say Max $500 for both doors.
As far as paint blending, I don't think its necessary but they'll probably tell you it is just to charge you more.

 

[r32]

Josh makes a good point and making sure your ready before going ape* on your scratch with a buffer. I was speaking from having lots of experience using a buffer as I grew up in a bodyshop wet-sanding my fingerprints off after school every day.

For cost on getting it fixed by a shop, it totally depends on where you take it. For instance, you can get your entire car painted at one of those Maaco type of places for about $400 or even cheaper. Based on this, it should cost about $50/door to paint. But remember you get what you pay for.

Or you can take it to a 'real' shop, and they are going to take a DA sander to that scratch and feather it out. They'll remove the door handle which involves taking apart the entire door, if the scratches are close to that area. Then they will spray it with some primer, then sand that, then spray it with some more primer. Then they will sand the entire door, tape it off, prep it, tack rag it, move it into a paint booth and shoot it with factory ordered paint (and base coat) to color match perfectly. After that, they might dry sand to remove orange peel, and then spray it again with more coats, then a clear-coat sealer, then buff it, and call you to say it's ready...with an invoice of 500+ just for the doors.

There can be a huge swing cost estimates depending on where you take it.

 

[DarkKnight1]

Also, it may not be the case this time (or possibly so if you want to explore before speding a lot of money on a full door re-paint), Langka makes a good ding repair kit. I've used it on chips and its worked well. Just another option for you to consider.

You'd need to also purchase factory Galactic Grey paint from the dealer to fill in the missing area before using the product.


http://www.langka.com/index.php.com[/URL]

 

[Red]

I was Key scratched last weekend as well, not a related incident but my scratch is about 3-4 feet long right down to bare metal on my passenger door. This is on a Honda Civic that Im driving until I buy my 4Runner.

On an older car thats just a winter car whats the best way to seal up the bare metal and paint it so it looks ok? maybe tape off the scratch with masking tap after washing it and shooting a coat or two of primer on and then some color match spray paint? or a paint pen maybe.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Bill Clinton]

intuitive

Probably the most effective way to hide a key mark on your car is to prevent the keying taking place in the first place by not being a douchebag. Your car got keyed most likely for a reason ie you have no courtesy on the road or you're just an ******* that people hate.
Good luck!