scott78945
Member
I would go with the 3M
Someone scratched my car
- Thread starter NViejeP
- Start date
It looks like it's down to primer. I recently did some touch-up using paints from paintscratch.com....color match is excellent. However, your scratches are non-trivial in size, plus it's a metallic. Even the paintscratch website says it's not easy matching metallics, even if you're spraying. Based on what I learned when I had my '01 honda repaired (rear bumper, rear quarter inner/outer panels replaced up to the driver's door), a pro shop would probably completely repaint that section of panel, plus they'd remove the clearcoat from part of the adjacent panels to blend it in. Since they guy who did it said he'd pay, get the pro-shop to do the work (call the toyota dealer and ask who they use, some have their own body shops). It won't be cheap ($500+?), but the guy who did it won't be laughing anymore when he sees the bill. Or tell your insurance company who did it (some kind of proof, like a secret tape-recording of his admission of guilt) and they'll make him pay.
Uneek
Super Moderator
NViejeP,
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Don's is a very good shop and they're straight forward, I wouldn't question their business practices. Someone scuffed my bumper and it was a lot of rubber streaks on it, I had Don's take a look at it. They wouldn't write me an estimate because a lot of can be buffed out. They just recommending buffing and waxing it.
I'd say go ahead and give Langka and the 3M product a try. The cost is much less than a repaint by a body shop. Langka works very well, but the results will depend on how close touch up paint will match with the rest of the car. My cars are silver, so the touch up matching is very difficult.
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Don's is a very good shop and they're straight forward, I wouldn't question their business practices. Someone scuffed my bumper and it was a lot of rubber streaks on it, I had Don's take a look at it. They wouldn't write me an estimate because a lot of can be buffed out. They just recommending buffing and waxing it.
I'd say go ahead and give Langka and the 3M product a try. The cost is much less than a repaint by a body shop. Langka works very well, but the results will depend on how close touch up paint will match with the rest of the car. My cars are silver, so the touch up matching is very difficult.
I don't know, if you say Dons is very straight foward and honest, I might swing by there tommorow and try to see what they can do. See what they say, if they say that paintscratch.com and langka stuff will work I'll get it.
Thing is, the guy is a freshman, I dont know how much money he has, so I dont know how much the repair will cost, but I do know that he will have some trouble finding the money.
Thing is, the guy is a freshman, I dont know how much money he has, so I dont know how much the repair will cost, but I do know that he will have some trouble finding the money.
Mixed4u
New member
Most of the chips were down to the primer. Some were worse and some were less. All of my chips were from damage done due to normal driving down the highway and my 4Runner being hit by flying debris except for two of them which were pretty bad from rocks being kicked up on the freeway and striking the body. There were no blobs, the Langka stuff took care of that, but what I mean by not being perfect is the paint match being what I can best describe as shadowy. It's really slight but I know where I did the repairs and unless I point them out, they are not noticeable. My 4Runner is that Galactic Gray and I have to really examine the paint in order to be able to see the repairs. They are just not completely invisible. The color variance is so slight, that I don't think I could even get it to show up in a picture otherwise I would take one and post it for you so that you could see. Hope that helps.
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4RunnerRon
New member
I got some scratches on my 06 (from the dealership) and some were pretty deep, but not to the primer. I used Meguiar's Scratch-X to take them out and, although it took a few applications and some elbow grease, it took them out fine. The deep ones took some work, but the light ones were gone in one or two applications.
Lots of people think they have to jump right into the tough abrasives or touch up paints, but that's really not necessary for the first step. I say start off with something mild and work your way up if needed. That way, you're preserving whatever paint you can on your vehicle and not removing tons of clearcoat.
Try Scratch-X again and don't give up after the first application. It's a simple product to use and works fine, so long as your scratch isn't well below the clearcoat. Follow up with a good coat of polish and/or wax and you're paint will be glossy and protected again.
Check out www.meguiarsonline.com for tips and how to's on lots of detailing stuff. That's where I learned how to take care of my scratches and do a full 5-step detail on the 4Runner. It looks great!
Lots of people think they have to jump right into the tough abrasives or touch up paints, but that's really not necessary for the first step. I say start off with something mild and work your way up if needed. That way, you're preserving whatever paint you can on your vehicle and not removing tons of clearcoat.
Try Scratch-X again and don't give up after the first application. It's a simple product to use and works fine, so long as your scratch isn't well below the clearcoat. Follow up with a good coat of polish and/or wax and you're paint will be glossy and protected again.
Check out www.meguiarsonline.com for tips and how to's on lots of detailing stuff. That's where I learned how to take care of my scratches and do a full 5-step detail on the 4Runner. It looks great!
Uneek
Super Moderator
NViejeP said:
Don's does good work and they're the first place I go for an estimate. But they are expensive. Here are the quotes for repainting/refinishing my Camry's bumper, $601 at 19th Ave Auto Body (right off 280 N and Junipero Serra), insurance adjuster quoted $616, Don's was $680. I don't want to be mean or sound like a dick, but about the freshmen is "you pay to play." I know the maturity level is completely different being a teen, but being a minor that's what parents are for. I'd have his parents foot the bill, if he can't pay for the damages. Again, I don't mean to be an @$$hole, but if he's your friend he wouldn't do that to you as a prank. Never mess with another's car or girl, never.
You can also try the dealership for touchup paint, the new bottles come in brush and pen style all in one. It has a ball point tip on the top of the bottle.
As for Scratch-X, like T4Runner06 said it does work. It has worked for me removing scratches in the door handle areas and it buffs out scuff marks. Another product you might want to try that I saw during Trucks! is Nufinish's Scratch Doctor. I think the product is similar to Scratch-X, maybe a bit more abrasive.
Good luck. I hope you get that off/out of your truck soon.
Uneek said:
I know him because hes my teammate, not my friend. Don't worry, he'll pay for it all + a little bit extra. I was thinking about getting the Langka kit + some touchup paint and doing it myself if my friend can't buff it out. I tried Scratch-X, didn't work my first time, maybe I need a buffer.
What do you guys think will work? Should I try Scratch-X again, buffer it, or take it the shop? Or try the touchup paint + langka kit?
Uneek
Super Moderator
NViejeP said:
I would recommend trying Scratch-X again by hand. If it doesn't work and you want to try it with a buffer, use a dual action or random orbital buffer. It's much safer than a high speed rotary buffer. If Scratch-X doesn't get it out, then try the touchup paint and Langka. If the touchup paint and Langka still doesn't look good, then you would have no other choice but to repaint it.
Touchup paint and Langka is good to have anyways, you can always use it to fix paint chips in the front.
4RunnerRon
New member
NViejeP said:
Nope! All by hand. Although there are products for use by buffer, Scratch-X is designed to be used by hand only. In order to completely understand the way Scratch-X works, I would recommend you check out Meguiar's online forums like I did. They have tons of info and members that cover just about everything on a forum just like t4r.org.
Here's a quick rundown on how Scratch-X works:
Scratch-X is made with what Meguiar's calls "diminishing abrasives." What this means is the chemicals that do the buffing gradually wear down as you use them, making it so you don't accidentally buff too much in one application. Since you're buffing down the clearcoat around the scratch, you don't want to go too far and buff through the clearcoat itself. Then you expose the basecoat of paint and you get discoloration and no protection and, well, you get the idea...
To apply the Scratch-X, put it on with a microfiber towel, buff it by hand in a small area around the scratch, then wipe it off. You repeat this over and over until the level of clearcoat level with the deepest part of the scratch, making it disapper. The only way it won't work is if your scratches are below the clearcoat and into the basecoat or primer. Then you would need touch up paint and a different method of repair.
As for my scratches, most of them were pretty minor. I did have a few that you could catch a fingernail on, though, and one or two were deeper than the clearcoat. All I could do with those were buff them down until they could only be seen from a certain angle. To the naked eye, they're gone and the truck's perfect, but I know where they are. The only way to get rid of them all the way would be a repaint, so I'm happy with the way it turned out.
Unless you've worked with a buffer before, I'd recommend giving this Scratch-X a try. It's not expensive and if it doesn't work, you can always move up to a buffer and something more abrasive. At least you'll still have the Scratch-X on hand for any little scratches that show up in the future.
Anyway, feel free to PM me if you have more questions or check out www.meguiarsonline.com for more detailed explanations on how their stuff works and how it should be used. That's where I learned how to do it. Good luck!
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