Five easy steps for scratch removal

Driving in India is a painful task. Bumper to bumper traffic takes a serious toll on the car. Also add in the fact that people come dangerously close to your car while trying to occupy any space they find and it can get stressful as well. This results in cars getting scratched. Now to some people, this mayn’t matter, but to us, as enthusiasts, it is very hard to deal with.  Before I start, a little confession, I have had many sleepless nights over my car getting scratched by random acts of vandalism. Though I can’t prevent it, here are easy ways to cure car scratches.

Chris Fix recently did a video on how easy it is to remove most scratches from your car. Now you maybe wondering why I said most. Let’s start with one small thing.

Which scratches can be cured?

There are 3 levels of paint which are applied on the car. First is the primer, second is the base coat and the top most is the clear coat that is used to protect the paint and give it the gloss and shine. If the scratch is on the clear coat, it can be made to disappear using the below technique. If it is deeper, sadly you will have to get the panel repainted.

So what all is needed?

Soapy water, masking tape, sand paper (3000 and 5000 grit), polish, wax, microfibre cloth/towel. The sand paper and masking tape can be found at a hardware store. Polish, car shampoo and wax can be found in any car accessory store.

Steps

First thing to do is to clean the area with soap water. That can be done using car shampoo mixed with water. Make sure to use a microfibre towel for cleaning. Once the area has been cleaned, apply a masking tape around the scratch so that only that area is used to be sanded down.

Now is the time to use the sand paper. Depending upon how deep the scratch is, you choose the sand paper accordingly. So if you think the scratch is deeper, use the 3000 grit sand paper first and sand it down. Sand perpendicularly to the scratch and ensure that the pressure is equally distributed while doing so. You will have to keep sanding till the scratch is barely visible. Keep wetting the surface and the sand paper with soap water as well. Once the scratch is gone, you can now shift to 5000 grit sand paper. First clean the area again and now use the sand paper. Use a rotary motion while doing so.

Now that you are done with that, shift to polishing the scratched area. Clean the area before polishing. Make sure you are using a microfibre cloth. Opt for a polish that acts as a scratch and swirl mark remover. Polish in a circular motion. Once polishing is done, clean the area with a clean microfibre cloth

Now all you need to do is wax the area to protect it from minor scratches and it give it the shiny finish.

This is an easy process and it can be done at home as well if you have the required material mentioned above.

Source: Link 

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