Cosmetic blemishes on your vehicle are annoying and unavoidable. At one point or another, you are going to fall victim to a stray tree branch, a poorly judged park job, or some other mysterious occurrence that will leave unwanted scratches on your vehicle. While usually not detrimental to your safety, they are annoying and unpleasant to look at. Wrench has compiled a list of tips you can try if you are determined to rid your vehicle of its beauty spots. If your vehicle has suffered a dent as opposed to a scratch, you can refer to another Wrench blog post for recommendations regarding those as well. If you are concerned that the scratches are too large and may impact your driving or safety, it is critical that you schedule an appointment with a Wrench mobile mechanic to get your vehicle inspected. Even if it turns out to be fine, it is always a good idea to get an expert opinion. Our mechanics will be able to tell you exactly what is wrong and what is the best thing you can do for your vehicle.
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If you are confident that the scratches are not impacting your vehicle’s functionality, follow these tips to help you get rid of them. Keep in mind that these are simply suggestions and will not work the same for every scratch on every vehicle, but we wish you the best of luck and hope that your car is looking good as new in no time!
- Assess the magnitude of the scratch. Light to medium scratches will most likely only impact the clear coat on your vehicle’s surface. If this is the case, the scratch should be relatively easy to repair and can be done with a scratch repair kit or various other materials. If the scratch is deep, it may have gone through the clear coat and base color and into the primer. While there are some things you can do to repair these scratches temporarily, you will probably not get perfect results without the help of a mobile mechanic or another professional. Tips for deep scratches include filling it with toothpaste to make it less noticeable, or covering it up with duct tape or paint that matches the color of your vehicle. In the instance of deep scratches, we highly recommend scheduling an appointment with a Wrench mobile mechanic to get your car looking as good as new.
- Always wash your car first. This is the first thing you should do before attempting to repair any damage to the exterior of your vehicle. Having a clean workspace to operate on will ensure that no dirt or debris cause further damage to the affected area.
- Use a high-quality scratch repair kit. If you do not have the means to get the body work done by a professional to completely remove the scratches from your vehicle, it is important that you use high-quality materials if attempting this on your own. Using the cheapest repair kit you can find may result in more damage to your vehicle or leaving it looking less appealing than before.
- Use a polishing compound. If the scratch is shallow - if you cannot fit your fingernail in it - then it probably has only impacted the clear coat and can be smoothed out with a polishing compound. If you can smooth out the scratch into a wide valley, then the light will not catch on it and it should become nearly invisible. Polishing compound can be purchased online or from any automobile repair shop.
- When in doubt, call a professional. We know how much you love your car, would do anything to keep it sparkling clean and as beautiful as the day you took it home. If you do not trust yourself to improve the status of your scratch (no judgment), your best bet is to hire a Wrench mobile mechanic to fix your car for you. Our mechanics have the best tools and materials available and are guaranteed to produce spectacular results. You will not regret scheduling an appointment with Wrench, and will not have to worry if your car repair efforts were for good reason or not.
If all else fails, the best thing you may be able to do for your car is embrace its imperfections. Everyone has birthmarks and things that make them unique, and so do cars! Try turning the scratch into artwork or giving it a personality, because we can assure you that no one actually cares that much about the scratches on your vehicle. If you are determined to get your car into tip-top shape and none of the tips have been as successful as you hoped, schedule an appointment with a Wrench mobile mechanic today so that we can help you get your car looking as spiffy as possible.
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