I need professional help badly on getting rid of a scratch on my paint. Can it be don

[Toronto_ACR]

My ACR is is only a month old. But unfortunately their are ******** in this world that like to destroy other people cars and property. Someone scratched my door with an inch long scratch. All the body shops are telling me that the door needs to be repainted because it went through the clear coat. We all know that no paint finish is better than the factory finish so i would like to avoid repainting. can someone please tell me if it is possible to fix this without repainting. i was told that if it is filled with touchup paint and then wet sanded with 2000 grit sandpaper it can be done to look very good. can someone tell me if their is any hope.

Thanks

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

It all depends how deep is.

Sorry to hear that.

 

[Toronto_ACR]

The scratch can be felt with your fingernail. The car is red but the colour of the scratch is white. can it be fixed without repainting. Thanks

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ElDiablo Viper:
It all depends how deep is.

Sorry to hear that.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[Jeff Torrey]

You need touch up paint. First the color coat. Then the clear. Make sure you do not get any wax in the scratch. As it will repell the paint and no adhesion. After you apply the clear you will want to wet sand the clear until it becomes "Flush" with the background. Do not expect perfection (you know where it is/was). But you may be able to live with it. If you want perfection its time to paint the door.

 

[King GTS]

If the scratch went through the clear coat then you HAVE to repaint it.

 

[jkracer9]

I know how you feel. Mine was just 3 months old and some low life punks used the door for a tic-tac board. It was deep but I was able to work most of it out, but like Trey said I think the only way to go is to repaint it, I had to. To repaint and blend in the color you will need the entire door done. Good paint shop you will never be able to tell it was repainted. I feel for you, It hurts don't it?
Good luck

 

[HP]

Has anyone out there ever thought of buying an air brush.
They're cheap($50), surprisingly easy to use -you can use
compressed air from any small portable tank, I've even used
MIG, or helium tanks. You can pin-point the spray down to
the exact dimension of the scratch, without hardly any over-spray. You would surprise yourself how effective and easy
it is, and you can touch up your car in the driveway or parking
lot.

 

[Tom and Vipers]

I am confident that if you approach the job like brain surgury, it can be done.

Of course, you will have to exhibit the skills of a brain surgeon to limit your repair area.

One thing for sure is that you will need serious stereo magnification to do this properly. (half the problem is not seeing what you are doing.)

There are cheap visor style magnifiers that may be marginal, however a good pair or surgical loupes would be better. And of course if you have a nice stereo microscope on a boom stand.

The method would be to fill the scratch basically the same way you would fill a hole with putty.

Upon inspection you will determine if the base coat needs filling or if it only needs clear filled in.

Even if you use the airbrush, you must limit the work area which rules out feather edging the scratch out in a conventional sense. Instead it must be filled and leveled.

The important part is to NOT disturb and good paint. Even if the scratch was black, it would be much less noticeable.

I have all the optical stuff I just mentioned and have seriously considered a repair like this but have had no need ... yet.

I think it will amaze you how the problem changes when you view the scratch at 10X magnification.

Good Luck
Tom

BTW, as an exercise, I WELDED the hour hand of a wristwatch back on while under a stereo microscope. One of the BIG surprises was that at this scale, brass has a huge surface tension when liquid. You don't notice it when you're brazing pipe, but at the "microscopic" scale it is THE factor that must be dealt with.

 

[HP]

Originally posted by Tom and Vipers:
I am confident that if you approach the job like brain surgery, it can be done.

Of course, you will have to exhibit the skills of a brain surgeon to limit your repair area.

One thing for sure is that you will need serious stereo magnification to do this properly. (half the problem is not seeing what you are doing.) {QUOTE)
***************************************************************
I realize that for some, spray painting(or body work), would
never hold an interest as a hobby, and maybe some actually
lack that type of talent. I also know that (for best results) spray painting panels or whole cars, requires more investment and talent. I've done all types of body work and painting,
and I can tell you, air brushing is quite different, because with a dual action air brush you have complete control of
paint and air (independently). You don't have to be an artist, and it's not brain surgery. Buy a book or visit a body shop. As with any painting, wet sanding is involved. ALL I'M SAYING IS EVERYONE OF US HAS A PHOBIA OF PAINT SCRATCHES, AND IF YOU
HAVE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT PAINTING(OR BODY WORK), AN AIR BRUSH
IS A PRACTICAL AND INEXPENSIVE WAY TO GET STARTED.

 

[Toronto_ACR]

Thnaks guys. from the responses i have read i can see that there is hope. i dont expect to get it perfect but i would rather have that then to repaint the whole door. We all know that the paint will never adhere to the body as well as it would as the original

 

[paul]

That *****, I had some a$$hole give me a nice one across the trunk a while back and still haven't gotten it fixed but still trying to figure it out, let us know what you end up doing and how it turns out. Good luck

 

[dansauto]

You have alot of money ******* in that car. DO IT RIGHT!! Do not half a$$ it by using the airbrush trick or color wax. You will not be happy and it will make more of a mess down the road. I have fixed many of the dealer airbrush touch ups as the clear coat fades and turns white. Take it to a pro and get it painted!!!

 

[ronviper]

Toronto ACR did the scratch happen when your girl friend told you she was pregant, and you tried to own the door with your teeth to run away? Sorry to hear that since your car looks so great, keep a stiff upper lip.

 

[HP]

Understanding paint and body work, like educating your self
on performance modifications, allow you to make the best choices
and be able to evaluate the work done. I just see a lot of
car owners, that will perform rather complicated mechanical repairs, but when it comes to a paint repair, they are at the
mercy of the body shop. If you think just because you take
your car to the dealer body shop, you will get the original
factory specified type of paint, you might be wrong.
Even if you have a trusted, experienced body shop, ask questions and get info in writing BEFORE THE WORK IS DONE, ESPECIALLY
THE TYPE OF PAINT(AND CLEARCOAT) TO BE USED. If possible
do a little research, or expand your knowledge by practicing
on an old grocery getter. Most paint jobs look good at first,
the problems usually take months, or years, to surface. Being
knowledgeable at least gives you the tools to make a wise decision.

***My intent with my earlier post, was just to inform(or inspire)
and not meant to be a quick fix(sorry)

 

[Bobby Likis]

I sent you the name of a contact person who might be able to help you repair your car without repainting the entire section, but it was returned as undeliverable. if you'll send me a correct e-mail address, I'll be happy to help.

 

[Tom and Vipers]

Hugh,

I've got airbrushes too.

The factory finish is so superior to aftermarket paints it is scarey.

First of all on my 2000, the clear coat is actually soft! You can easily mark it by pressing your fingernail into it!

Sounds terrible, doesn't it!

Actually not, first, it is much harder to chip, and second, the chip does not leave a "white" fracture surface. In otherwords, this clearcoat behaves as if it were "wet."

This is not a polyurethan clear that DuPont etc., sell.

Fixing the scrath is related to fixing a scratch on a camera lens. The first rule is do not make the scratch/defect any bigger. And second is make the scratch black so that light will not reflect on the crack facets. Related to this is a poorly fitted hood on a Viper. If the car is black, you "can't" see the gap. If it is red, white, etc., the gap really stands out.

Seriously, if you fill the scratch with a 4 hair brush with magnification, you can build up paint layers without touching the paint next to the scratch.

While the airbrush will make a small repair area, even if you spray thru a template you are going to now have a repair area (length times with) that is 10 to 100 times as big as the scratch.

I believe the repaired area will not age like the original paint and that even if a "perfect" repair can be made, it will not be stable in time. So my conclusion is, keep the repair area the size of the scratch itself. (NOTE: If you are able to fill the scratch with basecoat if required and then clear coat, then, it would be OK to block the clearcoat of the scratch an adjoining original clearcoat to obtain a smooth surface. The "block" would be something like 1/4" by 1/4" in area and done most carefully with magnification.)

Naturally, I'm splitting hairs and that an airbrush repair may be acceptable.

...and yes, if I was not going to "fill" the crack, I would definitely use one of my airbrushes.

However, I would NEVER consider using full-scale body shop equipment. That is for repainting a major repair or panel replacement.

...and I admit, there may be some ultra high-tech scratch technology that is quite different from conventional autobody - sort of like how they "fix" stone cracks in windshields. If such techniques exist, I am unfamiliar with them.

Good luck,
Tom

PS. A friend of mine bot a new Dodge pickup and the next day backed his van into it making about a 6" dent. He had it "fixed" by a locally good body shop (it was a NEW vehicle and he wanted it like new). Needless to say, getting it "fixed" was worse than just leaving it alone.

 

[jkracer9]

The reply by "Tom & Vipers", don't know if I would want "Stero Magnification". It's bad enough to have a scratch but to make it look like the grand canyon would be a bigger disapointment.

 

[dansauto]

??Tom-sounds like you just have bad experiances with body shops. I can assure you that A/M paint when applied properly is as good as the factory. Why, because no factory makes thier own paint-ITS ALL AFTERMARKET. Last I knew thier where only 4 automotive paint manufactors (this might have changed) I'll bet with a little reasearch we could find out what brand DC uses. I will also inform you that NO paint manufacture recommends "airbushing and melting" a scratch. IT WILL NOT LAST. We are not talking about $3000 cars here. My advise is like HP's- Get some referances, ask the local jobber (body shop supply house) get a warrenty in writing and have it professionally done!

 

[snowmann]

Touching up the scratch will look worse. If you go to the right shop, they can repaint the door and you will never guess it was repainted. I have heard that some guys can do a good job with an airbrush, but if that doesn't work, go with repainting the door - it is not as bad as you think. I had the same problem with a scratch on my bumper. I didn't want to get it repainted, but after I did it looks like it was never painted.