DIY Car Scratch Repair
If your car has gotten a scratch in the surface paint, you can easily remove this scratch yourself without having to take it in to an expensive auto repair shop to be fixed. All you need is some touch up paint or a permanent marker in the color of your car's paint along with a small amount of car wax to remove the scratch in no time.
Light Scratches
If you have a scratch that has not reached the paint, and is simply in the surface of the protective coating, you can easily remove it with rubbing compound.
- Purchase a bottle of rubbing compound from your local auto repair store.
- Apply a small amount of running compound to the scratched area using a microfiber towel.
- Apply pressure to the area in a circular motion, working the compound into the scratch so that it can fill the area.
- Inspect the scratch to see if it is still visible.
- Repeat the process if you can still see the scratch, rub on the rubbing compound until the scratch has disappeared.
Paint Scratches
Some scratches go past the protective coating and into the surface of your vehicle's paint. For this type of scratch you need to have some touch-up paint or a permanent market in the color of your car to repair the scratch.
- Inspect the scratch to see if there is any rust that needs to be removed.
- Apply sandpaper to the area around the scratch. If you see any signs of rust, you need to remove the rust thoroughly before moving on to the next step.
- Purchase a bottle of touch-up paint in the color of your car from the dealer, or to save money you can purchase a fine tip sharpie marker from your local office supply store in the color of your vehicle.
- Apply the touch-up paint or fine tip sharpie marker to the area where your car is scratched using a toothpick or Q-tip depending on the width of the scratch.
- Allow the paint to dry thoroughly; this is usually around two hours.
- Apply a small amount of car wax to the repaired area.
- Allow the wax to sit on the area for a few minutes then buff it away with a microfiber towel to shine the area where you have touched up the scratch.