OOPS... fixing this scratch

[scottydl]

My wife grazed our white mailbox pulling into the driveway quickly about a month ago... and this is the result, a fairly long white scratch running from the passenger rear door onto the quarter panel.





Is there a DIY solution to this? I don't know anything about body work, but I'll give it a try myself if I have good instructions. The flash photo makes it look worse than it really is, but it still ain't pretty. And yes, I know my Aurora is very dusty/dirty at the moment...

For the record, I can't really blame my wife's driving as she was rushing home to take me to the hospital at the time. It was right before my abdominal surgery.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

[JimW]

Sadly that won't buff out, unless its paint transfer...is it paint transfer? or a scratch down to the metal?

[auroralover]

I think my DIY solution would be to get rid of my wife if she did that

[betonthis1]

yeah i agree with Jim. if its just paint on top then you might be able to just scrap it off.

[stickking1]

Can you feel it with your fingernail?

[Aurora40]

It looks like paint transfer from here. I bet at least some of it is paint transfer. A chemical paint cleaner is your best bet, IMO. Then if there are scratches/denting (doesn't look dented, though) under it, you'll have to try to deal with those.

My favorite paint transfer/chemical cleaner is by far Meguiar's Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner, which sadly they don't make anymore. If you aren't in a rush, PM me and we'll see about shooting you a sample. Otherwise there are other products you can buy that will do the job.

[stickking1]

I agree about the paint transfer. But there is also a small part that looks like a scratch...on the left hand side, so that may not be such an easy fix. If it's small enough, regular waxing will hide it well enough, but you could grab some Meguiar's Scratch-X or some Swirl-Mark Remover and see what can be accomplished. Those products will not make it dissapear, but they will make them less visible by "rounding off" the edges of the scratch so it catches less light.

Bob's right on about the Medallion...my favorite too. And I didn't know they weren't making it anymore, better start saving every drop! If you want something quick, go to AutoZone or the like and pick up some Meguiar's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner (the 1st step in their 3-part process) and use that with a foam applicator, if it is paint trade, it'll come off fairly easily.

[bLACk AurOrA]

its some paint transfer and some scratch. wash your car. and wax that side a couple of times and it will look better. not great but better.

[stevensolds]

Or take the car in and get the whole thing painted 10 coats.

[Aurora40]

stickking1 said:

Bob's right on about the Medallion...my favorite too. And I didn't know they weren't making it anymore, better start saving every drop! If you want something quick, go to AutoZone or the like and pick up some Meguiar's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner (the 1st step in their 3-part process) and use that with a foam applicator, if it is paint trade, it'll come off fairly easily.

Yes, Scratch-X might be the way to go, especially if there are scratches from it. The DC paint cleaner (step 1) is also a chemical cleaner, not unlike the MPPC I mentioned. Both should be easy to find in a store. You could probably apply them with a folded clean terry cloth towel to give the products a little more bite.

Brian, if you like MPPC a lot, you are gonna not want to look at this link...

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5616131132

I posted about the Meg's Katrina store here. They had MPPC for $2.43 a bottle, and MPPP for $2.14 a bottle.

Other insane deals included #00 at $1.18 a bottle, and #36 at $2.38.

[scottydl]

Thanks for the suggestions all. The "scratch" is a combination of paint damage and white paint transfer from the mailbox. I think I'll start with a good cleaning using one of the products mentioned, and then I'll see what kind of damage is left. Maybe it's shallow enough that some factory touch-up paint will fill in the gap well enough (fingers crossed).

[Letitroll98]

I go with the original suggestion of shooting the wife. Heck, if I'da shot mine when I wanted to, I'd be out by now. (Isn't that a country song?)

[Aurora40]

letitroll98 said:

I go with the original suggestion of shooting the wife. Heck, if I'da shot mine when I wanted to, I'd be out by now. (Isn't that a country song?)

Add in a part about drinking beer or whiskey and it probably is.

[20inchaurora]

and dont forget his dog runnin away and his pick-up breaking down
)

[stickking1]

aurora40 said:

Brian, if you like MPPC a lot, you are gonna not want to look at this link...

Ouch...

[oldsauroraman1]

Scotty, did you get this buffed out AOK?

[scottydl]

oldsauroraman1 said:

Scotty, did you get this buffed out AOK?

Haven't attempted yet... Aurora40 is sending me a few product samples to try out, so hopefully I'll see what works best and get it taken care of!

I'll post some before/after pics when I do it... could be helpful to others in the future.

[95rora]

It seems as though there was some pokin fun at country music here. Cmon, havent you guys ever enjoyed a good country song in your day. Hee hee, the Aurora soundsystem really gets the country beat going good.

[bufo]

95rora said:

It seems as though there was some pokin fun at country music here. Cmon, havent you guys ever enjoyed a good country song in your day. Hee hee, the Aurora soundsystem really gets the country beat going good.

Heh. Not a country music fan here, but I really like Loretta Lynn's recent CD (Van Lear Rose?).