We all love cars! Especially if it is our car, we’d like to preserve it in its most pristine form. By this, it means no scratches, no colour fades and no corroded metal plates! There are over 35 million registered cars in Tamil Nadu. While many of these were first-buys and gifts, around 5-6 million cars were second-hand cars offered in stellar condition by sellers like Carmonkey.
Although one would love sparkly, squeaky clean cars from buying to selling, this is quite impossible. Scratches on the car exteriors are inevitable. These need not even have to be significant scratches or corrosions from collisions with other automobiles! Small twigs and branches that might have fallen on the car also can scratch the body of the vehicle.
There are several steps where careful prior intervention might help reduce the incidence of your car being scratched. All of us unanimously agree that even a single scratch might ruin the car’s vibe, beauty, and look. We unanimously agree that a single-car servicing might be a good value, but servicing for every scratch on the car might incur excess expenditure.
Be it brand new Carmonkey cars, second-hand cars or buy-back cars; all cars are susceptible to scratches. These could be surface-level scratches or deep gushes penetrating the metal body of the vehicle. With the fast-paced internet and COVID-19, people have been held by the comfort of their homes. What better way than to come up with innovative solutions to remove car scratches at home!
Tips and Tricks
With a plethora of raw materials available to us at our disposal, recent years have seen many innovative and crazy yet foolproof methods of removing car scratches at home! Here are a few ways to try out:
- Toothpaste: You read that right, toothpaste! Many surface scratches in the car body are usually scratched on the paint coat of the car. Essentially, these are very shallow cuts that can be easily buffed out. Covering up a scratch is very similar to tending to a wound. Before applying anything, ensure that the area of the scratch is clean. Give the car a good wash beforehand. This process also requires a microfiber sponge. This type of sponge is suited because of its soft bristles (that avoid causing more scratches) and its ability to foam well.
A small squeeze of your desired whitening toothpaste on the sponge is all you need. Gently rub over the scratch in circles till the toothpaste covers the scratch entirely. Rinse to remove excess toothpaste and repeat the process at least two more times to see results!
- Scratch Removal Products: In a car body, there are four layers: a clear coat of paint, a base coat of paint, primer and metal bodywork. Scratch removal products can be used to cover up scratches up to the base coat. The first step in any home-based scratch removal method is to clean the scratch. In the case of such products, scratch removal kits are available in the market. These come with a scratch removing soap solution and a microfibre buffing pad. Apply a small amount of the solution and cover the scratch in gradual circular motions. Wipe away excess product and repeat 2-3 times if required.
- Sandpaper: High-grit sandpapers are often used to make surface scratches fade away. One is advised to use their fingernail to identify the depth and trail of the scratch before beginning. After soaking the sandpaper in water for a few seconds, one is instructed to sand against the surface of the scratch very gently. Using too much pressure or force might cause damage to the clear coat.
- Primer: Primers are substances that are used to provide a preparatory coat before paint is applied. These help the colour to stay intact for longer. In cases of car scratches, they are applied after “preparing” the scrape. Primers are used to ensure that the paint does not spread to the other areas and make it look patchy. After the primer has dried, there are two options. For very meagre scratches, nail polishes matching the car paint are suggested. These have to be expertly applied with thin line brushes to avoid patches.
- Paint spray: When cuts are deep and cannot be sanded off, an initial primer coating followed ba paint job is suggested. After looking up the specs of your car, the suitable colour paint can be bought in the required quantity. Two or three coats must be applied with a buffer time of ten minutes between each coat. After this process is done and dried, the surface is polished using car wax to provide a shiny look.