So, you’re car or truck got scratched and you’re wondering what it’s going to take to fix it. It depends on just how deep the scratch penetrated.
Scratch removal is a very DIY-friendly job when the scratches are at surface level. Light scratches can usually be polished out. Moderately deep scratches usually need more than just a little buffing to fix.
Scratches that haven’t penetrated through the thin clear coat layer of your paintwork can be polished away. Anything deeper will need touch up paint to repair.
You can tell if a scratch has gone through the clear coat by using the fingernail test. If you run your fingernail across the scratch and it catches in the scratch groove, it’s gone through the clear coat at least and will need touch up paint.
There are several layers protecting the car’s surface, and scratches can penetrate to any one of these layers. The upper most layer that protects the color layer is the clear coat. Scratching this layer is minor and won’t require much elbow grease to fix; however, the clear coat protects the paint layer from UV rays, so it’s worth paying attention to.
The layer underneath the clear coat is the paint or color layer. Getting a scratch in the body paint can be a little more problematic. Once the clear coat has been penetrated you’ll need to use touch up paint to properly fix the scratched area.
After the paint layer is the primer. If you have a primer scratch, you might see white, off-white, or grey beneath the paint. This will also require touching up to properly restore.
Finally, underneath the primer coating is the bare metal or plastic body panel. Left untreated, a scratch at this level can cause rust if the panel is metal. This type of scratch is should be fixed. It’s not just a superficial blemish. This type of scratch too will require touching up with a touch up paint kit.
Scratches that penetrate beyond the clear coat and into any of the different layers beyond or all the way down to the body panel will need touching up to properly fix. Only surface level clear coat scratches can be polished out.