Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

Thanks!

Thomarse wrote:
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

Be careful about using T Cut on metallic paint, it can remove the laquer.
You can get 'coloured' polishes for this sort of job I'm sure. Have a
ferret about in Halfords.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 16 Oct, 08:34, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Thomarse wrote:
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

Be careful about using T Cut on metallic paint, it can remove the laquer.
You can get 'coloured' polishes for this sort of job I'm sure. *Have a
ferret about in Halfords.

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

T-Cut was the firs thing that sprang to mind but you are probably
right, it would be too abrasive - anyone know any good polishes for
this or should i just shop around?

Thomarse wrote:
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

Thanks!

Many years ago something similar happened to my car of the time.

It was bad enough to claim - partly as it was so extensive - and the
insurance climate wasn't quite as punitive as now. I asked the garage I
got it from and they suggested taking it round to the body shop they
used (independent) who did a fantastic job. Virtually nothing visible,
and not very expensive. And it avoided the claim and, at the time far
more importantly for some forgotten reason, the long time it would take
for a respray.

Of course, that would make it not diy... :-(

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

In article
,
Thomarse wrote:
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

The lacquer coat turns white when scratched making it look rather worse
than it might otherwise.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

If the scratch isn't through the lacquer it might be possible to polish it
out. T-cut will take for ever - better to use Farecla G6. However, the
chances of an invisible fix are remote without repainting.

--
*Failure is not an option. It's bundled with your software.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Be careful about using T Cut on metallic paint, it can remove the
laquer.

That's the whole idea if trying to polish out a scratch. You have to level
the top surface down to the bottom. And T-Cut will take forever to do
this. Farecla G6 is the dogs thingies. Of course if the scratch has gone
through the lacquer polishing won't help.

You can get 'coloured' polishes for this sort of job I'm sure.
Have a ferret about in Halfords.

Nothing I've seen will fill a scratch as the tool used has removed the
surface polish leaving a rough 'pit' which appears a different colour.
Those coloured polishes are a con.

--
*One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Oct 16, 8:34*am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Thomarse wrote:
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

Be careful about using T Cut on metallic paint, it can remove the laquer.
You can get 'coloured' polishes for this sort of job I'm sure. *Have a
ferret about in Halfords.

You can get stuff that's like a lipstick that fills the scratch. It
will depend on the colour and how close a match you can get, but it
worked a treat for me on a dark green car and wasn't very noticeable.
The car was old enough and I wasn't attached enough to it to require a
professional job.

MBQ

"Thomarse" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

I would suggest the first action you take is visit a professional bodyshop
and ask their advice, before starting with various 'home-remedies' etc.?

Tim..

In article ,
Tim.. wrote:
I would suggest the first action you take is visit a professional
bodyshop and ask their advice, before starting with various
'home-remedies' etc.?

Their answer will be to respray the effected parts. And on an old car may
well not get a perfect match. A rough guide price wise is 250 a panel.

The 'dent devil' type franchises would IMHO be a better starting point
for pro help - but in a busy area many are fully occupied doing dealer's
cars.

--
*I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Oct 16, 8:17*am, Thomarse wrote:
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

Thanks!

I'm not sure if it's a single bloke or a franchise, nor where you
live, so it may be no help:

http://www.honey-i-scratched-the-car.co.uk/

MBQ

Thomarse wrote:
On 16 Oct, 08:34, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Thomarse wrote:
Hi,
Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!
Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.
Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!
Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?
Be careful about using T Cut on metallic paint, it can remove the laquer.
You can get 'coloured' polishes for this sort of job I'm sure. Have a
ferret about in Halfords.

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

T-Cut was the firs thing that sprang to mind but you are probably
right, it would be too abrasive - anyone know any good polishes for
this or should i just shop around?

paint on more lacquer and THEN T-Cut.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Be careful about using T Cut on metallic paint, it can remove the
laquer.

That's the whole idea if trying to polish out a scratch. You have to level
the top surface down to the bottom. And T-Cut will take forever to do
this. Farecla G6 is the dogs thingies. Of course if the scratch has gone
through the lacquer polishing won't help.

You can get 'coloured' polishes for this sort of job I'm sure.
Have a ferret about in Halfords.

Nothing I've seen will fill a scratch as the tool used has removed the
surface polish leaving a rough 'pit' which appears a different colour.
Those coloured polishes are a con.


Those coloured polishes are great for a quick fix, and well worth
using if you have a slightly shabby car to sell on AutoTrader or in
the local paper. But as you say, they are a con. They don't cure the
problem, just cover it up, and they don't last either.

Thomarse wrote:

Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?


I would take it to a specialist who deals in repairing small blemishes
- small compared to a body shop that would do whole panels and cost a
fortune.

This isn't something that can be solved with DIY unless you already
have the necessary skills. And if you did, you probably wouldn't have
posted on here.

There are national chains of franchises such as "Chips Away" but you
should be able to find local self-employed tradespeople who are
equally capable but usually a lot cheaper.

In article ,
Bruce wrote:
Nothing I've seen will fill a scratch as the tool used has removed the
surface polish leaving a rough 'pit' which appears a different colour.
Those coloured polishes are a con.


Those coloured polishes are great for a quick fix, and well worth
using if you have a slightly shabby car to sell on AutoTrader or in
the local paper. But as you say, they are a con. They don't cure the
problem, just cover it up, and they don't last either.

I tried one on a plain black car and it was no improvment over a standard
wax from the same maker.

--
*Few women admit their age; fewer men act it.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Huge wrote:
On 2008-10-16, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Those coloured polishes are a con.

Not entirely. They work well on black cars.

Didn't on mine.

--
*Who are these kids and why are they calling me Mom?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Huge wrote:
On 2008-10-16, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Tim.. wrote:
I would suggest the first action you take is visit a professional
bodyshop and ask their advice, before starting with various
'home-remedies' etc.?

Their answer will be to respray the effected parts.

Find a better bodyshop. The one I use does a scratch repair service.

Which could involve a respray. Which doesn't necessarily mean taking it
back to bare metal.

--
*In "Casablanca", Humphrey Bogart never said "Play it again, Sam" *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 16 Oct, 09:08, Rod wrote:
Thomarse wrote:
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

Thanks!

Many years ago something similar happened to my car of the time.

It was bad enough to claim - partly as it was so extensive - and the
insurance climate wasn't quite as punitive as now. I asked the garage I
got it from and they suggested taking it round to the body shop they
used (independent) who did a fantastic job. Virtually nothing visible,
and not very expensive.

I was absolutely livid about the damage when my car got keyed, I'm
glad I didn't see them doing it.

But, same for me, I had a spray shop recommended to me, and they
managed to 'blow in' the top parts of the panels that had been keyed,
and didn't need to do the entire side of the car.

Paul.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
Bruce wrote:
Nothing I've seen will fill a scratch as the tool used has removed the
surface polish leaving a rough 'pit' which appears a different colour.
Those coloured polishes are a con.


Those coloured polishes are great for a quick fix, and well worth
using if you have a slightly shabby car to sell on AutoTrader or in
the local paper. But as you say, they are a con. They don't cure the
problem, just cover it up, and they don't last either.

I tried one on a plain black car and it was no improvment over a standard
wax from the same maker.


I have used blue and green Turtle Wax on two cars I sold - it was
definitely an improvement over the Turtle Wax they were already
polished with, but probably not for long. ;-)

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Huge wrote:
On 2008-10-16, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Tim.. wrote:
I would suggest the first action you take is visit a professional
bodyshop and ask their advice, before starting with various
'home-remedies' etc.?
Their answer will be to respray the effected parts.

Find a better bodyshop. The one I use does a scratch repair service.

Which could involve a respray. Which doesn't necessarily mean taking it
back to bare metal.

If its only scratched the lacquer, a decent pro repair could be to buff
the lacquer down to the paint below, and re lacquer and buff back to blend.


The problems start when the metallic paint itself needs touching up. Its
almost impossible to get a fair math with new paint, as the luster
depends critically in what direction it was sprayed in the first place.

Even whole panel resprays dont looks as good as the original factory finish.

One of the reason old money tends to drive 15 year old ford sierras and
the like ;-)

In article ,
Bruce wrote:
I tried one on a plain black car and it was no improvment over a standard
wax from the same maker.


I have used blue and green Turtle Wax on two cars I sold - it was
definitely an improvement over the Turtle Wax they were already
polished with, but probably not for long. ;-)

That's the brand I used. Apart from turning the cloth black no real
improvement.

--
*A fool and his money can throw one hell of a party.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

In article ,
Bruce wrote:
I tried one on a plain black car and it was no improvment over a standard
wax from the same maker.


I have used blue and green Turtle Wax on two cars I sold - it was
definitely an improvement over the Turtle Wax they were already
polished with, but probably not for long. ;-)

That's the brand I used. Apart from turning the cloth black no real
improvement.


Perhaps you polished it off too vigorously.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dave Plowman (News)"
saying something like:

The 'dent devil' type franchises would IMHO be a better starting point
for pro help - but in a busy area many are fully occupied doing dealer's
cars.

Probably not at the moment, iwt. Might be a good time to get such things
done and haggle a price.

On Oct 16, 8:17*am, Thomarse wrote:
Hi,

Went to my car this morning only to find it had been "keyed" -
scratched down the drivers side by some ignorant asbo with no respect
for other peoples possesions! I keep my car in my garage at night but
it was out on the road for a bit yesterday as I went out in the
evening. In such a short space of time (only dark for an hour) it mus
thave been done!

Anyway - does anybody have any good suggestions on how to "repair the
scratch? Its not very deep, looks like its taken off the surface
laquer in a thin line all the way down both doors. Its a very fine
line, so doubt it was actually a key that did it, it must have been
something sharper.

Its not seriosu enough to justify claiming insurance and paying the
excess but its enough for me to want to do something about it as the
car was pretty immaculate before this!!!

Its a silver metalic paint, would T-cut and elbow grease help to mask
it or will I need to do something else?

Thanks!
I would like to know this too, tcut does not seem to be the answer for
me since the scratches are just marks in the clear coat . A good coat
of wax helps a bit. Have you got a BMW or something ? ;-)

In article
,
wrote:
I would like to know this too, tcut does not seem to be the answer for
me since the scratches are just marks in the clear coat . A good coat
of wax helps a bit. Have you got a BMW or something ? ;-)

There are basically two ways to 'remove' a scratch.

Fill it in. Very difficult to get an invisible repair.

Flatten the surrounding paint to the depth of the scratch. This is how
T-Cut etc works.

Obviously if the scratch is deeper than the paint layer the second won't
work. But neither will the first if the metallic basecoat is damaged.

--
*When blondes have more fun, do they know it?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.