Every car owner is faced with scratches on the car body. And it's not about hooliganism: getting a kind of scars without the participation of intruders happens more often. The culprits of the trouble are tough branches of bushes, grains of sand on the rags of the washing personnel, hail, or even a cat nestling on the hood. Fortunately, these effects are reversible with appropriate countermeasures.
Varieties of external damage
Before moving on to solving the problem, you should determine how much damage is. In other words, it is necessary to analyze what is the depth of the defect penetration into the paintwork. The latter consists of four levels:
- Outer layer- high-strength varnish with a protective function;
- Enamel- forms the shade of the car;
- Primer designed to improve the adhesion of the topcoat and metal structure;
- Phosphate interlayer- improves resistance to corrosive processes, however, it is not present in all models.
Damage to top coatings and splits reaching the metal are two different situations involving repair operations of a different nature.
How to remove scratches on a car with your own hands
If the cost of services seems to you unreasonably high, then you can do it yourself. To do this, you need tools:
- Suitable paints and varnishes. In specialized stores, the search for the best coverage is carried out using a computer. The task will be simplified if you know the car code: in this case, the paint provided by the model manufacturer will appear.
- There is another nuance associated with the complexity of the color of the car. If the body has a shade of metal or mother-of-pearl, then the coating contains two layers, the first of which is a quick-drying base. When it is fixed, the procedure is repeated. It is this multilevelness that explains the metallic luster.
- If the appearance of your car does not differ with a similar effect, then you cannot do without the involvement of professionals.
First, you need to assess the severity of the damage. If the scratch only touches the top layers, regular polishing will be sufficient. A superficial scratch looks like a white line. It ceases to be visible when the car is wet, and appears after drying.
So, a non-abrasive polish will serve as a remedy to "cure" the defect, leaving the car paint intact. After spreading the substance with a napkin, a polishing device is used. Repeat this action up to 15 times for best results. Moreover, you need to take breaks after each approach so that the treated area is cooled.
How to remove minor scratches from the car body? Use "Anti-risk" for this. It is also good for removing stains that form when driving on roads treated with anti-icing agents.
Removing deep scratches on a car without painting is possible with the use of colored wax or pencil. Having covered the problem area with them, they proceed to the same polishing with a non-abrasive composition. The advantage of this method is that it eliminates the need for tone selection. Depending on the shade of the car, the appropriate pencil is selected - light or dark. The disadvantage of this approach is its fragility: after several washes, the described actions must be repeated.
If there is a wide and deep scratch on the body, then use a special paint sold in small bottles. They also come with a brush.
Taking a lint-free cloth and moistening it with a degreasing liquid, the surface is cleaned. After wiping the area, paint is applied with a brush, followed by varnish. The only difficulty is finding the right shade.
When to seek professional help
If with the help of the listed methods it is not possible to achieve a satisfactory appearance of the car, the service center and its systematic approach come into play. First, they prepare: they wash the damaged area, allow it to dry and degrease it with gasoline or other means. Then wipe it first with a damp and then dry cloth.
The next stage involves covering the problem area with a thin layer of anti-corrosion soil. It is not recommended to ignore this point of the instructions, since rust can spread under the paint, and after a while it will break out. After that, a conventional primer is applied, which is responsible for the adhesion of the paint. It will bulge or fall into a crack if you skip this step. Filling the gap with more paint will not help the business: such a masking of the defect will last a very short time.
In conclusion, they start painting in a pre-selected color. It is unlikely that a satisfactory result will be obtained without a spray bottle, so no service employee can do without it. Spraying takes place in several approaches. With a three-layer painting, the car will probably look no worse than the previous one. People who are unfamiliar with the aspects of the work of car services have probably formed the following misconception: it is beyond the power of an ordinary person to restore the appearance of a car. However, in order to avoid turning to straighteners, it is enough to arm yourself with the algorithm described above.
Outcome
In a situation where you doubt that you can solve a problem without outside help, it would be wiser to pay for the services of specialists than to bring the car into an even more deplorable state by rash actions.
This article belongs to a subsection.Finding scratches on the doors of your beloved car is frustrating. Especially when the reason for this was, even if it was a small one, but an accident. After all, because of this incident, the car is "cosmetic damage". However, in such situations, it is important to maintain your composure.
Well, damn it, it touched a little, and the rust went ...
Do not worry too much, because nowadays there are several ways with which you can remove damage from the car with your own hands, such as scratches, rust, etc. So, we will consider three ways, using which you can quite easily repair this damage.
Method 1. Use polish
Before you start applying polish to the body, you need to carry out preparatory operations. So the area around the scratch is washed out very carefully. Then it should be wiped dry.
Polish is our friend and brother.
Only then can the polish be applied. This requires a soft cloth that must be dry. The application of the composition in question is carried out by gentle rubbing. After drying, the treated area is rubbed with a cotton cloth (it must be dry). This should be done before until shine appears... If necessary, the procedure should be repeated.
Method 2. Buy a special pencil
The removal process with a special pencil is similar to that described above. However, there is one difference - it manifests itself in the ease of use and the relatively high price of this tool. All of these materials, with the help of which people begin to paint any place on the car in order to get rid of scratches, can be purchased at the car market or in car dealerships. AND it is worth giving preference to proven and well-known brands, because you may not get the result you want.
The pencil works! Even if you hold it in your left hand ...
Method 3. Contact a car service
In addition to the above methods to get rid of scratches on your own, you can also contact a service center or a car wash. In such institutions, in a fairly short time, the master will easily hide the damage on the body (shallow scratches). This is done by grinding using specialized compounds.
Talking to serious guys is also an option.
Elimination of deep scratches
How to cover up scratches on the bumper when it comes to deep damage? In such cases, damage to the varnish and paint layer occurs. In this situation, you will need the following materials and substances: paint, toothpick, special restoration pencil, polish. The most important thing here is to make the right choice of paint. If you carefully cover up a scratch, then it will practically not be visible.
Preparatory Measures
Before you start covering up a scratch, you need to wash it thoroughly, and also degrease it with a solvent. After that, it is necessary to glue the place around the damage with masking tape. Then the amount of damage (scratch) is filled with paint using a toothpick or pencil. The paint must be allowed to dry.
The process is not trivial!
It is imperative that the paint fills the entire scratch evenly and completely. After it is completely dry, you need to apply polish, and then start the actions that are used as when polishing ordinary, shallow scratches.
Get rid of rust
When the car finish rusts, it is a very frustrating situation. In this process, special attention should be paid to surface preparation. It can be either flat or uneven. To find even small amounts of rust, you need to wash your car. And it would be nice to process it after that with a wax composition.
On a surface that is still shiny, it is easy enough to see rusting in. It should be noted that the rust stain takes longer to creep under a layer of paint. Moreover, from the outside it may not be visible at all.
And even rust can be defeated.
How to remove scratches on a car so it doesn't rust? To do this, it should be covered with the aforementioned pencil with paint that dries quickly. However, before that, it is imperative to clean the scratch area with a degreaser. You can also clean up the scratch using iron brushes. That is, the paint layer is removed. After that, the place is treated with "anti-rust". It is worth noting that there are a whole lot of them and you should be very careful about your choice, otherwise you can "defeat" in the fight against rust.
After a good sweep, only spots of rust will remain, which has eaten in, but these are trifles. And after a very good cleanup, there will be nothing left.
If, due to the dried treatment agent, the place remains uneven, then it should be rubbed. Sometimes antirust leaves behind dust, or rather, after it dries. Therefore, the surface should be treated with a solvent before priming.
What's the conclusion?
Correcting scratches with your own hands will help not only save your money, but also save time and nerves (after all, you yourself will know what is under the paint). After all, not all services employ highly qualified workers who have extensive experience in car restoration. So not all "specialists" are given the ability to cope with the task that is set before them. And regarding the choice of tools and materials - you need to trust only proven (or at least well-known) brands.
This article belongs to a subsection.
Of course, each driver in the process of operation faced the problems of chips and small scratches on the body of his vehicle. They are caused by mechanical damage from stones or gravel that fly out from under the wheels of passing or oncoming vehicles. Most often, drivers ignore minor scratches and dents and leave such situations until "Better times" when there is enough time or money to repair your car.
But what if you can remove all chips, scratches and cracks from the body by doing the repair yourself?
Why are chips and scratches on the car body dangerous?
Over the course of a certain period chips and scratches if they are deep, they begin to cover rust... This not only spoils the original aesthetic appearance of the entire vehicle, but is also the primary focus of corrosion. This will subsequently lead to an expensive repair of the entire element, and the usual touch-up will no longer help here. It's no secret that many modern car bodies are protected from rust by galvanizing or electroplating.
However, with such methods, special ones are not added to the metal alloys of the body. alloyed substances that will protect against rust. In these cases, the body is covered with a thin layer of protective material, which then crystallizes and forms a strong film.
When mechanical shock the film, together with varnish and paint, is deformed, exposing the metal. If the body parts of your car are not made of aluminum or carbon fiber, then the metal in the places of impacts oxidizes and rusts. If this situation is not resolved at the very beginning, then the part will have to be completely repainted, and before that remove the rust. Of course, you can turn to specialized auto repair shops for such help.
Attention: a local focus of corrosion will spread further, which is manifested in swollen paintwork.
Elimination of minor damages
Remove small scuffs and minor scratches you can using grinding paste, which can be purchased at any auto chemistry store. To do this, clean the surface to be treated, apply the abrasive paste to a dry microfiber cloth and sand with quick strokes until the paste is dry. This procedure is best done 3-4 times for best results. If that doesn't work and the scratches persist, switch to more professional methods.
Removing scratches with correction markers
The polishing process is carried out with serious abrasions on the body, but what to do with small chips from stones? In this case, abrasive treatment is meaningless, because such a defect in the paintwork can be easily leveled with the help of specialized masking toners - wax crayons suitable for metallic, acrylic and mother of pearl colors.
Important: it is worth choosing the color of the marker according to the color of the body of your car, and even the shade must be taken into account, because with a difference in colors, the repair zone will stand out.
In fact toner Is a small tube containing pigment material. It is enough to apply it to the cleavage site, and then wait until the material crystallizes and dries. For an accurate selection, you should know digital coding of body color... You can find it out when buying a car from a sales specialist, on the website of official importers, as well as on the Internet or by directly contacting a dealer, whose master inspector will provide you with such information. Application process correction pigment on the surface as follows:
- Wash and degrease repair area with special car washes.
- In the presence of a corrosion center, remove metal oxide mechanically. It is very important to remove the rust completely, because later it will appear in the form of bubbles and "bugs", even at the place of repair.
- Further to the processed place a layer of primer is applied, which is then smoothed out, and its traces remaining on the paint are also removed.
- Is applied directly toner to the place of the chip.
All preparatory operations are necessary carefully and scrupulously perform, because the quality of adhesion between the pigment material and the body surface depends on this. This method is most effective for removing and repairing chips on the vehicle body, which can be done quickly with your own hands.
Removing scratches without painting by polishing
The polishing method can effectively remove scratches on a car without the use of tinting. Repair of scratches, if they are shallow, can be done with a polishing machine or with your own hands - it depends on the degree of damage to the paintwork.
- With wax polish... Apply polish and buff the surface with a soft cloth. This method of repairing scratches is enough for a short time, and then you need to renew the polishing layer.
- With a polishing machine and abrasive paste with a fine structure. To do this, a small amount of the composition is applied to a thoroughly washed and dried surface and polished, gradually adding power. grinders... Polish evenly over the surface without overheating the paintwork.
Important: do not polish your car in direct sunlight. This is best done in a garage, in the shade, or in a garage.
Removal of damage using special kits, for example, Dr. ColorChip
Do-it-yourself scratches on the car body can be eliminated using a special kit from Dr. ColorChip or others like that. They are sold in car dealerships and have instructions and a complete set of necessary tools for repairing scratches on a car body with your own hands. With the help of these tools, you can improve the appearance of the car without much effort.
In what cases of damage cannot be avoided by painting?
In the presence of deep damage, it will be necessary not only to restore chips and scratches, but also car painting... You cannot do without painting the car if there are foci of rust and metal corrosion... Sometimes it is enough to paint a separate section of the car, and in difficult cases it will be necessary to completely renew the paint and varnish layer of the car.
Do-it-yourself complete repair of chips on the car body
Do-it-yourself repair of chips on the car body is carried out using specialized technical devices. To do this, you need to use grinder and special grouting pastes... But this method is more related to large-area rubbing, since they cannot be eliminated with markers, pencils and toners.
This method consists in smoothing the paint layer and "tightening" the paint to the place where it is rubbed. It is carried out in several stages to avoid excessive pressure on the varnish. The process of self-polishing the body is as follows:
- The body is cleaned of contaminants, and the place of polishing is degreased using special means.
- When it appears in the place where it is worn corrosion she removed mechanically.
- The entire area of damage a special polishing material is applied, which is smoothed with a grinder.
To do this kind of work skill required, because an untrained specialist can remove an extra layer of varnish, which will "bare" the paint, or leave visible circles on the paintwork, which is not an indicator of good work. Such repair of chips on the car body with their own hands has worked well, but before implementing it, you still need to practice a little.
Important: you must not polish the body in a dusty room, because small abrasive particles contained in the air can get between the rubbing surfaces, which will leave visible scuffs on the body.
Full repair of deep scratches of the car body
In the presence of deep damage, only the staining method can help.
- Prepare the surface - do it well rinse and dry.
- If rusty spots appear on the damaged area, sand them with a fine structure.
- The brushed surface degrease and mark the working area with masking tape.
- Apply to a grease-free area anticorrosive soil layer and dry.
- Treat with a primer to level the surface.
- One by one apply two coats of paint drying them well.
- After drying apply colorless varnish.
What you need if chips or scratches have already caused rust
Professional auto mechanic with more than 7 years of experience at one of the largest hundred in Moscow. I am well versed in cars such as Vaz, Kia, Peugeot, Bmw, Audi, Mercedes and many others. If you want to get a professional answer, leave your feedback in the comments to this material.
Damage to the paintwork spoils not only the appearance of the car, but can also cause corrosion. In the publication we will talk about such an unpleasant phenomenon as a scratch on a car. How to remove or mask it as much as possible, as well as what is the best way to use it in this case, we will consider further.
The first thing to know about paintwork damage
Removing scratches on a car without painting is not possible in all cases. First of all, the quality of the repair done with your own hands depends on the depth of damage to the paintwork layers. Recall that the factory coating consists of several layers:
Scratch typology
Several types of scratches can form on a car:
- small. Only the varnish is damaged, while the base layer of the pigment is not exposed. In the case of an acrylic coating, there are only minor grooves in the paint, and it is still relatively far from the ground;
- medium size. The base color layer has been disturbed, through which the soil can be seen;
- deep scratches on the machine, which lead to the destruction of the protective anti-corrosion coating. If the metal is not galvanized, damage will become a hotbed of corrosion in the future. Such damage cannot be repaired without painting.
We fight small scratches
Even numerous small scratches can be removed with abrasive polishing. In order to remove scratches on a car, you will need:
DIY polishing basics can be placed in several positions:
Subtleties
Eliminating paintwork damage in this way has a number of pitfalls:
- do not stay in one place for a long time so as not to overheat the varnish. A medium polish will be enough to remove small and smooth out medium scratches;
- be careful not to rub the varnish to the base coat of paint;
- the quality of the polish depends on the color of the car. For black colors, you will need a finishing anti-hologram (holograms are barely noticeable scuffs that are left by a circle and fine debris, dried paste) polish and many others.
The topic of DIY polishing is quite complicated and requires separate consideration.
Middle link scratches
Scratches on the base coat cannot be removed by polishing. They can be made almost invisible. There are polishes with the addition of color pigments. It can only be used for simple acrylic enamel. Complex shades or metallic paint should not be processed with such compounds.
On the market, you can find several types of aids with which you can make repairs yourself:
If the scratches have only slightly damaged the base coat of the paint on the car, we strongly discourage making repairs in this way. It will not be possible to completely remove scratches, since 100% getting into the shade is almost impossible. It is better to cover the damage with polishing as much as possible.
Deep scratches
The compositions described above are best used if the scratch width is more than 1 mm. In this case, the pigment will cover the peeled paint, and the varnish will protect the surface and give it a shine. 
Containers with brushes are only suitable for acrylic enamels. If the scratch is even and deep, cover the edges with masking tape. Degrease the surface and apply the compound. It is important to fill the hole that has formed in the paintwork layers. Then remove the tape, sand the surface with P2000 sandpaper and water and polish the repair area. This will maximize the effect. Repairing chips and scratches with brushes and markers is a good option.
Unfortunately, if the paintwork on the car is a base for varnish, then you need to buy more expensive compositions. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions. It is best to give preference to firms with the largest range of offered shades.
Any of the compositions requires mandatory degreasing. Never apply paint if the car is damaged by rust. Sand the lesions as much as possible with sandpaper before removing any scratches.
When things get really bad
If there are a lot of scratches, and now the area with a circumference of 10 cm on your car is densely covered with deep "cuts", it is more rational to resort to high-quality painting.
The good news is that you don't have to paint the entire element. Often, the elimination of paintwork defects on a car can be carried out by the method of local painting. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to do such repairs well with your own hands. To do this, you need:
- air compressor;
- knowledge of the rules for preparing parts for filling, priming and painting;
- spray gun and skills to work with it;
- spatula, sanding bars, sandpaper of different grades;
- covering material, masking tape and much more.
The main thing missing from the list is the experience you won't have. No "artisanal" repair method can remove deep scratches the way a competent colorist and experienced painter can do.
Now you know how to remove scratches or hide them as much as possible.
10007
Almost none of the motorists can do without one or another damage to the appearance of the car during its operation. Cars get into accidents, are exposed to natural disasters, and receive various “everyday” damages. Especially in large cities with high traffic intensity. Quite often, the paint on the car is simply scratched. Someone takes this calmly, and some drivers perceive the damage as nothing more than a personal tragedy and try at any cost to restore the appearance of the body paintwork.
Removing scratches from your car yourself will cost you significantly less than repairing from a professional, but the end result will be slightly worse. How much worse depends primarily on your efforts and the availability of minimal knowledge in this area, which will be discussed below.
Please note the following before starting refurbishment work.
- Before you start doing anything with scratches, you need to visually evaluate them. It is necessary to conduct an assessment on a well-washed car, well, or at least on a damaged body part washed from dust and dirt.
- Oftentimes, paint from someone else's car is mistaken for catastrophic scratches. Try rubbing off the paint with white spirit. Most likely, after that, the damage will no longer be so terrible.
- The overwhelming majority of modern cars are painted using a two-component technology, in which a colorless transparent varnish is applied on top of a base color layer. There is still a widespread belief on the Internet that only metallic paints are varnished. This is no longer the case.
- If the scratches are shallow and only the top layer of varnish is damaged, then they can be removed with a light abrasive polishing. It is very easy to believe how successful polishing will be at removing scratches. In the place of scratches, without strong pressure, run your fingernail in a direction perpendicular to the damage. If the nail does not cling to the pronounced grooves of scratches, then all this will be polished almost without a trace. Another way to check is to use a generous amount of water to wet the scratches. If, after wetting, they cease to be noticeable, then this is a good sign indicating an excellent polishing result.
- Professionals use a special power tool for polishing. Buying it to remove multiple scratches is not economically viable. Fortunately, you can do without it. At auto retailers, ask for a fine abrasive paste polish to remove scratches. You may be offered a pigmented polish to match the body color of your car. The pigment will help fill in and hide deeper scratches. This is useful, but there is no extreme need to choose a polish by color. Sooner or later, the pigment will wash out of the scratches.
- Before polishing the damaged area with the purchased product, make sure that the surface to be treated and the adjacent areas are free of dust, sand and dirt. Only start polishing in a clean garage or outdoors in calm weather. Apply a small amount of polish to a soft cloth and begin to work on the damaged area using light pressure in a circular motion. Avoid rubbing one area too long to avoid rubbing off the entire layer of varnish. It is important to strike a reasonable balance between masking scratches and the thickness of the remaining varnish coat. After finishing abrasive polishing, apply a protective wax polish to the area.
- In cases where you are less fortunate and the paint has enough deep scratches, you can no longer do without repair tinting. You can, of course, use various wax crayons to remove scratches, but the effect of their use is short-lived and after a while you will have to perform this operation over and over again. Therefore, it is better to purchase a base paint with varnish and do everything once and for a long time. Now the majority of imported cars are supplied by car manufacturers with repair kits consisting of two small bottles, one of which contains the paint itself, and the other contains colorless varnish. Your task is to select a repair kit that matches the paint of your car according to the code or color of the paint.
- After purchasing the paint, you can start painting over deep scratches. To do this, again rinse the repair site, and carry out the operations themselves in a clean, dust-free place. Degrease the scratches where the paint will be applied with alcohol. If the scratches are too deep, then it is advisable to fill them in advance with a primer that will not shrink during drying. Otherwise, you will need to apply several coats of paint and varnish so that after drying there is no deep depression in the place of the scratch. With a thin brush with a soft squirrel bristle, carefully paint over the scratch and allow the paint to dry as indicated on the bottle. Try not to go beyond the boundaries of the scratch.
- After the paint has dried, apply a layer of varnish on the scratch in the same way, only it is necessary to apply varnish with a slight overlap on the main layer of the car's paintwork. Let the varnish dry and use the vehicle as directed.
- After at least a month, when the varnish is completely cured, carefully polish it with a mild abrasive polish. This completes the process of removing scratches on the machine.
How to remove deep scratches
In this case, a wax crayon will not help, so do not spend money on it. But filling the scratch with paint will help. The sequence of work is identical to that described above, but with some nuances.
Preparatory work is mandatory. It is also necessary to degrease the place of damage. The paint is also applied with a brush after preliminary pasting of the damaged area.
But in this case, the paint is applied in two layers, while each layer must dry out. After the paint has been applied and dried, the damaged area is varnished. Then the surface is polished.
More difficult is the operation to remove the scratch if it is very deep and has reached the metal. To complete the work, you will need a few more materials and tools:
- Anticorrosive primer;
- The soil is ordinary;
- Acrylic paint;
- Small brush;
- Degreaser;
- Colorless varnish;
- Polish.
Before performing work, the car must be washed and dried. Then the place of damage is treated with a degreaser.
After that, you can proceed directly to repairing the damage. Since the scratch has reached the metal, an anti-corrosion primer must be applied first. This must be done, since when damaged, the metal began to interact with air. If you do not do this, but immediately apply ordinary primer, then it is possible that in the future a metal corrosion process will begin at this place, which will lead to the appearance of rust and a more complex restoration process of the body.
After the anti-corrosion primer has dried, a normal primer is applied to it. This should be done if only because the application of the primer will level the surface, and it will not differ. If not applied, the scratch site may appear as the thickness of the layer will vary.
Then a layer of paint is already applied, and it must be applied in several layers, with breaks for drying each layer. The final step will be to apply a layer of varnish and polish the surface.
In the near future, accounting promises to create regenerative paints for cars that will independently repair scratches on the car body. But until we have lived to see this wonderful time, there is nothing left to do but to polish and tint paint defects on our own using traditional methods.
