Crayon scratch repair

[karrun]

I have a 2008 red Ford Focus. The paint on the passenger side all along the car length has a series of fine scratches from being rubbed by a bush when
pulling the car out of the garage. The paint is scratched down to the white primer coat in most places and is very noticeable. There are too many lines to use a paint stick on, my fear is that this will make it look worse also. I don't have the $500 plus that a body shop quoted me to fix this. I started thinking about filling the lines in with a crayon, to at least make the white primer less noticeable. I bought an 84 crayon box to get the most variety of colors to match the paint. Of course the basic red was the best match. I rubbed the crayon over the scratch lines at an angle and rubbed lightly with a soft cloth. To my amazement, it made all but the deepest scratches almost unnoticeable. My question is, what would you recommend to make my fix last as long as possible? I know this is no way permanent, but even if I have to reapply every couple of weeks (it took me all of 5 minutes to do this) it is worth it to me. Is there a product, short of a clear coat reapplication, that will maximize the longevity of my fix?

Thanks,
Karen

PS I could post a before/after picture if anyone would like to see the results.

[Bjkearns]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

pictures would help please

[mswerb]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

I'm sorry, did you say you bought a box of crayons????
I guess there is a first time for everything. Please posts pictures of this.

[karrun]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

Okay, here are some pics. Unfortunately I didn't take any before pics of the main area, but I did the same treatment on some other minor scratches
and am posting them.
Let me just say that the repair is far from perfect. It appears to work best on shallow, narrow scratches. I think what it mainly does is cover the white primer so that the scratch doesn't stand out nearly as much. My close-up shots look worse than the car does because the effect is best when viewed a bit at a distance. I tried to do the before and afters at the same angle as to not add any artifacts such as glare or reflection.

I hope my upload works, never did this before. IF not, I made the photobucket album public so you can always follow the links.

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/karrun/Crayon%20scratch%20repair/passbefore.jpg

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/karrun/Crayon%20scratch%20repair/passafter.jpg

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/karrun/Crayon%20scratch%20repair/driverrearbefore.jpg

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/karrun/Crayon%20scratch%20repair/driverrearafter.jpg

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/karrun/Crayon%20scratch%20repair/bumper1before.jpg

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/karrun/Crayon%20scratch%20repair/bumper1after.jpg

http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/karrun/Crayon%20scratch%20repair/wholesideafter.jpg

[ChevyNick]

Crayons?? Really lol? Maybe just wax right over it and it'll preserve the crayon a little longer? Be careful when removing wax from the crayon because you might just wipe that off to.

[mswerb]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

You say these were caused by a bush?!? I can't picture a bush causing vertical scratches that deep.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

Talk about thinking outside the box - the 84 color box at that!!

As you obviously know, this is going to be very short term at best and there probably isn't really much of anything you'll be able to do to dramatically prolong this crayola correction. Waxing over the crayon filler probably won't do a whole lot; the film of wax left behind is incredibly thin so it's not like wrapping the finish in plastic or something, and odds are even with some gentle washing you'll end up removing much of the crayon filler fairly quickly anyway.

While paint touch up is possible here, it's tedious at best and without proper knowledge of sanding and buffing to smooth out the paint, you often end up trading one less than attractive problem for another. $500 actually sounds a bit low to repaint the whole side of the car, or even just a couple of panels, considering the prep that needs to be done for scratches down to the primer. That means it's either a good deal, or a bit worrying - how good a job will they do for that kind of money?

So, do you keep applying the crayons every so often? Do you pick up an artists paint brush and some factory touch up paint and, with a very steady hand, touch up the spots a bit more permanently? Or do you just let it go and tighten your money belt a bit for a few months in order to save up the $500 to get it professionally corrected?

[karrun]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

You say these were caused by a bush?!? I can't picture a bush causing vertical scratches that deep.

Yes, evergreen bushes next to the driveway. Actually, they are horizontal scratches. Makes me think Ford did a lousy paint job on the Focus with inadequate thickness of paint. But anyway.
Well, it's been over two weeks and the car still looks infinitely better than before. I am satisfied with my repair, and like Michaels says, unless I save up the money to do the repair properly, this will have to do.

[mswerb]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

The 1st and 2nd pictures you posted show BOTH horizontal AND vertical scratches. Seems fishy. HMMMM.

[karrun]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

I suppose there are a few vertical scrathces in the paint as well, but the majority are horizontal.
What do you mean by fishy? Are you saying I'm lying about how the scratches got there? What possible reason would I have?

[Wilhelm]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

Karrun-- in between the crayon technique you have tried and the OEM touch up paint and a brush Mike Stoops suggests, you might also consider marker pens. They are a bit more permanent than crayon and probably cost much less than a bottle of OEM touch up paint. Some crafts stores carry various types, such as Sharpie oil-based marker pens. Grainger also carries a number of different types of paint pens for use in industrial applications (i.e., that would be waterproof and stand up to high temperatures). The hardest part might be finding a good color match.

[TLMitchell]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

Dr. ColorChip

TL

[Larry A]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

Many years ago I bought a 1973 Buick Century to resell.I detailed it , and were there was a little rust I rubbed oxblood shoe polish in the rust to make it less noticeable. It came out very good . The car was maroon in color.

[karrun]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

Karrun-- in between the crayon technique you have tried and the OEM touch up paint and a brush Mike Stoops suggests, you might also consider marker pens. They are a bit more permanent than crayon and probably cost much less than a bottle of OEM touch up paint. Some crafts stores carry various types, such as Sharpie oil-based marker pens. Grainger also carries a number of different types of paint pens for use in industrial applications (i.e., that would be waterproof and stand up to high temperatures). The hardest part might be finding a good color match.

Thanks for that tip. I may check them out. But unless they are very fine, I'd be afraid any marker pen might make the scratches look worse by applyin paint outside the scratch. They are very narrow for the most part. And like you say, it might be hard to get a great match. It's amazing how Crayola Red matched the Focus paint color.

[Bjkearns]

Re: Crayon scratch repair

Karrun I am thinking just keep doing what you are doing and try to save to get it resprayed