Scratch

[mis3]

I recently noticed a scratch (about an inch long) on the door. It is a silver 2004 Mercedes CLK320.

Since I can see white, I am seeing the primer. When I run my finger over it, I cannot even feel the scratch.

3 options:
1. DC-2 (polish) and then NXT
2. ScratchX then followed by NXT
3. Touch-up paint

Am I wasting my time to try option-1, I have both products? Will ScratchX help? If so, I will buy the product.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Scratch

Originally posted by mis3
I recently noticed a scratch (about an inch long) on the door. It is a silver 2004 Mercedes CLK320.

Since I can see white, I am seeing the primer. When I run my finger over it, I cannot even feel the scratch.

3 options:
1. DC-2 (polish) and then NXT
2. ScratchX then followed by NXT
3. Touch-up paint

Am I wasting my time to try option-1, I have both products? Will ScratchX help? If so, I will buy the product.

Just because you can see white, this doesn't automatically mean the scratch is into the primer, it's a pretty good indicator, but not a confirmation.

When you scratch a clear coat, the abraded clear coat material shows up as a whitish color, just like a scratch or scuff on glass shows up as white.

Here's the deal,

"You can't always remove a scratch, but you can often times improve a scratch"

That said, if it were mine, I would try applying 2-3 applications of ScratchX using the procedure outlined in the below link.

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

After that apply a coating of wax and inspect. Often times this will improve the defect to the point that it is much more difficult to see and sometimes you can't see it at all unless you know exactly where to look.

Mike

[mis3]

Thanks for your advice.

Now, my question is if the scratch does reach the primer, should I still try to eliminate it or improve it by ScratchX ?

[Mike Phillips]

If the scratch reaches the primer, but you can't feel the scratch with your finger when you draw your finger over the scratch, then it sounds as though the scratch was instilled by something very sharp and thin?

If a scratch it through the paint and into the primer, the only true repair will be to repaint the area. You might be able to improve the scratch visually by polishing it a little with the ScratchX. You could try a small area to test your results and if it looks better continue and if it doesn't stop, you'll never know what you can do until you try.

Can you post a pictures?

Mike

[mis3]

I inspected the scratch again and I could feel the scratch with my finger.

The scratch is a thin one, about half-an-inch. I am not sure if I want to repaint the whole panel for a small scratch like this.

I am thinking to use the touch-up pen from AutoVisuals. Does anyone has expereicne with this product?

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Like Mike asked, can you post a photo of the damage?

If the scratch is that small, I would just carefully touch it up. There are many threads here on MOL that discuss doing that.

Tim

[mis3]

Sorry, I lent my digital camera to my friend.

I think I will try to use ScratchX first to improve the appearance and then see what happens...