key scratches in paint

[portlist]

someone has keyed the side of my truck. Is there a way



i can deal with this or do ''''''i have to go to a body shop every time it happens. Also have a few marks from closing the door bon the seatbelt catch

[Mike Phillips]

Hi portlist,

Seeing this is your first post, Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Regardless of the type of scratch and how it was instilled into your paint, the most important factors that will determine whether or not you can successfully remove it will be how deep it is and how hard your paint is.

Generally speaking, if you can run your fingernail over the scratch and your fingernail drops into the scratch, it's likely too deep to completely remove. If you see the basecoat under the clearcoat, if you see primer or even steel from the body panel, then it is for sure too deep.

Sometimes you cannot completely remove a scratch, but you can often improve a scratch to the point you can no longer see it, or at least it much less visible that you can live with it.

For instances like these, we recommend our
ScratchX paint cleaner.

Guaranteed to be the most effective way to remove fine scratches and swirls from automotive paint by hand, ScratchX removes light surface contaminants, oxidation, and blemishes while it enhances paint color and clarity. ScratchX is not a “cover up” and will not cause additional scratches to your paint surface.



ScratchX contains a microscopic diminishing abrasive that enables it to remove swirls and scratches when worked against the finish using the proper technique. It's completely safe for light cleaning by only applying one application, or for more serious defects, you can apply 2-3 applications and really work it against the paint and get results like you see below where we remove the swirls out of a clear coat instilled by a rotary buffer.

Before



After



For an isolated deeper scratch like the key scratch in your car's finish, you'll want to apply 2-3 applications and put some passion behind your applicator pad.

Another option would be to have a Professional detailer try to remove it using a machine applied product from our Professional Line with a rotary buffer.