Do I need to repaint the entire door if there is a scratch?

[VanPatrick]

A single scratch on the car door does not require a full repaint; a local touch-up repair is sufficient. For minor scratches, polishing and waxing can be used to remedy the issue. However, if the scratch is deep or large, it is advisable to visit a professional repair shop for proper treatment to avoid uneven coloring from DIY fixes. Below is an introduction to polishing: 1. Principle: Polishing refers to the process of reducing surface roughness through mechanical, chemical, or electrochemical means to achieve a smooth and glossy surface. 2. Purpose: Polishing does not improve the dimensional accuracy or geometric precision of the workpiece but aims to produce a smooth surface or mirror-like finish.

[Karen]

Door scratches don't necessarily require a full door repaint. My eight-year-old car recently got a 15cm scratch from a neighbor kid's bicycle, which broke my heart at the time. After consulting several repair shops, one quoted 800 yuan for a full door repaint. Later, I found an experienced technician who fixed it with spot repair for just 200 yuan. Spot repair involves sanding the area around the scratch, color-matching, and filling it with a spray gun - the result is virtually invisible. A full repaint actually removes the original high-temperature factory paint and replaces it with less durable regular paint. If there's no dent and the scratch hasn't reached the primer, there's really no need for a full repaint. Unless you're particularly concerned about preserving the factory paint, in which case you should find a professional shop that does baking finishes.

[McRyan]

Last week, I scraped the guardrail while reversing, leaving a big scratch on the door. The mechanic told me to first check the depth of the scratch: shallow scratches that haven't exposed the metal can just be polished; if the primer is exposed, a partial touch-up is needed; a full door repaint is the last resort. My scratch only affected the topcoat, so I opted for a partial repair and got the car back in three hours. A full door repaint requires removing the handle and trim, and the resealed parts won't be as good as the factory finish. Plus, color mismatch can become noticeable after a couple of years. The key is the cost—a full repaint at the dealership costs over a thousand, which isn't worth it for minor scratches. The factory paint's anti-corrosion layer is too important, so preserve it whenever possible.

[KhloeRose]

Should the entire door be repainted for scratches? It depends. If it's the first scratch on a new car that exposes the primer, just have a professional paint shop do a local touch-up. My white car got scratched by a branch last year, and the technician only repaired an area the size of a palm with excellent color matching. However, if the paint on an older car is cracked or the door has been repaired three or four times already, a full repaint might be better. The key is not to attempt DIY fixes—I once used a touch-up pen and ended up with a mess that looked like a dog had chewed it, costing me more to redo it. If there's no dent in the sheet metal, a local repair is completely sufficient; a full repaint is both expensive and damaging to the car.