how to buff out small scratches on car

[BentleyLynn]

Yes, you can often buff out small scratches on your car yourself, saving a trip to the body shop. The key is determining the scratch's depth. Clear coat scratches, which haven't penetrated the colored base coat, are the best candidates for DIY repair. Deeper scratches that catch your fingernail will likely require professional touch-up paint or repainting.

The most effective method involves using a dual-action (DA) polisher with a combination of compound and polish. This tool is safer for beginners than a rotary buffer as it minimizes the risk of burning the paint. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Wash and Decontaminate: Thoroughly wash and dry the area. Use a clay bar to remove any embedded contaminants that could cause further scratching during buffing.
2. Tape Off the Area: Apply painter's tape around the scratch to protect trim, edges, and adjacent panels.
3. Apply Compound: Using a foam cutting pad on the DA polisher, apply a small amount of rubbing compound. Work the polisher over the scratch in slow, overlapping passes at a low-to-medium speed until the scratch is significantly reduced or removed.
4. Polish to Restore Shine: Switch to a polishing pad and a fine-grade polish. This step removes any minor haze left by the compound and restores the glossy finish.
5. Apply a Sealant or Wax: After polishing, the clear coat is unprotected. Apply a synthetic sealant or carnauba wax to shield the freshly exposed paint.

For very light scratches, a quality scratch removal cream applied by hand with a microfiber cloth can be sufficient, though it requires more elbow grease and is less effective on deeper imperfections.

Scratch Depth	DIY Repair Method	Likelihood of Full Removal	Tools & Products Needed
Clear Coat Only	Machine Polishing (Compound/Polish)	High	DA Polisher, Compound, Polish, Pads
Light Base Coat	Hand Application of Scratch Remover	Moderate	Scratch Removal Cream, Microfiber Cloth
Deep Primer/Metal	Professional Repair Required	Low	Touch-Up Paint, Professional Repaint

[AnaMarie]

I’ve fixed a bunch of these on my old truck. If it’s just a surface mark that you can’t feel with your fingernail, grab a tube of toothpaste (non-gel, basic whitening kind works best). Put a dab on a damp microfiber cloth and rub it in small circles over the scratch. It acts like a super mild abrasive. Wipe it off with a clean cloth. It won’t work on deep stuff, but for those annoying clear coat swirls from a car wash, it can make them practically disappear for pennies. Just remember to wax the spot afterward.

[SanMax]

Before you start buffing, the absolute first step is a perfect wash. Any dirt or grit left on the paint will act like sandpaper when you start polishing, creating more scratches than you fix. I recommend a two-bucket wash method with grit guards, followed by using a detailing clay bar on the scratched area. The clay will pull out contaminants you can't see. Once the surface is perfectly smooth to the touch, then you can safely move on to compounding and polishing. This prep work is what separates a professional-looking result from a messy one.