How to repair door scratches without exposing the primer?
3 Answers
If the car body only has very shallow scratches on the surface paint, use a compound to treat it. Wipe in a straight line. After the scratches disappear, use a finer compound to wipe and then apply wax. For deeper scratches, if the metal surface is not visible, rust will not occur, and touch-up paint can be applied.
Last time, a branch scratched a shallow mark on my car door, but it didn't damage the inner layer. I bought scratch wax to repair it myself: first, thoroughly clean the scratched area, as dust particles can worsen the repair. Dip a sponge block into the scratch wax and gently rub in small circles in one direction for about ten minutes—applying too much force can thin the car paint. Stop when the scratch becomes lighter, then wipe off the wax residue with a clean, damp cloth, and finally apply protective wax. The whole process requires patience, and doing it in two or three sessions yields better results. After my repair, the mark was barely visible, and it also protected the car paint. The scratch wax costs just a few dozen yuan and can be used multiple times, saving money compared to going to a shop. Of course, deeper scratches can't be fixed this way.
My car got a shallow scratch in the parking lot, which was really annoying. The easiest solution was to have it professionally polished. The technician used a machine with polishing compound and smoothed it out in just a few minutes, while also giving the whole car a wax treatment. Avoid small roadside shops and go to a professional detailing center where the polishing process won't overheat the paint. Now the paint is as smooth as new, and you can't even see the scratch under sunlight. The technician said that for scratches that haven't damaged the primer, polishing is sufficient, and over-treatment could harm the paint. If your car's paint is too thin, you might consider applying a ceramic coating after polishing to increase hardness. Spending a few hundred bucks for peace of mind is totally worth it.
