What is the Difference Between Car Scratches and Exposed Primer?
2 Answers
The differences between car scratches and exposed primer are as follows: Difference in Feel: With exposed primer, your fingers can clearly feel unevenness or a rough texture. Running your hand over it will give a distinct rough sensation. If it's just a scratch, you won't feel this roughness when touching it. Difference in Repair: Additionally, the color of the primer differs from that of the car paint. Generally, black cars have white primer, while white cars have black primer. Specific details can be found in the manual. Car scratches may not necessarily expose the primer, but exposed primer always indicates a scratch. Minor car scratches may not require repair, but exposed primer must be repaired.
The biggest difference between car scratches and exposed primer lies in the depth of damage. Ordinary scratches are like superficial skin abrasions, possibly only affecting the clear coat or surface of the paint layer. They're barely noticeable to the touch and hard to spot from a distance, mostly just affecting aesthetics. My old car has several such fine lines around the door handles, which became much less visible after rubbing with toothpaste. However, exposed primer is far more serious - it's like a wound reaching the flesh, where the paint layer is completely scraped through to reveal the grayish-white primer beneath, sometimes even exposing the metal body. Last year when I reversed into a railing and exposed the primer, I had to repaint it immediately. Otherwise, metal rust would spread like an infected wound.
