DIY Scratch Repair Procedures

April 19, 2018 11:08 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

Whether you sustained a scratch on your car during a minor collision or while navigating out of a particularly tricky parking spot, it can significantly detract from the appearance of your vehicle. This might make you feel embarrassed on the road and may even take a toll on your car’s resale value. Thankfully, there are simple things that you can do to remove scratches from your car without ever setting foot in an auto body shop in Visalia, CA:

  • Gather supplies: Before you can begin repairing a scratch, you’ll need to get a few different products and tools together. You should have sandpaper in a variety of different grit levels ranging from 180 to 1,500, along with primer, paint, gloves and some cleaning supplies to prepare the surface of your car before you begin painting.
  • Grind down the scratch: Even though it may seem counterintuitive, you will have to increase the severity of a scratch before you can repair it. Using 180-grit sandpaper, begin working the paint around the scratch and buff until you reach the bare metal of your car. Increasing the surface of the scratch improves your chances of achieving a paint job that is even and consistent.
  • Prime your paint surface: Once you’ve sanded down the area around the scratch, it’s time to prime it for painting. Using a spray primer that matches the color of your paint and that can be sanded, apply a few coats over the area you’ve sanded down. Wait several minutes between coats to ensure you allow plenty of time for the primer to dry.
  • Apply paint: At this point, it’s time to restore the appearance of your car’s body by painting and sanding. Starting with a base coat, you will alternate between applying paint to the area and sanding it down with sandpaper. With each additional coat of paint, you will use sandpaper that has a finer grit. After your final coat of paint, use 1,500-grit sandpaper before the coat has dried. This process of painting and sanding, along with the application of a clear coat, will give your paint a glossy finish.
  • Check your work: Give your new paint job a chance to dry overnight before thoroughly inspecting the results. If you didn’t get the kind of result you were hoping to, there’s nothing wrong with getting some additional help from an auto body shop in Visalia, CA. The pros will be able to restore the appearance of your car and give you a seamless finish.

If you are struggling to restore the appearance of your vehicle’s coat of paint, stop by Tom’s Body and Paint, Inc. We are professional providers of comprehensive auto body and collision repair services for vehicles ranging from small sedans to large recreational vehicles. We have been serving the community with outstanding workmanship and quality repairs since 1979, and we have continued to maintain a legacy of excellence among our customers. To find out more about the services that we provide or to schedule an appointment with our team, simply pick up the phone and call us today.

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