# scratch approx 13 - 14 inches light nail barely catchs



## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

So it was bound to happen , had my car two weeks metallic black vovlo s40 and my m8s kid brushed past it on drive resulting in me getting a scratch. I have checked the depth and it seems to be very light barely catches nail and cant even feel it when rubbing with hand. 

Ive tryed to buff it out with quixx and also tryed to mask with udp and hd wax , in the end i went to my usual body shop for touch up. They suggested machine polish instead of touch up. After looking at machine polish on here and how thick laquer is im not sure if this will work. But then im no expert so ill try and get a picture upped later.

Anyhow after searching various posts for more information , i found a company called smart care in tipton and they gave me a quote also :-

flat + mop scratch 10.00 which seems quite cheap to me , my local bodyshop quoted me 30 for panel .... does anyone have any exp with smart care ?


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## deefer (Feb 27, 2013)

Both prices seem very cheap, especially the bodyshop price.

I operate a Sprayless Scratch repair business and if you tell me where you are located can let you know who to contact in your area to get another quote.


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## witcher (Nov 25, 2010)

Put up a picture mate, from the description it sounds like manageable without respray if you find somebody who knows what he is doing.


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

my local bodyshop says there 30 charge is by the hour so could spill over ive had work done there before but there booking until end of month. Im guessing smartcares price is just for the scratch maybe not whole door panel should have mentioned this earlier. Debating going in again to see technician and get full breakdown of what hes actually proposing at that price.

Ive only just got back from work so will have to post a picture up in morning , but i really appreciate the replys / feedback thanks 

deefer im located in west bromwich area and would be happy to have a quote thank you , again ill post a pic up in the morning.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

Sounds like a very minor surface scratch that's not gone through the lacquer to me - in which case the bodyshop quote seems very reasonable for what will probably be 10mins work for someone that knows what to do with a polisher.
Then again (and if I've got the damage right) you could take to a top class detailer for the price of a days work.
Horses for courses ....


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Going to say sounds like a lightish scratch to me and it would only be 10-15 minutes work for me. 

I'd do it for you if you lived closer.


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## Buck (Jan 16, 2008)

Your body shop sounds good/honest rather than going for the "needs a respray mate" option

If you have a go at polishing this to flatten the scratch (you may not be able to remove) and round the edges then you can assess and if you're still not happy you can go down the smart repair/respray route.

You'll be amazed as to what scratches you can machine out with care albeit sometimes it is just too deep to deal with.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

We use Smart Care for paintwork and they're good guys.

I'd be happy to take a look at this for you too if you'd like - just in Walsall. No hologram guarantee too


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## carfix (May 28, 2010)

Hi there, as a general rule, if you wet it and it disappears, then its only abraded the clear lacquer coat and can be taken out by polishing with a T-Cut type product or using some 2000 grit wet and dry. Although you can do it yourself, I would think that £10 is a very good offer from your body shop for what could be tricky if you have little experience.


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

again thanks for all the feedback / replys ill got a picture up early morning , some sound advice given thank you all 

midland car care i would appreciate / be happy for you to have a look, your only 10 mins away from me as im close to tame bridge. If you can let me know what times best ..


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

tomtech said:


> again thanks for all the feedback / replys ill got a picture up early morning , some sound advice given thank you all
> 
> midland car care i would appreciate / be happy for you to have a look, your only 10 mins away from me as im close to tame bridge. If you can let me know what times best ..


PM on its way 

Russ.


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

appreciate reply , need more posts so i can read pms think its 10 minimum.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Oh sorry, I said I'll be around at the weekend if that suits you and most of next week.

Cheers,
Russ.


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

yeh thats fine thanks very much appreciated weekend would be better but whatever is easier for you


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

How many you up to now?


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

11 now , just about to head work but will get a picture posted up shortly whilst its sunny outside.


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

well it was quite hard to capture but i took 3 shots 1 where you cant see it and the other 2 you can as i say it looks like its just gone into the clear cloat slightly, but again im no expert 

again thanks for all the replies so far


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

Nah - that's nowhere near gone through the clear coat.
10 mins with a machine polisher - job done :thumb:


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

glad to hear , thanks for taking a look at pictures giving feedback


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## bobbyjoeufb (Dec 29, 2011)

Looking at the photos I would think machine polishing should get that out.

Heres a photo of damage that was caused to my car and I managed to get it out with a DA.


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

well i had russ at midland car care take a lot at it , nice guy very professional and informed me what he was doing at all times. It looked like it had mostly gone in workshop but when i got it home i noticed it was still there , it def looks a lot better / less noticeable now thou. And ill be paying russ another visit for full polish once i tidied up the little bits i want to do 

Might look at getting touch up or something if possible in near future , does anyone think this would be difficult ie would the door need stripping back and full laquer or could the scratch alone be done ? , ive seen a few people now who inform me it hasent gone through clear coat.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

I doubt that touching it in would work, getting anything to lay in, and then stay in, such a shallow scratch would be more down to luck than skill.
If the scratch is only in the clear coat then it needs more machining to get the surrounding surface down to the same level that the scratch has gone.
The danger in doing this is burn through as obviously there is only a very thin layer of lacquer left in the scratch - a touch to much machine polishing and it'll be through the lacquer which will then need re-spraying.
If it gets burnt through it will need re-colouring and then re-lacquering - at most bodyshops this would mean the complete door at the least.
You may not require a complete door respray if you could find a good smart repairer.

In conclusion it needs more machine polishing but burn through is your biggest enemy here - and the way I see it you can take one of 3 routes .....

A pro detailer maybe able to machine it flat, but depending how much lacquer there is in the scratch they may still burn through.

A good bodyshop or smart repairer maybe able to polish it out, but they too may burn through, but if the bodyshop or smart repairer burn through they know exactly what has happened and can get straight on with respraying (as opposed to them not knowing what the extent of the original damage was if you take to them after someone else has burnt through IE it would become a more difficult job because of the unknown.).

A good smart repairer maybe able to respray without doing the whole door.


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## tomtech (Mar 12, 2013)

thanks for posting back squiggs , i know midlands car care at the time was measuring paint as he was working and wanted to play it safe. Again thanks for the advice posted ill have bodyshop relaquer panel when the summer arrives later in year , at least if they want to machine polish any further and mess up they can fix.

Tbh russ has done a good job, before it was really obvious but now i have to get up closer to see so i can just about live with for now


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