Car newb with a New car..

[soopaman2010]

Hello, I just recently bought a 2011 Hyundai Sonata, and also just recently joined this forum to hopefully get up to speed on taking care of my first new car... I want to put a protectant of some sort for the paint to help prevent scratches if that's possible.. Unfortunately I've only had the car for about 3-4 weeks now and someone took a key to the side of it :-(... there's about a 3ft scratch down the side of my car.. Is there any relatively inexpensive way to fix the scratch? I'll try to put up a picture when I get home if that helps.. its pretty deep, if you run your finger on it you can feel it has a little depth to it.. and it's white my car is dark blue.. :-( Any help would be more than appreciated, thanks!

[Old Tiger]

Unfortunately it sounds like body shop to me.

[rohnramirez]

If a key was used, there should be no paint transfer, the white color you are seeing may be your primer. If something else was used, that could be paint transfer. I'm just hoping it's paint transfer, cause if it's primer you're seeing, there's no other way to fix it than to paint it.

[cobalt9123]

If you can put your fingernail in the scratch, it most likely can't be removed.

[Dubbin1]

Someone took a key to my nephews black truck, it left a white mark but was not very deep and polished right out. Hopefully you will be as lucky as he was.

[rohnramirez]

Someone took a key to my nephews black truck, it left a white mark but was not very deep and polished right out. Hopefully you will be as lucky as he was.

Are you sure it's a white mark and not a light caught in the scratch? Scratches do appear white in bright light especially on dark colors, but are not a colored imprint. If it was a colored mark and polished right out, that would've been paint transfer.

[soopaman2010]

Thanks for all of the replies, there's no paint transfer and i can stick my nail in it.. I tried to upload a photo. Does anyone have a rough estimate on about how much would it cost to get the scratch fixed/painted?

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[soopaman2010]

Some parts of it look deeper than others I'll try to buff it out where I can..

[rohnramirez]

Looks deep indeed, but it's too wide of a mark for a key IMO and is also too consistent - looks like something hit it, instead of someone taking a key to it. I could have a different view, if i saw it in person. A wool pad would be a good start. good luck.

Let me know if you'd rather diy the repainting. I'll gladly help you out.

[soopaman2010]

I think the pics actually make it look a little wider than in person.. there's a chance it was maybe something else, I'm not positive it was keyed; I just know there's been alot of vandalism lately to cars on my street..

I actually bought some wax and pads today to hopefully clean and polish sometime tomorrow or the next few days

How hard do you think it would be to DIY paint it? I'm certifiably "newb" on anything to do with cars to be honest but I am into DIY projects and really detail oriented so if it's not toooo difficult I'd definitely give it a shot! Thanks for all the replies!

[Dubbin1]

Are you sure it's a white mark and not a light caught in the scratch? Scratches do appear white in bright light especially on dark colors, but are not a colored imprint. If it was a colored mark and polished right out, that would've been paint transfer.

No I know what a scratch is and it was a white scratch left by a key.

[Dubbin1]

I think the pics actually make it look a little wider than in person.. there's a chance it was maybe something else, I'm not positive it was keyed; I just know there's been alot of vandalism lately to cars on my street..

I actually bought some wax and pads today to hopefully clean and polish sometime tomorrow or the next few days


Looks like it was keyed to me.

Did you get any polish or compound to go with the wax and pads?

[rohnramirez]

No I know what a scratch is and it was a white scratch left by a key.

Okay, if you say so. I just don't see where a white color would come from, that's all.



How hard do you think it would be to DIY paint it? I'm certifiably "newb" on anything to do with cars to be honest but I am into DIY projects and really detail oriented so if it's not toooo difficult I'd definitely give it a shot! Thanks for all the replies!


It shouldn't be too hard. A scratch is easy to fix and level. The only hard part in painting is the prep work, but the painting itself should take you just half an hour.

[soopaman2010]

Looks like it was keyed to me.

Did you get any polish or compound to go with the wax and pads?

Hmm.. I did not.. Any suggestions on brand? I have bought a lot of Meguire's brand products..


It shouldn't be too hard. A scratch is easy to fix and level. The only hard part in painting is the prep work, but the painting itself should take you just half an hour.

After I get to clean the car again and try to buff what I can I'll repost and see if I need to go further.. I have this scratch "removal" (cover) stuff from Autozone.. The guys there said it works.. Very skeptical about it tho.. might just return it without trying.. I think it's called scratch quixx or somthing..

[Dubbin1]

Meg Ultimate Compound would be a good start.