Help with this scratch (newbie question)

**comma** · 08-16-2018, 08:22 AM

I just bought a Honda Element (black). After owning it for a few weeks I noticed a scratch along the entire passenger side of the car. Looks like a branch or something side swiped it at some point. Not sure if it was there when I bought it or not honestly.

Pics attached here. Sorry for the reflection. It doesn't seem that any of the scratch can catch my fingernail.

Couple of questions.

Does this look like a clear coat scratch, or through the paint?

I tried Meguiars scratch x, vigorously for about 30 minutes (by hand) with only very slight noticeable results, if any. I also bought Meguiar's G18116 Polishing Compound I plan on trying before a wash/wax.

By doing this, did I harm all of the clear coat that the scratch x touched?
Should I keep going with the scratch x?
Is there another safe option for a newbie like me to try by hand?
If not, does anybody have any idea how much a paint shop would charge to fix this?

Thanks!!

**Desertnate** · 08-16-2018, 08:44 AM

Working by hand probably won't end with the results you're after, and if it runs the length of the vehicle, it could be a lot of work.

I don't know about body shop rates in your area, but buying a DA polisher, pads, compound, and polish and trying to correct it yourself or getting a reputable detailer in your area would probably be a far better, and less expensive option than a body shop.

If it doesn't catch your nail, there may be hope. Even if it can't be made to totally disapear without risk of going through the clear coat, a little machine correcting should make it nearly invisible.

**comma** · 08-16-2018, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Working by hand probably won't end with the results you're after, and if it runs the length of the vehicle, it could be a lot of work.

I don't know about body shop rates in your area, but buying a DA polisher, pads, compound, and polish and trying to correct it yourself or getting a reputable detailer in your area would probably be a far better, and less expensive option than a body shop.

If it doesn't catch your nail, there may be hope. Even if it can't be made to totally disapear without risk of going through the clear coat, a little machine correcting should make it nearly invisible.

Thanks, that's what I figured.
Do you think the hand scrubbing with the scratch x I've already done has caused damage to my clear coat?

I'm debating just trying to ignore it.

Would any kind of polish or wax help in this case or no?
I do have the Honda touch up paint for my car. Is that an option?

Thanks again

**LSNAutoDetailing** · 08-16-2018, 12:45 PM

That looks fairly deep. You can try some Megs Scratch-X and a microfiber applicator in one spot, maybe even some ultimate compound. But honestly, that looks like primer is showing.... The rule of thumb is if you can get your fingernail into it, it's generally too deep.

**comma** · 08-16-2018, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by LSNAutoDetailing

That looks fairly deep. You can try some Megs Scratch-X and a microfiber applicator in one spot, maybe even some ultimate compound. But honestly, that looks like primer is showing.... The rule of thumb is if you can get your fingernail into it, it's generally too deep.

How do you tell if it's primer? I don't seem to be able to catch my fingernail on it.
You can only really see the scratch if you look hard.

If it's too deep, what are my other options? Who can fix it?

**LSNAutoDetailing** · 08-16-2018, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by comma

How do you tell if it's primer? I don't seem to be able to catch my fingernail on it.
You can only really see the scratch if you look hard.

If it's too deep, what are my other options? Who can fix it?

I can only go off your picture. The truck is black, the scratch is white/gray in nature in the photo... Could be lighting, could be how the camera interpenetrated the photo.. If it's too deep and after doing a test spot with some various compounds, the only other option is body shop.

**Kamakaz1961** · 08-16-2018, 01:56 PM

IMO this looks very easy to repair. I would compound and polish to get that out. I recently worked on a BMW which had a deep scratch. It was corrected with my Flex 3401 with an Orange Lake country Pad with Menzerna FG400 and followed up with a White Pad and Menzerna Super Finish 3800. I will try to figure out how to upload the pics from my new cell phone. But my method worked fine.

**Desertnate** · 08-16-2018, 02:29 PM

The white coloring may be just the nature of the scratch in the clear coat. Hopefully it isn't clear to the primer.

A good example of marring turning white is the pictures below. My father-in-law's truck was scuffed by the garage door and I polished it out. You can tell from the second picture they aren't completly gone, but visibility is far less. A few of the scratches would catch a nail, but they were down to the base coat, not the primer as no white/gray showing. With marks there I had no intentions of a perfect correction, just make them far less obvious. The work was all done by a machine using various Lake Country orange and white flat pads along with some Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. I don't think I could have come close doing the work by hand...at least not in the 20 minutes-ish I worked on this tailgate.

**blagunas6** · 08-16-2018, 03:48 PM

you can also buy some touch up paint and cover it up. Done it with my black truck .applied touch up paint with a small fine brush ..let it dry for about a day then lightly sand and buff..looked better than a white scratch thats for sure!

**rlmccarty2000** · 08-16-2018, 08:52 PM

I used Scratch-X a very long time ago before I knew anything much about tetailing and I did some serious damage with it by hand. Take your car to someone you trust and let them try to remove the scratch before you do something you will regret. A good detailer or a body shop won’t charge much if this is just a surface scratch.