Really Ouch!

[Bob Forman]

Had a shelf in the garage collapse bringing down a sharp tool that did some nasty work on my boot. This scratch is about 3 inches long. Thankfully, no dent. Before I open a vein, are there any suggestions on a fix other than repainting the whole lid?

[Neil Bardsley]

tough luck

[Emil Wojcik]

If there really isn't any dent at all, you can dab in paint using multiple, thin coats until the paint fills the scratch higher than the rest of the painted surface. Make sure each coat of paint is completely dry between coats and don't go on to the next step until you've given the paint at least a few days to fully dry.

Next, wrap the ends of a new single-edge razor with a few layers of masking tape so only the center of blade is exposed.

Now the tricky part. Hold the ends of the blade between the thumb and index finger of both hands. Hold the blade perpendicular to the surface with the exposed blade edge over the filled scratch and very carefully drag the blade over the raised paint, scraping away the paint. Then remove a layer of masking tape from each side of the blade and again drag the blade over the scratch, removing more paint. Repeat until you're down to one layer of tape left.

Now you should be left with a flat but thin raised, filled scratch.

Now the trickier part. Take a strip of fine wet-dry sandpaper about 1/4 inch wide and maybe 3 inches long. Starting at one end of the scratch, place the strip of sandpaper on the scratch, parallel to it. Place your finger on the sandpaper, holding it down on the end of the scratch and with the other hand drag the sandpaper strip out from under your finger. Repeat as needed, moving your finger along the scratch until the paint is flush with the rest of the paint surface. Finish by wet-sanding as small of an area as possible using a block. Then polish.

This is not the easiest thing to do unless you have experience and you may even do more damage than good if you're not careful. It's easier to do when filling a small chip than a scratch but I've done it successfully many times over the years. If you haven't done it before you may want to find someone who has. Try a paint or detail shop.

If you mess it up, your only option will then be to repaint the area.

[Bob Forman]

Emil, Thanks very much for the information. Two questions: 1) Should the first sanding be with 2000 or should I try something finer? 2) Are you aware of a source for paint? In my case, Champagne Yellow. I tried the place that advertises in various car mags (Touchup.com or some such) and they didn't have the formula.

[Emil Wojcik]

Sorry, Bob, don't have any source for matching paint. Since it's such a tiny area that's touched up, even if the paint's a little off, once it's smooth and shiny it's really hard to notice unless you know exactly where it was done and you look very closely. I just use whatever touch up paint's the closest.

I'm embarrassed to say that when I do this I usually just grab whatever wet-sand paper's laying around. I think I usually go for about 800 or so when making the thin strips but you may want to first try it with something a little finer if you're unsure since the courser it is, the more scratches you have to remove later. It has to be course enough to actually remove the raised paint and not just round it over, which is what will happen if it's too fine. Try it with the finest paper you have first. If that removes the raised paint and doesn't just round it over, great. If it rounds it over, go to a coarser paper.

Then, after the surface is level, use finer papers when block wet-sanding. I've never seen the need to go finer than 1500 as the final step before polishing but going finer can't hurt as long as you haven't removed too much paint already.

If you have an old painted panel around, I'd suggest polishing an area then scratching it and use that to practice on. And like I said, you have to accept the fact that if it doesn't go well you'll be looking at repainting the panel.

There are other methods, too. Go to youtube and you'll find a few different ways scratches are handled.

[Wes Bender]

Bob, take off one of the panels from in front of the door and take it to a automotive paint store. They should be able to computer match it.

[Dan Epperly]

If your paint is BC/CC you have no choice but to respray the entire panel if you want an undetectable repair. If you have single stage and can get the exact match you can repair it.

[Charles H Jacobus]

You might use this for sanding. It comes with a 2" square soft sanding block which gives excellent control. The 1500 will cut well and the 12,000 makes a mirror finish. I use it on finishes for the furniture I build.
https://www.amazon.com/SANDING-SHEETS-I ... ing+sheets

Chuck
PS: I would use it wet

[Emil Wojcik]

Even if it's base/clear paint, touching it up the way I describe will do a decent job hiding the scratch since it's a very thin area that's being filled. Yes, you'll be able to see it if you look close when done on base/clear, but it will be much more acceptable looking than a scratch and very few people will ever be able to notice it.

[Jim Liberty]

I agree with all, except the razor blade. After the paint build-up is above the adjacent area, (And FULLY dry) take a flat paint stick and wrap it in #600 wet/dry sand paper. Keep the sanding as close to the repair as possible. Keep wet with liquid soap and water in a spray bottle. Keep reducing to #2000 grit until flat. Polish with compound for the finish. Take your time, and you will be delighted with the results. I do this more often that I'll admit.

[Martin Benade]

Emil's or Jim's method could work, I have used the razor blade method many times, and since I have nerves if steel I do not use masking tape, just a steady hand. The biggest problem is you will not have any practice at this until it is done. Sometimes this works, but don't feel too bad if it ends up needing a respray.

[Emil Wojcik]

Martin, I don't use the masking tape either but that's the way I learned years ago. It's just safer with the tape if you haven't done it before, gives you a bit of confidence. Learned to use the razor blade to remove paint runs first, then realized it would work just as well for scratches and chips. Even used it to fix a bunch of fish eyes after painting my MG. Like Jim, I've used this technique more than I'd like to admit.

[Martin Benade]

I use it fairly regularly to fix up runs that my painters get. I am happy to say that the one full paint job that I did during the last twenty years had no runs in it. (orange peel, yes)