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3 Things You Shouldn't Do When Your Car Has Scratches

websitebuilder • Sep 06, 2018
You likely want your car to look great and maintain its value, so scratches on your vehicle's paint job can be quite upsetting, and you need to do something about it right away. What you do after you find these scratches does matter. These are some of the mistakes that you shouldn't make after you realize that your car has scratches, whether they're minor or more serious.
Car Scratches — Blue Car Have Scratches in Raleigh, NC

1. Ignore the Problem

First of all, if the scratches don't seem to be too bad, you may not think it's a big deal to ignore them. However, this is the last thing that you should do. The scratches can impact the way that your vehicle looks and can affect its value, of course, but these aren't the only reasons why car scratches shouldn't be ignored.

Once a car's paint job is scratched, the clear coat that protects the paint job is usually removed. This means that your car's paint job is at risk of further damage, such as rust. The longer that you wait to do something about the problem, the chance that rust will form increases. By having your scratches repaired right away, you can help protect your vehicle and its paint job.

2. Apply Touch-Up Paint

When you notice scratches on your car's body, your first instinct might be to go out and get a bottle of touch-up paint. After all, you might have seen touch-up paint at auto parts stores, and you might even know people who have used it successfully to repair scratches on their cars.

Even though this can be an option in a pinch, such as if you have an older car that you would prefer not to spend money to repair, it's usually not the ideal choice. This is true for a few reasons. For one thing, it can be difficult or impossible to find a touch-up paint that actually matches the color of your car, which means that the touch-up paint might be even more obvious than the scratches are.

Also, touch-up paint is more difficult to apply to a car than many people realize. If you don't prepare the vehicle properly before applying the touch-up paint, then it might not stick, or you might be able to see dirt underneath. If you apply too much, which can be very easy to do, then you probably won't get the look that you were hoping for.

Because of all of these complications, you'll probably want to skip using touch-up paint yourself. If you take your car to a professional to have your scratches repaired, you can help ensure that your car looks great when the job is done, and you will not have to worry about handling the problem yourself.

3. Wash Your Vehicle Too Roughly

Lastly, you need to be very careful when washing your car when it has scratches. Minor surface scratches might not pose much of a problem, but washing over areas with deeper scratches can result in chipped paint and other further damage.

Of course, you should never use anything abrasive when washing your car, but you need to be especially cautious and use a soft cloth when washing any scratched parts of your vehicle. Additionally, you should avoid automatic car washes until you can have your car's paint job repaired. Ideally, you should have your car's paint job repaired as soon as possible so that you don't have to worry about this problem.

No matter how hard you might try to keep your car looking like new, there's a good chance that scratches are going to happen from time to time. Along with trying to avoid these scratches, you should know what not to do when your car does end up with them.

Contact us at Coats Auto Body & Paint, and we'll be happy to tell you about our scratch repair and car painting services.
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