One fine day, while I was walking towards my car in the office parking area, I noticed a small scratch on the hood. I agree that it was hard to see unless the light angle was right and you knew where to look but once discovered, it was all that I could see. Many questions rolled simultaneously in my head as I stood stock still gawking wide mouthed at this scratch.
A mishap, someone sitting on the hood, a key hanging from a bag passing by, a crazy pigeon, falling debris and many more. The cause did not matter, I had to get rid of it. Thankfully the scratch was not too deep and did not go all the way into the primer or metal underneath but stopped just a tad beneath the protective outer coat.
I took the car to the local car wash and they quoted an exorbitant price to clean up a small scratch. I looked into the internet and there were many tactics using household items that it said could help in my situation. They suggested that any scratch no matter how deep or long can be removed using sometimes even toothpaste. And so my research started with smearing toothpaste and scuffing it with a damp and soft cloth. And it worked but the next washing brought back the scratched area more visible than before as the toothpaste dissolved.
Then one friend introduced me to a scratch remover pen which was not only cheap but also needed no expertise to use it. It seemed like a great idea but it is not a quick fix and is surely not just drawing a line along the damage. If one does what they show on the advertisement you will only end up making the damage worse. Advertisement markets any scratch remover pen as an easy way to avoid the heavy body shop charges at a professional place.
A scratch pen for car needs to be of the exact same shade of the car, otherwise the touch up will be apparent and look out of place. The surface needs a bit of preparation and plain old common sense. Use them only for superficial scratches and not on the ones that go deep into the primer or to the metal. For such deeper scratches one should best take it to the body shop instead of trying out any of these quick fixes.
Using a pen first time is kind of a trick especially when you want to reach the thinner parts of the scratch. You also need to hold your hand steady while you trace over the line of the scratch and you might have to adjust your hand as per the width of the applicator tip and the width of the scratch. Reading the instructions on the scratch pen for car is especially necessary as some scratch remover pens need a filler to be applied before use whereas others have it within the pen for ease in application. Depending upon the kind of scratch remover pen you buy, you might have to paint over the same area a couple of times to bring it back to the same thickness and consistency.
All in all it worked well and that scratch has completely vanished. What’s more, I saved on a huge amount of money as well.
