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Whether it is your fault or not, the body of a car is rarely scratched or worn, which means that the car paint needs to be repaired. For minor bruises, the immediate temptation may be to go to Halford and pick up a bottle of T-Cut. If the scar is more serious and you are more confident in your DIY skills, maybe you might want to order the right paint color online, sand the area and repaint it yourself. Especially if you get a pretty amazing repair quotation from a local body shop.

Either choice is possible, but if you try to repaint the car panel yourself, will the result be satisfactory? After a low-speed scratch on one of our own cars, Driving contacted ChipsAway to witness the process experienced by professional roadside maintenance personnel. There is no doubt in our minds: leave it to the professionals.

ChipsAway franchisee Luke Hall in the Esher area of ​​Surrey guided us through the stages.

According to Hall, the damaged area must be free of dust, grease and tar. He uses professional degreasers and wipes, and sets up an awning above the car to protect the maintenance area from natural disasters. Humidity and temperature will affect the quality of repairs.

Sanding the damaged area can remove scratches and ensure a smooth final repair. Hall uses an orbital sander and hand-sand, from rough to smooth paper grades. He said there is no standard method here: experience determines the technology and sandpaper grade, and it can involve any sandpaper from 40 grit (coarse) to 4,000 grit (superfine).

Hall applied the primer to the largest repair areas, but said that it is not needed in all areas. Again, experience decides. He masked the area, including the nearest wheel, to avoid the primer going beyond where needed, and then applied a layer evenly with a spray gun. Apply the first coat, then dry under an infrared heating lamp for 10 minutes, and then apply the second coat.

Hall then added a layer of dark paint and used fine sandpaper to remove the "high and low", then cleaned the area again with degreaser, and used an air gun to blow off the dust and dry the area.

Of course, the color of the paint is very important. Hall checked the damage during the previous visit (this is the standard configuration of ChipsAway, because they need to evaluate the damage and provide a quote, and make sure they can work in the given space and can use the power outlet), so bring Correct paint, but he used a spectrometer to measure the exact shadows of three points around the damaged area. He then uploaded this information to a laptop in his van and mixed the paint to match the natural color of the panel.

This is obviously a highly specialized process that ensures high-quality surface treatment.

Assuming you can find the right shade, or at least a recent off-the-shelf product, take some time to prepare. Hall taped the nearby body panels and lights, as well as the chrome-plated parts on the bumper. Then, he covered the sides and rear of the car with a thin layer of plastic film, which was attached to the car body, and the edges were fixed with tape. He used a scalpel to carefully cut off the plastic around the panel to be repaired and used more tape to secure the inner edge.

The paint is applied with a spray gun, and the edges are feathered to ensure that the surface of the entire panel is smooth. The water-based paint he used requires only three minutes of curing time between coatings under the lamp. According to Hall, the heat of the lamp is very important, and a humid or humid environment will greatly affect the quality of the finish.

Our repairs require a total of five coats, but this depends on the car and repairs.

The varnish provides a tough, durable glossy finish to the paint. Before applying the last coat, spray it and let it dry for more than 15 minutes.

The final job is to polish the area. Hall uses an orbital machine polisher with two grades of 3M pads to add and polish the polishing agent. He advises not to wash the car for at least three days, preferably for a week, but it can be cleaned normally afterwards.

If you feel that your skills meet the requirements, even Luke said it is entirely possible to use cheap products from Halfords or other retailers. Compared with using professional services, it can save a lot of money. Regarding the impact on your car and its resale value, if something goes wrong, there are obvious warnings, so please proceed with caution.

While this obviously depends on the amount of work that needs to be done, professional repairs for small scratches and dents range from approximately £150 to £200. More extensive work, for example, if the damage extends to multiple panels, it may end up costing £500 and more. Like everything, it's worth shopping around, because dealers can be much more expensive than paint repair specialists. If the company cannot provide you with a repair cost estimate in advance, please go away.

Likewise, for those repairing scratches at home, the cost will depend on the extent of the damage and the depth of the scratch. Mild wear will require different products and treatment methods to go deeper. However, either way, the cost of DIY paint repairs will not exceed 25 to 30 pounds, unless you are going to carry out some major repairs.

For minor scratches that only affect the paint surface, products such as T-Cut or Autoglym Paint Renovator are very slightly abrasive, and the paint finish can be "cut" to help eliminate scratches. The user will need a clean, lint-free cloth to apply the cutting compound, and subsequent wax to protect the paint, because the topcoat has been partially removed.

For more severe wear, you may need a rust inhibitor and a touch-up pen that matches your car's paint code, which can usually be found on the VIN nameplate. Wax is needed to provide extra protection for the repaired paint. Retailers like Halfords usually have kits that contain everything a DIYer needs to repair minor physical injuries.

If you want to withstand a wider range of damage, you will need various grades of sandpaper (to the very fine), primer, and a can of paint the same color as your car. An electric sander can save time, but be careful because you may end up over-sanding and make the problem worse. As recommended by Chips Away, electric heaters will significantly improve the finish quality.

Before spraying, you also need newspaper or plastic sheeting and masking tape so that the paint will not be oversprayed on other panels and windows. Depending on the type of paint, you may also need a spray paint can to provide a protective finish. As always, once the paint is completely dry, a layer of wax provides additional protection.

It depends on the type of scratch. By scratching the scratch with your nail, you can tell whether it is just a scratch on the topcoat or something deeper. Let's take a look at the two main types of scratches that can be repaired at home.

The old method of using toothpaste to repair scratches has a certain degree of authenticity because it contains slightly abrasive particles like many cutting compounds. These particles are not enough to have any major impact, so it is ineffective against the lightest abrasion in the topcoat, such as branches from bushes or country roads. However, cutting compounds designed for paint are a better choice, and toothpaste does nothing for the restoration we need.

Repairing the abrasion of the bumper of the same color on the body follows the same principles as the paint on any other part of the car. Work involving spraying is best carried out in well-ventilated indoor areas such as garages to avoid environmental interference such as dust, rain, and extreme high temperatures. Although most people will leave this scale of work to professionals, but if you are a handy person, then it can be done at home.

Just a reminder of more complicated repairs:

Although this sounds like a lot of work, most bumper scratches can be dealt with using the other methods we outlined above. If you think any of these repairs are beyond your skills, it’s really worth asking a professional to inspect it, because botched DIY work not only looks terrible, but also seriously affects your car’s performance. Resale value.

For more examples of Hall repair work, please visit facebook.com/chipsawayesher.

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