5 Different Types Of Car Scratches And The Best Ways To Fix Them

Car scratches are especially upsetting for vehicle owners like us. No one who appreciates their car can stand car scratches since they leave your vehicle looking awful. However, before we get to the repair methods, it’s crucial to know the various types of scratches.

In today’s post, Driverevolve will introduce the 5 most common car scratch types, along with the best solutions and the scratched car repair cost in each case.

Clear Coat Scratch

They are the most prevalent form and the simplest to identify and repair. These scuffs only impair the topmost coat of your vehicle and do not scrape the painted coat, only the protective one.

Signs 

Despite the numerous methods available to help you pinpoint this kind of scratch, the simplest method to verify is to touch it with your fingernails.

It’s a clear coat scratch if you notice the scuff visually, but your nails can’t “feel” it when you slowly move your nails on the region.

How To Fix 

If you encounter this kind of scratch on your car, worry not – the fix is relatively simple. To resolve the issue, just repaint one extra layer of clear coat to the affected region. Often these scratch repair products can quickly restore the beauty of your car.

If you do the restorations yourself, the cost might run between $15 and $30 to purchase all you require to remedy the clear coat damage. However, if you bring your car to a service center, you might need to pay between $100 and $300 to restore the clear coat.

Base Coat (Paint) Scratch

A base coat scratch, also referred to as a paint scratch, is the second type of scratch. 

Such scuffs begin to strip away the painted coat, but they have not yet entirely displaced it. They’re still relatively simple to repair with the proper product.

Signs 

It’s the same procedure as testing for the above-mentioned scratch type but with the reverse outcome. You get a paint scratch if you notice something when you pass your nails over the scuff. This sort of scratch, however, will expose the car’s paint rather than the metal.

How To Fix 

How to get a paint scuff off car?

Many, although not all, kits that fix a clear coat scratch will also aid in the concealment of a paint scratch. However, it may require a couple of extra coats to achieve a sleek finish. When restoring a paint scratch, give it your best shot and only choose high-quality items.

Note that, however, such products can only conceal most paint scratches. Touch-up paint (which might cost a bit more) will help you achieve optimal outcomes.

If you want to do the repair work at home, you should budget between $20 and $70 to purchase all you require to repair the scuff. If you leave it to a service center, prepare to pay anywhere between $200 and $500 to have it fixed.

Primer Scratch

Your car is suffering from a primer scuff if it possesses deep scratches that reveal the metal layer. They are the deepest kinds of scuffs that can occur on your car and are also the most severe if not repaired.

If you don’t resolve primer scratches immediately, they will produce an oxide layer and eat the metal parts.

Signs 

If you possess a primer scratch, you should be able to recognize it reasonably quickly. You are searching for metal surfaces. 

How To Fix 

Even though patching up primer scratches is somewhat complicated, if the pro problem isn’t too severe, you can fix them yourself using touch-up kits. However, when it comes to DEEP scratches, getting a local auto service do the refurbishments is frequently the only viable option for restoring your vehicle to pre-scratch status.

Touch-up kits will charge you between $40 and $70 to repair the scuff. And although it may appear to be a little pricey, you’re getting a great deal and rescuing your budget when compared to the service center.

Indeed, professional work will cost you somewhere between $500 and $1,500 to repair your vehicle, which is 3 times higher than the heater core replacement cost!!

Wheel Scratch

Not all scratches on your car take place on the paint! Another very popular kind of scratch shows up on the car’s wheels and is known as curb rashes.

Signs 

It’s pretty evident – if your wheels look like the pictures below, you have wheel scratches.

How To Fix 

To properly fix a wheel scratch, sanding and refurbishing job or powder coating is required. This is a time-consuming procedure, but it yields the optimal effects. They are also a few correcting products, but you’re just masking the scuff, not repairing it.

And while patching up your car’s wheel scratch yourself may be pretty laboring, most car service centers will fix it for a fair price.

While they can fix minor wheel scuffs for around $50, more significant problems can cost up to $400 to fix. Remember that this represents the cost per wheel.

Glass Scratch

If you possess a scuffed windscreen or another scuffed glass area on your car.

Signs 

Glass scratches will usually appear like this:

How To Fix 

If your windows only possess minor marks, a polishing product may be able to remove them. A glass polish is ideal, but you might also use non-gel toothpaste to remove small scrapes.

If you do the repair work at home, you might expect to shell out between $10 and $20 to purchase all you require. A few services will fix the scratch marks for about $50, but not all repair centers provide glass scratch repair works.

Alternatively, they strive to persuade you to replace the glass. A windscreen might cost from $200 to $500.

Wrapping Up 

Most types of scratches won’t cause severe damage to the mechanisms underneath; however, they irritate car owners. The great news is most of them also aren’t complicated and expensive to fix, especially if you decide to do it yourself. 

Thus, if the car’s look matters and you don’t mind spending the time (or cash), getting the marks fixed right away is advisable! Refer to our Fun Autopart section for related content!