What to do if you scratched your own car?

G

Gokwi

Contributing Member
Joined
22 October 2002
Messages
233
Location
va beach
I'am a little pissed now..
I tapped my car door on my garage wall.
Not hard, but just a little tap. And I saw little scratches, the paint didn't come off, but I see a little of the clear coat srcathed..

It is not noticeble when I closed the door, but it's just the fact I hurt my own baby
frown.gif

I put a little rubbing compound on the door (don't worry I didn't smear it all over the door, just on the edge where the scratch was) , it only helped a little bit, but I heard it can take off the clear coat..

Feel free to share your own storys, I hope you all are feelin my situation..

But nothing's perfect right?
If that happened to me if I just bought a 02' NSX for $80,000, I think I would go crazy.. but I bought my car used, so it came with some scratches.. So right now I'm tryin not be as paranoid as like having a brand new NSX..

So I guess I will be alright
smile.gif




[This message has been edited by Gokwi (edited 24 November 2002).]
 
Superficial scratches can often be buffed out - starting either with rubbing compound, which is VERY abrasive, or with swirl mark remover (like Meguiars or 3M), which is mildly abrasive. Remember that with rubbing compound the finish is not going to be smooth and shiny, so you're going to want to go over it afterwards with something that is only mildly abrasive, like swirl mark remover. A good rule of thumb is to try the mildest solution first, and if it doesn't work, then try something stronger.

If the scratch is deep, you may have a choice between getting the panel refinished by a body shop, or - if it's just a small one in an inconspicuous place, like a door edge or door jamb - using touch-up paint.
 
I think I'm going to use touch up, paint, but can anyone recommend the "Top of the Line" touch of paint?
 
Originally posted by Gokwi:
I think I'm going to use touch up, paint, but can anyone recommend the "Top of the Line" touch of paint?
Click to expand...

The "top of the line" is all based on how you do it. Touch up paint is only as good as the person applying it. You have to be extremely patient, do one thin layer at a time, and do multiple layers until you build up the paint to the level of the original paint. It takes weeks to do it and it will never be like the original paint - you can get close but I believe it's super hard to achieve a perfect match.

I feel for you, I know how bad I would feel if it had happened to me.
 
Originally posted by 1HOT NSX:
The "top of the line" is all based on how you do it. Touch up paint is only as good as the person applying it. You have to be extremely patient, do one thin layer at a time, and do multiple layers until you build up the paint to the level of the original paint. It takes weeks to do it and it will never be like the original paint - you can get close but I believe it's super hard to achieve a perfect match.

I feel for you, I know how bad I would feel if it had happened to me.
Click to expand...


thanks for ur comment, it's not bad, it's just little scratches (not deep) on the edge of the door, barely noticible. but i will go to the acura dealer. Looks like the clear go got scratched off..

Should I apply the touch up paint and spray some clear coat, or should I Just use touch up paint..?
 
My experience has been that if the scratches are slight and do not go through the color.. let it alone. Using touch-up paint often looks worse than before.
YMMV


------------------
keep the shiny side up
MikeC 01 #46
 
I scratched my own car and pretty bad..I can notice it, it's about 5 inches long and all the way down so I can feel it when I run my nail over it...

Somehow I had my garage opener in my pocket, and the clip rubbed against the car fender right above the rear wheel and scratched it up...

No one has noticed it yet if I dont point it out, but I'll take care of it soon hopefully.
 
I just got my WW kit a couple of months ago. I let a long time friend drive the car the other day. He has driven it before but not since the body kit has been installed. Upon pulling into the country club he pulls a little to far into the spot and bumps the front spoiler into the curb. OH S*** !!!
Upon inspection the spoiler wasn't damaged but it will have to be resanded and painted again. He felt horrible about doing it since he knows how I am about all my cars, let alone the NSX. He called me again today and apoligized. Said would pay for the damage. I declined saying that I know he didn't do it on purpose. Besides, his team(Alabama) lost to my team (Auburn) and he had to pay for a $150 steak dinner for losing the bet.


------------------
ALL NSX
92 RED/BLACK 5-SPEED
 
Originally posted by 92NSX:
I just got my WW kit a couple of months ago. I let a long time friend drive the car the other day. He has driven it before but not since the body kit has been installed. Upon pulling into the country club he pulls a little to far into the spot and bumps the front spoiler into the curb. OH S*** !!!
Upon inspection the spoiler wasn't damaged but it will have to be resanded and painted again. He felt horrible about doing it since he knows how I am about all my cars, let alone the NSX. He called me again today and apoligized. Said would pay for the damage. I declined saying that I know he didn't do it on purpose. Besides, his team(Alabama) lost to my team (Auburn) and he had to pay for a $150 steak dinner for losing the bet.
Click to expand...

Yea, in life things happen, and there's nothing to do about it..

thankd god our NSX's aren't 2002 NSX's.. lol

Today I called Acura and I'm going to buy $5 Touch up paint. I know this may sound amateur, but I would like to know if there's a procedure in doing touch up paint the right way?
Or just paint it?, do some type of clear coating?
Thanks for your comments..
 
I've had good results using those teeny-tiny artist's brushes (a couple of bucks from Walmart). Works much better than a toothpick IMO.
 
It may also be worth looking into the Autosharp product noted here. It has touch-up paint in the form of a pen with a super sharp point.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 26 November 2002).]
 
Originally posted by mikec:
My experience has been that if the scratches are slight and do not go through the color.. let it alone. Using touch-up paint often looks worse than before.
YMMV
Click to expand...

then was the point of touch up paint?
 
Originally posted by Gokwi:
then was the point of touch up paint?
Click to expand...

For one, to protect the bare metal from corrosive elements. If applied properly, touch up paint does mask small chips in the finish.
 
Sorry to hear about your mishap, but that ain't nothin'. Take a look at my avatar . . . Now THAT's a scratch that touch up paint and some rubbing compound aren't going to be much help . . .

I feel your pain. Kevin
 
Just in case it's not clear...

As mikec notes, if scratches are slight - and don't go through the colored paint - then you probably don't want to use touch-up paint. As PHOEN$X notes, if scratches are deep, or there are actual chips - so that you need to protect the bare metal from corrosive elements - then you probably do want to use touch-up paint.
 
yea, it's to the point where there are very SMALL chips, and I can see the white on there.

I'am juss debating now, to use what type of wax remove, and what applicator do I use..

do i use the brush that came with the cap of the acura touch up paint
or

should i use a tooth pick?

or should i use a small art brush from walmart?

If anyone has done this before I would like to know their own procedure

[This message has been edited by Gokwi (edited 27 November 2002).]
 
Originally posted by khiroshima:
Take a look at my avatar . . .
Click to expand...

Hey Kevin, I thought the damage would've been much worse considering how solid those walls on 680 are...
wink.gif


It was great meeting you and hearing your M5 exhaust on Monday. Very sweet ride...
 
Ok, I use the following process. It's probably not the methods pros use, and it takes a lot of time and patience(which I have little of sometimes!), but it works for me:

1. Thorougly wash/clean the area where the touchup paint is needed. Use dishwashing detergent if necessary to remove wax buildup.

2. Shake the bottle of touchup paint really well, and dab a small amount onto a little plastic paint tray (less than $1 from Walmart) using the supplied brush in the bottle cap. Also keep some paint thinner nearby for cleaning the brush or removing excess paint.

3. Depending on the size of the rock chip, dab just enough paint onto the tip of the art brush to cover most of the exposed surface area. Then carefully and gently apply the brush tip to the target area. You want to put on a very thin layer at a time, not a glop. It's better to underfill than overfill, since you can always put on more paint, but you can't really take the paint off once it dries. The touchup paint will be very watery(runny) at first, until it starts drying, so you can't really control where it goes-which is why it's better to apply a little bit at a time.

4. Give the first coat of paint a few minutes to dry. Clean your brush with the paint thinner, dry, and repeat step 3 until the chip is pretty much filled to approx the same level as the surrounding area. I stop once the chip is no longer visible at standing position. Don't try to make it perfect, you'll drive yourself crazy!

5. After the paint is thoroughly dry (usually the next day), I apply wax over the painted area to protect the finish.

HTH.
 

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