Kid scratched the wifes new truck

[nappyjim]

2018 Toyota Highlander

My kid accidentally scratched it. I`m more of a weekend warrior and just wondering how someone would try to tackle this scratch?

I currently have the a porter cable 7424. Lake country orange, green, black pads.
Meguiars mirror glaze professional #105, #205 and medium cut cleaner (dont see # on it)

Would the orange pad be ok? I see the chart says yellow and purple are only for older surfaces.
Should I mask tape all around the scratch and just apply to the scratched area?


https://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36101&stc=1https://www.autopia.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36102&stc=1

[Street5927]

It`s hard to tell exactly from a picture, but I`m thinking you may have to wet sand first...but again, hard to tell from a picture.

[Stokdgs]

Nappyjim --
Sorry this had to happen to the car.. :(
Is this a scratch that is deep and you can feel it when you gently put a fingernail in it?
Or is it just a mark on the surface of the paint, kind of like paint transfer when someone backs out of the garage and gets too close to the white trim board, etc.. ?
Dan F

[wannafbody]

I`d be tempted to fill that in with a Quix Clearcoat pen and then sand with 3000 grit to smooth it out.

[Accumulator]

I`d be tempted to fill that in with a Quix Clearcoat pen and then sand with 3000 grit to smooth it out.
I kinda lean that way myself. I can never tell much from internet pix, but that appears to be too deep for (safe) removal so filling it in just might be the way to go. I might consider either DrColorChips too..and/or leveling a conventional touchup with Langka.

But I`d sure think twice about trying to abrade it away, don`t want to go from painting a small scratch to painting the whole door.

[dcjredline]

Yeah, looks like polishing isnt going to make that go away enough.

[Accumulator]

Noting that I never really trust internet pix, looking at the closeup again today I think *I* would go with DrColorChips, though I`d apply it like conventional touchup paint using a tiny brush.

[JSFM35X]

First off. Before you fix it, How fond of the kid are you ? Just kidding !

Sorry to say but it looks to be down to metal. So your choices are:
1 wet sand, then fill in with touch up paint of your choice. All are ok. None are perfect. And live with it.

2. Go to a body shop and re shoot the panel. Make sure they blend into the adjacent panels.

Good news is it’s fixable it just depends on if you own, lease or care about perfection. The fact that your here leads me to believe you will be visiting a body shop.

Good luck op.

[Accumulator]

I dunno what nappyjim`s experience level is, but I question whether he should wetsand unless he`s already dialed-in on that skill. I can`t help but think of all the "I wetsanded and now...[how do I fix the resulting damage].." threads we`ve had here over the years.

[Desertnate]

I dunno what nappyjim`s experience level is, but I question whether he should wetsand unless he`s already dialed-in on that skill. I can`t help but think of all the "I wetsanded and now...[how do I fix the resulting damage].." threads we`ve had here over the years.

Agree. I`m pretty confident with a DA. But I`d never try wet sanding on my daily driver if I`d never done it before...which I haven`t. I`d want to be a pretty skilled and practiced first.

I`ve encountered scratches like that and scuffs before and been pleasantly surprised by how well they buff out. Depending on the depth, it may not totally disappear, but you can make it far less obvious. A little touch up paint after polishing/compounding might be a safe approach.