HELP: Scrape removal

I

imported_ronkh

New member
Ok, I admit it. I'm a complete friggin' idiot. :shocked :scared



This afternoon, I scraped up my 2002 Sentra against an electrical box. I was backing out of a driveway, and I didn't see it.



The back driver's side of the car, just behind the gas cap cover, got scraped. There's now a whitish-grey substance on it, which I presume to be paint that came off the electrical box. There doesn't seem to be any denting, and the scrape doesn't seem to be too deep into the paint.



I've attached a photo of the scrape, and I'm wondering if any of the experts here have any advice on how would be the best way to make the car look like it did before the scrape (or at least as close as possible to the pre-scrape shape).



Thanks in advance for any help anybody can provide!



I'm off to go and sob for a while.
 
Well, Michael Andretti you're not. Looks worse than it is....... I hope.



I'd color sand off the white paint with 1500 grit or comparable. If you can attack it with a rotary the job will be easier. Some light sanding and a thorough polishing will take care of that just fine.



If it's too big a job for you I suggest taking it to a body shop or a good pro detailer. A job like that is straightforward for them.
 
bretfraz said:
Well, Michael Andretti you're not. Looks worse than it is....... I hope.



I'd color sand off the white paint with 1500 grit or comparable. If you can attack it with a rotary the job will be easier. Some light sanding and a thorough polishing will take care of that just fine.



If it's too big a job for you I suggest taking it to a body shop or a good pro detailer. A job like that is straightforward for them.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the advice. It's definitely too big a job for me (the thought of using any kind of sandpaper on my car is terrifying). I've e-mailed a local detailer for a quote, and failing that, I'll bring it to a local body shop.



The picture does make it look worse than it is, but it's still quite a noticable scrape.



If anybody else has suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them. Thanks again!
 
Rook,



When I was a young man, I was involved in my one and pnly accident. Not one I could have avoided, and it could have been MUCH worse. I was in my parents Coupe Deville (AKA the land yacht) on a road with two lanes in each direction and a curb height center divider. Going about 40, I am in the left lane going by this guy who was behind a truck. The truck slowed without signal to make a right turn, and the guy, without looking pulled out into the left lane (I was covering him by about 3/4 of the car). :scared I hit the brakes but din't lock them, and made the split second decision to go up on the divider. We were soooo close we actually touched in the front, and again as I steered away from him (Coupes from the 60s had significant overhangs front and rear). Paint on paint only... no dents. Unwilling to have my parents know too much, we continued home the next day and I took car of it with a little polishing compound and a lot of elbow grease. It might just save you some hard $$. I think that with today's polishes and such, this should not be a tremendously difficult project.



Good luck!





Jeff
 
my wife did the same thing to our old minivan, except she pulled up close to a mailbox to get info about some empty lots in a neighborhood, then when she pulled away, she heard a grinding sound. Thinking it was a stick underneath the van, she hit the gas and ended up with a white scrape the entire length of the minivan. Green van, white stripe, with a couple of dings along the way.



The make a long story short, used some Meguirs Fine Cut Cleaner and some Swirl Free Polish #9 with my Random Orbital turned up around 5 or 6, with a foam cutting pad and pretty much took it all off. After I was done, the white paint was gone and I was left with a few dings and in a couple of places, some pretty deep scratches.



I don't think you'll need to wetsand if you have a PC buffer.
 
If it's just paint from the box, get some 3m FI2 or swirlmark remover and rub it out by hand, if it is just paint from the box this should work. If it's deep you'll need to wetsand it and or use a rotary to fix the damage.
 
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