I was pulling out of my friends driveway last night, and kinda rubbed his mailbox along my bed side. It made some nasty looking scratches. As far as I can tell, the majority of it can't be buffed out. Now, what should I do? Should I take it to a ford dealership and ask them what to do? Or, should I go to a high $ paint shop? I'm so mad at myself, but I have to get it fixed.

Does anyone know about how much it's going to run me to get it fixed.

 

Are the scratches down to the metal?

 

I don't think they are.

 

I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to fix the paint yourself unless you're an expert. I tried doing that on an older car, and ended up having it repainted Anyways, shop around, and see who does quality work AND doesn't bust your bank account. If you're like me, and really love to keep your vehicle looking as new as possible, it doesn't hurt to become friends with a good body shop. A good relationship with a shop will help with getting a good price, and quality work you can be happy with.

 

Not sure but, you might be able to try Intel486's paint chip method and see what you can do. Worst case scenario, you pay someone to correct your goof.

RP

 

I talked to one of my friends about it, and he said that it should definitely be able to get buffed out. He recommended me getting some of Meguires scratch fixer or whatever it is. They really aren't as deep as I thought they were. After I try to buff them out, they might be able to be seen by someone looking for them. But, they shouldn't be that noticeable. I just don't feel like spending $400 on new paint, or whatever it would cost.

 

Meguiars, and several other brands, have multiple levels of abrasive products to remove scratches and oxidation. There are consumer lines and also professional lines of products with fillers and different grades of abrasives added to achieve the desired results. Of course, you want to start with the lightest abrasive possible and then work upwards towards more aggressive products. I hesitate to suggest any particular brand/level of abrasive but, I know 3M and Meguiars seem to excel in products for this purpose. I'm sure there are several others but, the body shops that I've been in, one of the two (if not both) were there.

If you're not familar with a buffer, I'd probably let someone try to get them out that is (I don't know jack about buffers with the exception that I can ROYALLY screw my paint up in a wink of an eye). Swing by your local detail or body shop and see what they say... be sure to keep us posted and also, if you could get a few pics and also keep track of what products they use to remove it... that would be awesome information for the next guy with scratches similar to yours.

RP