Paint Scratch
 

I set a duffel bag on my rear fender the other day and did not realize it had steel grommets. So now I have two mild scratches in my paint. Ughhhhh! Any suggestions? Is there anything I can do? I have some touch up paint but am worried the fix might be more noticable than the scratches..... Help please!

if it isnt down to the primer you may be able to buff it out with a rubbing compound or if you have to use touch up paint as a last resort. but the results may vary depending on the color of your car

It is seal grey. Looks like maybe not to primer coat. Is there any special rubbing compound? Where do I get that anyway.

Scratch is right behind drivers door so every time I get in it I am going - DAMMIT!

I've you've never done this type of work before, take it to a professional. I've had great success working with paint using 2000 grit wet sanding paper and a variety of polishing compounds. However, this is not a good time to learn on your car in an obvious spot.

You can use a product called "Scratch-X" by Meguiars which is very mild and wouldn't hurt your paint; but it may not be strong enough to remove the damage if its through the clear coat. Rubbing compounds can cause a lot of damage if not used properly; then you're painting a fender.

Ok,
Here's the deal. If you cant catch your fingernail in the scratch, it can be wet sand and buffed. As long as the scratch is in the clear and not too deep, a professional can wet sand the scratch and use a high speed buffer and some compounds and glazes to remove it.

I would find your local body shop and see if they can do this for you. It would be worth the 30 or 40 bucks they may charge. If the scratches cannot be removed by buffing, the body shop could mix some seal gray paint for you as touch up to apply over the scratches

Best of luck!

You probably won't believe me at this stage, but you'll get over it. I'm as anal as they come, and after a scratch over a rear wheel well from a garbage can too close, and more scratches beside a headlight from some party morons, I see the scratches as part of the car. If I keep the car, and I plan to, I'll get it painted one day...

If you can't buff it out, as a short-term fix I'd try Dr. Color Chip. It has some good reviews on this site and others. http://www.drcolorchip.com

The darker the color paint the better it seems to work.

Like you, I wouldn't try standard touch-up. It's potentially too sloppy unless you really know what you're doing. Some guys on this Forum are pretty darn good at it. Dr. Color Chip essentially limits the paint to the confines of the scratch. It might not make it 100% better -- but it certainly won't look worse. I did a fairly deep key scratch on wife's Dark Blue Mercedes a few months ago and she couldn't see it from 4-5 feet away after I was finished.

From my observation, the Boxster paint seems to be much softer than other car manufacturers (I could be waay off base on this). After I waxed my car, a cat jumped on it and the super slippery surface made the cat extend it's claws and it left several deep scratches on the rear trunk lid. This also happened to my in-law's Boxster and the same cats have climbed onto my newly waxed VW and Ford and haven't left scratches like it.

I managed to get some out with swirl mark remover but I'll take it to a professional body shop in the spring for the scratch and for some paintless ding repair.

Ironically, if I didn't wax the car, the cat probably would have just left some paw prints.

So where is the cat buried?