As a car owner or “leaser”, it’s inevitable for your vehicle to go through wear and tear. The thing is, although you may be careful with how you handle your car, you still have to factor in exterior forces like other drivers, a runaway shopping cart, maybe even a tree branch. Point being that anything can happen, it’s just a part of owning a car. Nevertheless, car paint damage can make your N Charlotte Toyota look less than new, caring it to drop its resale value. This can leave you in an uncompromising predicament if you’re looking to sell your car down the road. With this we bring you a couple of DIY car paint damage repair tips from Toyota of N Charlotte you can do from the comfort of your garage.
Before you take on the project of fixing the car paint damage, assess it to see if it’s a job you can do on your own. Determine the the of scratch it is, we’ve listed for you the main types to watch out for:
Clear coat scratch: It only gouges the clear coat which is the protective coat cover over the vehicle’s actual paint. It’s visible when the car is dry and can disappear when wet.
Body coat scratch: This type of scratch doesn’t fade away with water and it looks white inside.
Base coat scratch: This is the deepest type of scratch. It goes all the way down to the metal, making the scratch look dark grey or black in color.
Clear coat and body scratches are usually easy to take care of from home without much effort. Nevertheless, a bad body coat scratch or base coat scratch should be tended to by our N Charlotte Toyota body shop professionals.
If you realize your car paint damage are easy enough for you to work on, make sure you have the following materials:
Sandpaper
Microfiber cloths
Soapy water
Painter’s tape
Paint
Polish or wax
Time to Fix Your N Charlotte Toyota
Step #1: Clean the area. Wash the affected area with soapy water and dry it with a microfiber cloth. This is suggested because you’ll avoid any sand or dirt from being rubbed into the paint and scratching it even more. A way to see the affected area more you can also tape it off.
Step #2: Commence the sanding. Be very cautious when sanding. You should use a 3000 or 5000 grit sandpaper and wrap a dish sponge inside it to avoid pressure points from your fingertips—this can actually leave marks in the paint. Just add some soapy water onto your N Charlotte Toyota, and use medium pressure until the scratch disappears and the surrounding areas look hazy.
Step #3: Paint and polish. This is the time to use touch-up paint (if it’s required). The sandpaper can assist you in adding a little feathering where the scratch was, after that apply paint. Once you finish, use polish on a microfiber towel on the affected area and follow it with clay bar wax.
If you have any questions or need professional assistance, Toyota of N Charlotte’s car paint damage repair center can surely help you. Call (704)659-2040 today to schedule an appointment.