How to repair a scratch on your new car

You just walked out of the local mega-mart, bags in hand, and noticed that something was wrong with your car. It looks scratched! After close inspection, you see that the mark isn't rubbing off and that your new car is now scratched. What to do - get out the touch-up paint?

For God's sake NO! The sound of the words "touch-up paint" always make me cringe.

10% of the time, touch-up paint is the right way to fix a scratch. If the scratch is large, if bare metal is showing, and if the scratch is a circular area the size of a fingernail, touch-up paint is the way to go. But I don't think anyone who isn't a pro should use touch-up. It's hard to apply, and most of the time it's overkill.

For a light scratch, a wet sand is the preferred method. Basically, the paint is sanded with rubbing compound and the surface molecules of the paint are reorganized to fill the scratch and make it disappear. Provided your scratch isn't deep, this is the way to fix it.

How do you know if it's too big? Are we talking about a scratch you can easily feel with a fingernail? Is it the length of a whole body panel? Can you see metal in the scratch? If any of the above is true, you have what is considered a deep scratch and the solution is to take it to your local body shop. If your car has been keyed and/or an entire panel is scratched, you may need to call your insurance company. The cost of repairing deep scratches can range, from $40 to thousands — make sure you get a few quotes if it's much more than $100.

If you have a scratch that isn't deep, you're in luck. These light scratches can usually be repaired by a body shop for a token amount of money — $20-$40 in most cases. As before, make sure the shop has a written guarantee.

One last thing - these are only methods to reduce or diminish a scratch, not to truly repair it. A true repair would involve a new paint job for the scratched panel and paint blending for the nearby panels, and I think that's a terrible idea to fix a light or even heavy scratch. It's better to fix these things inexpensively - they're just going to happen again. Just remember, the scratch isn't going to miraculously disappear. It will look a LOT better though.