Car is a beloved possession for most people in India. We know how skeptic and sad you become even if you see hairline scratches on the car’s body or interior. Our car interior has plastic and it may get scratched. Today we will learn how to remove interior car scratches permanently!
How to remove car scratches
If your car body has scratches then you will need a microfiber towel and a toothpaste. Whitening toothpaste works best. This solution works well if your scratch is not deep. But if you run your fingernail and the scratch catches it then it is deeper and you may need a scratch removal kit.
How to remove scratches from a car?
Firstly, wash the car properly and dry it. Any dust or debris may make the scratch worse. Then dampen the microfiber cloth. Now if the scratch is not deep then take some toothpaste on the microfiber towel and start rubbing it over the scratch with slight pressure in circular motion.
If the scratch is deeper, then use a scratch remover for car. In this kit you’ll find the scratch removal solution and a buffing pad with which you need to apply the product. Follow similar procedures like the one discussed above.
Repeat twice for both types of car scratches for better results.
These were two fixes for medium level scratches. But if your scratches are indeed very deep then you need to paint that area of your car. This type of scratch generally appears if your car gets in contact with other vehicles or walls. Mostly, the paint is gone in that area. Prepare for this procedure by firstly washing and drying the car as dirt and particulates may make the scratch worse.
For this type of scratch removal take a 2000-grit sandpaper and wrap it over a sanding pad which works as a holder for the sandpaper. Then start sanding the scratched area and do this for about 15-30 seconds. Now check the area if you need more sanding. Always do the sanding in the direction of the scratch as opposite sanding will lead to more marks and will look more rough than before. Get to the bottom of the scratch then it will look planed out after a repaint.
If the scratch is deeper and has gotten to the clear coat then use a 1500-grit sandpaper and then use 2000-grit sandpaper to level out the marks made by the coarse sandpaper. Make sure there is no dirt and debris between the vehicle and the sandpaper as it may result in further scratches.
Now wash and dry the sanded part of the car body and cover the surrounding area with old useless rags so that the paint doesn’t get sprayed to other areas.
After that, try to match a primer like your car’s original paint. It should be as close as possible. Then spray the primer. Wait for 5-10 minutes for the primer to dry.
Finally, paint the affected area with car paint of the original car color. This should match the original color of your car as it may look odd if it doesn’t. Let it dry and you’re good to go.
Now let us discuss, how can you remove interior car scratches
For plastic interiors, take a heat gun. In the beginning, find out all the spots which have scratches and are drawing your attention. A heat gun is not very expensive and you can get one for around Rs 1,000 odd.
If you don’t have a heat gun and really don’t want to buy one then you can try this with a hair dryer but I’m not sure if it will produce enough heat to melt the plastic.
The idea behind this car interior scratch removal process is to heath the plastic panels and resurface the scratches back to normal. For this you need a good source of heat and that’s why the heat gun.
You may not be able to get rid of all the scratches but it will smoothen out the nasty look pretty much.
Before starting make sure that you don’t point the heat gun towards a single spot for an extended amount of time as it will heat up that spot and may blister out the plastic. Now let’s get started.
For safe heating, always keep some distance between the interior panel and the nozzle of the heat gun. A distance of around 6-7 cms should be fine. Now turn on the heat gun and start with the first scratch. You may move the heat gun up and down and towards left and right so that the heat doesn’t get concentrated on a particular area.
Keep doing that until you see the scratches disappearing. The scratches will disappear slowly without any further work. This is because the plastic gets melted and settles again and the scratch vanishes. Don’t touch the panel just after doing the application as it may develop a permanent mark of your finger and you will need to again get rid of that by applying heat. Also, the surface will be hot.
This is a permanent fix that you can try. It will work on most scratches that are not deep. Sadly, very deep scratches cannot be removed.
In this blog, we have learned about removing scratches both from the car body as well as the interior. For interior scratches, very deep scratches may not be possible to remove but can smoothen it a bit. Keep reading our blogs for more car problem solutions.
Also Read: Top 3 Trends to Watch In Automotive Sensors Industry 2022
