Scratch Repair & Removal

Light Scratches - Quick, Easy Fixes with Paint Correction

Light scratches? We can fix it.
If the mark has only just scratched the clear coat (that’s the top lacquer layer), it can usually be polished out with our paintwork correction service.

These are the kind of light scratches you’ll pick up from washing the car, drying it off, or the odd careless wipe-down. They show up as swirl marks -- especially when the sun’s out.
Paintwork correction is designed to deal with exactly this. We’ll get it back to a glossy, swirl-free shine.

Medium Scratches - The Bushes Got You Again?

Broader scratches are often caused by overgrown bushes, dogs jumping up at the car door, or being careless with luggage.

Good news: if the scratches aren’t too deep, we can usually machine polish them out.
It’s a simple, cost-effective fix and often takes care of the problem completely.

Even when a scratch is a bit too deep to disappear fully, polishing usually:

• Shortens it (the shallow ends vanish)
• Softens what’s left so it’s much less noticeable
• The rest can be touched in.

Deeper Scratches -- Wet Sanding

Trying to polish out deep scratches alone can actually make things worse -- leaving ridges or a rippled finish you’ll spot every time the light catches it.

With wet sanding, we:

1. Carefully level down the whole area with ultra-fine emery paper
2. Then buff and polish it back to a flawless gloss

It’s a skilled process but incredibly effective, especially for deeper scratches and bird dropping etching.

One job we still talk about: a Range Rover came in with a deep door scratch, caused by the kids trying to manoeuvre their bikes through a narrow garage. It had gone through to the primer and our honest assessment was that the door would probably need respraying. The customer accepted the quote -- and since the worst case was a respray anyway, we went much harder on the wet sanding than we normally would. To our own surprise, the scratch came out completely. She left without the respray, a few hundred pounds better off than expected.

~ Tom

Why Choose Us?

We’ve been fixing scratches, swirl marks, and etched paint for almost 40 years.
Machine polishing, paint correction, wet sanding -- this is the work we love most.

So whether it’s a tiny scuff or a full-on scratch down the side of the car, we’ve got the tools and the know-how to make it right, and if we can't, we'll point you in the right direction. Advice is always free.

Call in today. We’ll have a look, give you honest advice, and get your car looking like new again.

Cosmetic Repair

Some scratches are too deep to polish out completely. When a full respray costs more than the damage warrants, a cosmetic touch-in is the sensible middle ground.

Scratches are not always even in depth. It's often the case that a scratch barely marks the "clear coat lacquer" at one end, but has penetrated through to the primer at the other end. In instances like this, it is often possible to completely remove a large portion of the scratch whilst another portion has been greatly reduced, leaving just a very small area of broken paintwork. Most customers find the improvement is good enough -- a full respray would cost far more than it’s worth for the remaining area.

Scratches on sills and lower valances can look dramatic up close, but they’re barely visible from a standing position. A cosmetic touch-in here is almost always worth it over a full respray.

• First single panel repair up to 14" (football size): £60.00
• Second panel repair up to 14" (football size): £40.00
  *Price excludes the cost of paint.
  *Exact match £20.00.
  *Close match £10.00.
  *Free with a Smart Repair or if you bring your own paint.

For more detailed information, visit our Cosmetic Repair Service page.