2 Months in to owning my S3 and some low life has decided to key my car (notice the scratch has two starts assumed from ridges on the key). Can only assume it was where I park my car due to it being an area that is frequented greatly by dogs and walkers.
Tried using T-cut, however scratch is too deep for the T-cut to be effective. Photos supplied are after T cut.
Wondering if there was any non ridiculously priced ways to patch it? Don't really want to get the whole panel repainted just for a scratch the length of an inch, however if I leave it it's 100% something that's going to bug me.
Ouch. Sorry to hear / see this. Lets hope it wasnt malicious and it was just an innocent mistake - small kid on bike etc. Either way not good for you but atleast it might mean there is some humanity out there!
Ok down to fixing...
Hand cutting probably wont touch that as its too deep as you have already noticed.
The good news is you should not need a full respray even though it looks pretty deep and Im guessing its Sepang Blue- ie Metallic.
You basically have 2 options:
1) Get hold of a Dual Action (DA) polishing / detailers machine. Invite a friend over who has one ( you must know someone who has one!?!) if you have never used one then dont panic but do practice a little ! You will be able to remove a lot of the harshness relatively quickly. Be careful as its on the wing which is plastic, so you wont be able to check paint depth or coat depths without specialised and expensive equipment. However a DA machine shouldnt cause u any concerns unless you use it like a plum. (Ie harsh pad, not moving machine, pushing hard down ontop with it on full rpm for ages) You should always start with the lightest combination of pad and cutting / polishing liquid and go from there. Very good results can be achieved. Just be patient.
You can then start to touch in with paint using a cocktail stick layer by layer and slowly blend in to match existing paintwork. A good trick with metallics is to mix the paint and clear coat together and apply at the same time to get a better repair. This method will take you some time to do ( as u apply layer at a time until its above the current paint then level back ) but should be cheap if you can get your hands on a DA. The finish will be as good as the amount of time you spend on it. Do it right over a few days/ weeks and the damage should be close to invisible to all but you. ( as u know where it is/ was)
2) Get a smart repair specialist in. Something like Chips Away or an independent. Cost should be circa £100-£150 ish. This makes for an invisible repair. These guys can work magic. They will have it repaired within hours. But they are only as good as their personal experience so go with a recommendation if you can.
You should also probably post this in the detailng thread as others might be able offer alternative solutions or provide a detailed guide for a repair.
Hate things like thiis....
Good luck.
Jungle
