Scratched black paint - fix it or forget it?

[arky]

I noticed some small scratches on the rear passenger side of my month old MY.

Not sure when it happened, how it happened, or even what it is. The direction seems to be going away from the rear wheel, which would indicate to me that someone grazed me when they were leaving their space (I usually back into spaces). Sentry mode has nothing that seems to be related to this unfortunately.

I can't quite tell if it's paint from another vehicle on my car (which I'm not super concerned about even if I don't like it). Or if my black paint has been scraped off, which I'm not sure if that's a risk for rust or other future damage. I'm in Colorado which uses magnesium chloride on the roads when it snows, which will be happening soon.

What should I do? Should I get the Tesla paint repair kit and give it a go? Go to a detailer? Forget about it?

 

[turnbowm]

Car & Driver tested some scratch removers that may be of interest....

Tested: Best Car Scratch Removers for 2023

Picked up a dreaded scratch down the side of your ride? If it's not too deep, these scratch removers might be worth a try.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[Vinnigan]

Take it to a detailing shop. That's not down to the metal, and will buff out with a quality polishing compound.

 

[J Neptune]

I don’t think that will buff out. Once you see the white under the paint, it’s got to be covered with paint.

Tesla paint would work, but you have to be very precise and don’t expect it fix it on first 5 tries, lol. Maybe a trip to a body shop is best. Will cost more but it ll be tye best result

 

[arky]

Thanks everyone. I'll swing by a detail shop. Much appreciated.

 

[RajG]

try paint scratch removers (G3 pro/ Meguiars etc). take a pinch of the compound and rub it over the damaged area with a micro fiber cloth. dont do it in a circular motion, do it either vertical or horizontal. you would be surprised how many scratches that will remove.

 

[Teetoogrn]

Washed my black Model S today and found a 4-5 inch scratch on the driver’s rear quarter panel. See the two images. I hope it can be buffed out, but it looks too deep to me. I checked my sentry videos but didn‘t see anything. There were a few days when the SanDisk wasn’t working. This

doesn’t look like a rock chip to me. I hate to think someone intentionally scratched my car!

 

[mborkow]

I can’t tell if the first pic is scratches or transfer from a white car…but for that long 4” scratch maybe a paint pen?

 

[Pianewman]

arky: Update, please? I'll bet it buffed out...

 

[RajG]

Get a scratch remover (the likes of G3). Put it on a micro fibre cloth and start buffing it out in straight lines (left to right - right to left , up down and down up ). Don’t do circular motion .i promise you the scratch will either completely go away or look much less conspicuous that you will ignore it.

 

[J Neptune]

That’s not buffing out scratch. Touch up paint such as teslas paint kit, dr color chip??? Or that sort of wipe away paint and then buff.

Don’t waste your money on any snake oil scratch be gone product

 

[RajG]

That’s not buffing out scratch. Touch up paint such as teslas paint kit, dr color chip??? Or that sort of wipe away paint and then buff.

Don’t waste your money on any snake oil scratch be gone product

I was speaking out of my experience on using G3 scratch remover. So I am not trying to sell him snake oil

 

[RajG]

One thing I can say is don’t expect the search to be fixed by paint alone. Buffing is needed even after painting to blend the scratch in with the rest of the surface.

 

[fsb1]

I had a similar, though shorter, scratch on my black Y. I use Dr ColorChip to fill it in and blend it.

 

[N1L CO2]

That seems to be well into the basecoat. That's not going to polish out. Will need to get a pro detailer to fill + blend + polish. It won't be perfect but it will be a lot better.

 

[Pianewman]

Which photo are y'all referring to?

Actually, it doesn't matter. Neither photo shows enough detail for anyone here to accurately evaluate.

 

[Teetoogrn]

Sorry for the bad photo. Here’s another angle of the scratch on my black LR S. Traveling this week, but will take it to the shop that did the ceramic coating to see what they can do. I wish I could catch the ass who keyed it.

 

[mborkow]

Sorry for the bad photo. Here’s another angle of the scratch on my black LR S. Traveling this week, but will take it to the shop that did the ceramic coating to see what they can do. I wish I could catch the ass who keyed it.

You sure someone keyed it? Wouldn’t that have triggered a sentry alert? I’d expect an intentional keying to do a lot more damage

 

[Teetoogrn]

You guys might remember my S LR was scratched and I put a picture up. I got a few estimates on a respray and went with the Tesla service center’s estimate. $1,300. Before they did the respray, they were cleaning and buffing the car and realized they could correct most of the scratch without having to respray it at all! In the end the cost was around $100.00 and only a small mark remains visible. I know Tesla service gets a lot of bad press and reviews, but they did a great job in this case!! See the picture below.

 

[RajG]

You guys might remember my S LR was scratched and I put a picture up. I got a few estimates on a respray and went with the Tesla service center’s estimate. $1,300. Before they did the respray, they were cleaning and buffing the car and realized they could correct most of the scratch without having to respray it at all! In the end the cost was around $100.00 and only a small mark remains visible. I know Tesla service gets a lot of bad press and reviews, but they did a great job in this case!! See the picture below.

So I was right then, buffing will remove most of the scratches .