Have you ever found yourself with the dread of discovering another parking lot door ding or pesky paint scratch? We all have. It’s almost inescapable these days. Fortunately enough, we’ve got a solution in place to help ease the pain: hand applied paint touch up! It’s the quickest route to mending small chips, nicks & key scratches without the need for a respray. Typically, scratch touch up or rock chip repair only requires an extra hour or so, and much like the nasty bird etching removal we performed recently, the end result is a world of difference.
The perfect example of a quick scratch fix came to us recently in the form of a Volkswagen GTI on deck for our Protect detail package. For those who desire a step above our standard Basic detail package & want to rejuvenate their interior beyond a vac + wipe, the Protect is a perfect fit. Combining a 24-step exterior hand wash, wax application, and an entry-level interior detail, our Protect detail package offers just enough TLC to make any daily driver feel refreshed & reconditioned.
Once the VW was all washed up & decontaminated with clay bar, we moved it onto the shop floor to inspect the damage. It was pretty clear the scratch ran deep enough to stick a finger nail in, resembling the type of gouging that’s indicative of some heavy handed keying — exactly the type of surface damage that can benefit greatly from a generous application of touchup paint!
With the key scratch isolated, it was just a matter of time before the touch up paint was applied & curing up beautifully. While it’s evident under direct lighting that there was some sort surface damage only a minor surface scratch remains visible, blending in well with the metallic paint that surrounds it.
After fully curing the touch up & giving the paint ample time to dry, Thomas set to work on applying a fresh coat of wax to the GTI, completing the final step of our Protect detail package. Typically, one coat of fresh wax will last most well-kept vehicles can last upwards of 2 – 3 months with proper storage & care.
Pulling the GTI outside, we took another look at the rear hatch scratch under natural light. Without a pinning LED or using reflection as a reference point, the paint touch up rendered this key scratch virtually invisible. Instead of a bright white cut on the hatch, now it just looks like a small, thin blue line.
From ten feet, most onlookers wouldn’t even know the scratch was there to begin with. All in all, the end result was well worth the effort of an extra hour spent as part of the VW’s Protect detail package!
Got a few nasty scratches plaguing your car’s paint? Send us some photos of the damaged area before scheduling your next exterior detail service & we’ll touch them up for you in one fell swoop! Have questions about the possibilities of paint touch up, key scratches or rock chip repair? Check out our paint touch up FAQ page for further reading. Thanks for reading!