I noticed there is a scratch on my rear quarter. It is not a deep scratch but I can see the primer underneath, is it possible a body shop can buff this out?



I am also thinking about fitting oem side scoops how much should I pay for a bodyshop to prep and paint them?

 

I think you can get them prepainted. It should be cheaper than a body shop as most shops won't dirty a gun for less than $200.

 

I know AM sell very similar looking ones but reviews mention how you can see the double sided tape, where I guess the oem ones they have a deeper channel for the tape.

 

All I see is a ghost giving the thumbs up lol. It doesn't look that bad and a good detailer can probably buff it out or at least make it hardly noticeable. If you have a rotary or DA polisher, try it yourself.

 

Nope, I don't have a buffer and don't trust myself with one.

 

An orbital is stupid easy to use and almost impossible to screw up the paint with it. I mean, I guess you could drop it on the car or something...A decent one will likely cost about as much as a proper repair, plus you can use it to keep the paint looking nice and swirl free. I bet with a good polish regimen (start fairly course, go to super fine) that scratch will be barely noticeable. After that, just use one of the finishing polishes on the rest of the vehicle, assuming the paint looks good save for some swirls here and there.

Don't forget to wax and/or seal the paint after polishing.

 

That's not deep. It will buff out. Learn how to use a machine as there will always be scratches to buff out. Like Joey said, an orbital is almost goof proof.

 

Rubbing compound and you're good to go.

 

Actually I do have one back home come to think of it, I tried to use it on the piano black decklid to remove the trace of a dealer decal, it just left swirls on it....Hold on it does not work on plastic right???

 

Get Meguairs Rubbing Compound. It just takes surrounding paint and covers up the sratch or you can get QUIXX scratch repair kit, comes with everything you need.

 

Plastics require different compounds to remove scratches and swirls. Generally paint polishes do not work well on plastic.

I also tend to do plastic by hand as it's much easier to heat up which can cause issues. An orbital is unlikely to produce enough heat, but some plastics can warp, discolor and otherwise become damaged at rather low temps...much lower than what paint/clearcoat can handle. This doesn't apply to plastic body panels, just trim pieces and whatnot. Sometimes different (and much cheaper) materials are used for those.

 

I've removed worst scratches than that, using '3M scratch remover'.

 

must....resist....temptation.........to.....chime. ...in.......on.....threads.....about.....buffing and detailing.

CRAP! I responded. Ugh. It's like a drug to me.

short answer: buffable.
long answer: buy a GOOD DA/buffer and do it yourself. That scratch would take me 5 minutes TOPS to remove. I wouldn't even charge you if you came to me, like one of my clients.

 

I had a similar scratch, I buffed it out with Meguiars #2 fine cut cleaner, then followed with #9 swirl remover and a coat of wax. It came out great!