Nuke

Yeah, that first one is always painful. Look on the bright side... You probably won't be quite as upset when you get the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc, etc... Feel better now? [sm=icon_stickpoke.gif]

Blacksmoke

Scratch X is NOT going to help you if you got past the paint. Plain and simple. Unless you use a Porter Cable to do it perhaps.
I have used it on my black car and it barely takes out the scratches that are slightly more than minor.
I am lucky and my bro works ata dealership and I pay the guy at the shop a tad on the side and he helps me out.

I had a nasty one on my bumper that went to the white and he actually showed me how to use touch up paint on it.
It did not take it out fully but you have to get up close to see it now and the scratch is black instead of white lol.
I would not recommend doing this on the door though if you are not experienced at it.
You really have to use a THIN brush and paint only the scratch and pay attention that the paint is not clotting in your container etc.

If you are really bothered take it someplace and tell them you really want something done without repainting the whole thing
and offer them money. You'd be surprised at what people will do when you show them cash.

curatorpatronus

Ugh...that's the worst.
I picked mine up brand new from the dealershipon a saturday and took it to work that next monday. I heading to my car to go home and noticed that some of the dust had been wiped off (it was pretty dusty that morning). Right then i knew what happened. There it was.A nice dent. Luckily no paint was gone, just alovely dime-sized dent... [:@]
I just washed it tonight...scratches all over the front bumper...guess it's inevitable with a DD...

Dragon Stang

"You hear that Neo? That is a stone hitting your paint work, an object glancing off your fender. That is the sound of inevitability."

What I do is this:
Get a very fine artist paint brush from an arts and crafts store. The brush that comes in the touch-up paint is too thick for scratches, stone chips, etc. Now, fill the scratch inwith very light coats. Do not try to fill it in all in one session. Keep applying layers until it stands proud of the surrounding paint work. Allow it to dry and cure for 24 hours or more. If you have access to a Porter Cable buffer and some polishing compound, you can level the scratch paint to match the surounding paint work. Start with a fairly aggressive compound, then a finishing compound. You should use a good, strong halogen light for this so that you can see your progress. Once the scratch area disappears, you can follow up with a sealant, and or a wax to bring the shine up and make the scratch disappear. You may want to contact Justin at www.ObsessiveDetail.com (contributor) for more pointers.
I am no expert, I learned on my own how to deal with scratches and stone chips from years of experimentation whileliving in Ontario, Canada and now in Michigan, USA.

TPony

[sm=ttiwwp.gif]

snicksrolos

Here's the way I see it...

Cars are like women...hear me out on this one...when you see them from a distance, before they're "yours", they look all pretty and dolled up...but when you finally get to call one "yours" you start to see all of the imperfections...and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming - hence the enormous divorce rate!!!

The bright side to this equation is that much like a good woman, the longer you have your car, no matter how many "scratches" you put in it, or dents on it - you are still in love with it! A good ride only gets better over time my friend - enjoy it while it lasts!

ReaperGT

lol, perfect analogy snicks

shockme76

I'll make you feel better. Sometime last year something hit my right rear quarter panel and put to small dents in it. Looks like a shopping might have hit it. I got an estimate and it was over $800 to fix it. I ended up letting it go until a later time. Well that time had come about a week ago when i strong storm hit right as i was getting off work. It was a very hot day and i had parked under the trees in the back of the parking lot to keep the heat down in the car. That storm dropped a sizable tree limb on my car. The damage it caused plus claiming the other dents came to over $2000. It's in the shop now being fixed. I have a rental car that i hate and i have to pay a $500 deductible. Feeling better yet?

Riptide

The toothpick trick never worked for me. I could never get any paint off the toothpick into the chip or scratch. Not sure what I've been doing wrong.

mygt500

Because it is white that is a good sign as it might be only thru the clear (clear when scratched turns white). So it sucks that it happened but it can be reduced significantly with a D/A polisher and some rubbing compound! Can you post a pic? thanks