What is a scratch down to bare metal?
Bright shiny metal in the line means every layer is gone: clear coat, colour and primer. Nothing is protecting the metal along that line.
What kind of repair does it need?
A spot repair, with the bare metal cleaned, etch primed and primed first. On steel, rust can start soon and spread under the paint around it. On aluminium, the metal forms its own thin protective layer, so there is less hurry. It still needs sealing.
A spot repair, with the bare metal cleaned, etch primed and primed before the colour goes on.
What to do next
Ask for a spot repair, also sold as SMART repair, by name. On steel, seal it now, while you wait for quotes. A cheap touch-up pen over the line today is worth doing. Ask whether a body line, a panel edge or your colour would push it up to a panel price. Tell them if your paint is metallic or pearl.
Sources
- BASFpaint maker
Spot repair on a basecoat/clearcoat finish is defined as applying color only to the…
- PPG GBpaint maker
treat the surface with the correct metal treatment fluids and etch primer…
- Axaltapaint maker
phosphoric acid wash primer (etch-…
- Repairer Driven Newstrade media
Bare aluminum exposed to moisture and oxygen forms a hard protective coating…
- Chemical Guysproduct seller
If you catch the scratch with your fingernail, it likely extends into the paint layer.
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