looper

Thanks to my neighbor's unsupervised two year old, I am the lucky recipient of a few scratches on my passenger door this weekend. They don't look too deep, and the kid's father offered to buff them out (claims he's worked on cars in the past, yada yada). I'm due to take the car in for service in a couple weeks, and I don't know anything about body work, but I want to make sure that this gets fixed right. Any advice?

I'm thinking about asking them to look it over when I bring it in and give me an estimate. I'm assuming there's probably no chance they'd buff it out for free. I also wouldn't mind letting him *try* to buff them out, but I'd be afraid that he might make it worse. Is that a possibility? I'm a little concerned since the guy got kind of defensive when we told him not to do anything, and then claimed that he could tell we already buffed out scratches in the back (which we have not).

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks in advance...

PS- I'm Ming Blue if that matters.

woofpup

Can you feel the scratches with your finger nail?

looper

(runs out to car) No, they feel smooth when I run my nail over them.

woofpup

I have had great success with Mequiar's step 1 paint cleaner on fine scratches on my car. It isn't risky to use like a buffer and it's only a few dollars for a bottle. It usually works on any scratches that are fine enough that you can't feel them with a finger nail.

If that doesn't work, then you can look at more expensive solutions like having it professional buffed out. Be careful with your neighbor - a powerful buffer can damage the paint, especially if it's close to an edge (where it can "burn", going down through the clear coat on the edge or what not).

looper

Thanks for the info.

I'm not 100% sure that the guy really wants to buff it - he might just try and use something like you mentioned (my fiance actually talked to him, I was out of town). But I'm leery of letting him do anything if there's any risk - I'd hate to have him do something that makes it worse.

I'm thinking I might just let the dealership take a shot at it. Any idea what ballpark cost I'd be looking at for something like this? I'm guessing that this guy probably won't be too agreeable to paying for it for me since he thinks he can fix it himself.... And is there any chance the dealer would do it for free? (somehow I doubt it).

And is there any risk in waiting for the 4 weeks or so until my scheduled service is before I do anything?

woofpup

I'm not too familiar with dealer/detail shop costs, but I'd guess around $60-80? Probably less, but definitely shouldn't be more.

I still think it's worth it to try the Meguiar's paint cleaner, as it won't cause any further damage, and won't affect the ability to use other methods like a buffer if it doesn't help enough on its own.

Good luck with it either way!

looper

Thanks again. Maybe I'll give that stuff a shot.

The only thing that makes me feel a little better about this whole ordeal is that apparently the kid also decided to "paint" her mom's car during this same episode (like as in with real paint!). Now that would have been *MUCH* less fun to deal with...

Audi Junkie

if it does not work. He'll actually blame you (the victim) at that point! I would just pay dealer out of my pocket, forget about collecting since he is a neighbour, than he owes you one. If you were comfortable doing it yourself, it would probally work and save you the $60. Dealer buff is risky business as well, don't let them buff your whole car. I won't even let the dealer wash mine with their old rags.

bwilliams

...if you are in any way uncomfortable using any of the products and/or techniques outlined here or in the detailing forum, I would have the work (albeit probably very simple and relatively in expensive) estimated/performed by a professional - and that does not imply the 18 year "body expert" who works the vacuum and Windex bottle at the dealer (unless you're confident in them).

Paint is such an unforgiving animal. If you (or your helpful neighbor) make any errors, they can be as permanent as the paint. If your neighbor was defensive over not having allowed him to buff the scratches out, imagine what he'll be like when you tell him that you expect him to pay for a shop to do the work.

In other words, have the work done by a pro, pay for it and be done with it. There's no sense in having it done for "free" by your already p*ssed-off neighbor or doing it by yourself and "learning" minor paint repair on you new baby.

My $0.02

looper

Sounds more and more like I think I'll leave this up to the pros (and probably end up eating the cost, as annoying as that is!). I was assuming that the dealer would be a good place to go for that, but I guess that may not be my best bet. Does anyone have experience with Brookline Audi's body shop for somthing like this? Or any other independent shop in the Brookline (or Boston) area? Thanks.