Does Car Detailing Remove Scratches?

There’s nothing like a fresh detail to make your car look and feel so much newer and cleaner. This detail-oriented work can get rid of the evidence of instances of spilled coffee, car sickness, and more. As such, you may wonder whether car detailing can also remove scratches or not. Google this, and you’ll find conflicting reports, with some people saying that yes, car detailing can indeed remove scratches, while others say that no, it can’t.

So, which is it? Or can car detailing help some car scratches but not others? 

Here’s what you need to know about different types of car scratches and what car detailing can do for you. Let’s get into it. 

What Causes Car Scratches?

Frustrating as it is, there’s little you can do in order to prevent your car from getting scratched. You can do your part to drive safely, but you could still end up in an accident because of someone else’s driving. You can park far away from everyone else, but you can’t control whether someone parks too close to you and scratches your car trying to get out of theirs. You could be driving along, minding your business, and then rocks chip your paint.

Car scratches can happen from:

• Rock chips
• Parking incidents
• Vandalism
• Accidents/collisions
• Bad cleaning techniques
• Poor loading techniques
• Bad attempts at paint correction
• And more

You can be smart about how you handle your car in an effort to mitigate risk of scratches, but it’s important to note that you can’t always control whether or not this happens. It’s not always your fault when your car gets scratched, so don’t beat yourself up too much if it happens. For instance, if your hood is covered in rock chips, you can’t exactly control what the rocks do. But what you can do is be careful, take preventative measures that make sense for you, and know what to do about car scratches, if you decide to do anything about them at all.

Different Types Of Car Scratches

Before we get into detail about detailing (we know, we know), it’s important to go over the different types of scratches that your vehicle may sustain.

• Clear coat scratches. These are the most superficial scratches, and the most likely to be able to be fixed with a detail, but this depends on how deep the scratch is.
• Primer scratches. These are scratches that go deeper than your clear coat. These has risk of rusting. They can typically be fixed with sanding and new primer.
• Paint scratches. As the name implies, these go into your paint. It’s easy to make the problem worse if you try to DIY a paint scratch fix, so leave this to the pros.
• Glass scratches. Your windows can get scratched from debris on the road, inclement weather, and using dirty or abrasive materials to clean. These may or may not be able to be fixed depending on where they are and how big they are.

What Is Car Detailing?

Car detailing isn’t just a car wash. It’s an in-depth, top-to-bottom clean that does more than a car wash could dream of. You can get exterior detailing, which, as it sounds, covers the exterior of your vehicle. This involves cleaning your car’s body, your tires, your windows, the like. You can get interior detailing done, which covers the inside of your windows, thorough vacuuming and shampooing, and the like. You can also get a full detailing service, which is when both the inside and the outside of your vehicle are detailed.

Car detailing restores your car’s shine and thoroughly cleans in so that it can both look and feel its best. 

Can Car Detailing Remove Scratches?

If your car has minor scratches, then a good exterior detail may be able to hide them with a combination of polishing, waxing, and shining. It’s important to note that while an exterior detail may be able to hide little scratches, this doesn’t mean that it fixes them.

If you have deeper scratches, then it’s unlikely that a detail will even be able to cover them up. This is especially true if the scratch has gone all the way through the paint.

What Should You Do If Your Car Is Scratched?

This depends on the type of scratches that your car has sustained. It’s important to consult with professionals, as they will be able to advise you on the best course of action for you. If you have very faint, minor scratches, it is possible that a good exterior detail may be able to disguise them. 

Deeper scratches in the paint may need a new paint job in that area to fix. However, if that scratch cuts through the paint and leaves indents in the car’s body, this is a job for an auto repair shop. They would be able to tell you what can be done to fix the scratch.

So you see, it depends. We know that’s a frustrating answer. However, the only way to know what you should do in your specific circumstances is to consult with an auto repair shop near you. Auto detailers can also tell you whether or not their services can help with the appearance of your car’s scratches or whether you’d need to see an auto repair shop or auto body shop.

When Should You Schedule A Car Detail?

Whenever you feel like your car needs it! Generally speaking, it’s recommended that you get your car professionally detailed 2 or 3 times a year, though individual needs may vary. For instance, if you’re a very clean person and you mostly use your car for everyday purposes, you may not need to have it detailed as much. However, if you’re the designated driver for your group of friends who regularly have wild weekends out, chances are that you’ll need to get more frequent detailing.

How often you wash and wax your car and the type of wear and tear it sustains impact how often you should schedule a car detail. If you ever want to know the ideal car detailing schedule for you, don’t hesitate to ask an auto detailer near you.

Give Your Car A Refresh With Professional Auto Detailing

Here at Layton Car Care, we take pride in providing our clients with top-tier detailing services in order to help you keep your vehicle in the best condition possible for as long as possible. We wash, soap, and polish the outside of your vehicle and your tires, finishing off with a beautiful shine. We also provide interior detailing services with a complete shampoo that can remove most stains and that leaves your car spelling brand-spanking-new.
To learn more about our auto detailing services and what we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. We also provide auto repair and auto body services to suit your needs.