Can I T-Cut this scuff?

[james_help]

Hi all,

While Leaving a car park earlier today I scraped my car against a pillar. I don’t think it’s badly damaged the noise it made I was expecting the damage to be worse.

Do you think i can get away with using T Cut, or does it need a professional repair? If so what cost would I expect to pay?

thanks I am based in SW London.

to make matters worse I cut my hand while running my hand through the damage...

 

[MMarve]

It's hard to be sure from here but I think it's unlikely you are taking that all out with a polish. The general rule of thumb is if you can catch it with your nail then it will need some paintwork. But you'll certainly be able to improve it massively by polishing it out a bit. You'd be able to do it even better by machine but if you want to stick to just doing it by hand then I'd suggest using something like Farcela G3 Scratch Remover (available in Halfords). Its much better than T-Cut.

After that it depends on whether you're happy to live with it after a polish or if you want to get it painted. You'd have a couple of choices then, a mobile smart repair guy, something like Chips Away or better if you can find a good local independent. Otherwise its a proper bodyshop. Price wise I don't really know and it will vary. I'd be happy if I got away with less than £100 from a mobile guy or would be thinking more about £200 in a bodyshop.

My advice would be to get hold of some G3 and one of their applicator pads and give it a go. Then leave it for a few weeks and see if it's still annoying you too much or if you've almost forgotten about it.

 

[james_help]

It's hard to be sure from here but I think it's unlikely you are taking that all out with a polish. The general rule of thumb is if you can catch it with your nail then it will need some paintwork. But you'll certainly be able to improve it massively by polishing it out a bit. You'd be able to do it even better by machine but if you want to stick to just doing it by hand then I'd suggest using something like Farcela G3 Scratch Remover (available in Halfords). Its much better than T-Cut.

After that it depends on whether you're happy to live with it after a polish or if you want to get it painted. You'd have a couple of choices then, a mobile smart repair guy, something like Chips Away or better if you can find a good local independent. Otherwise its a proper bodyshop. Price wise I don't really know and it will vary. I'd be happy if I got away with less than £100 from a mobile guy or would be thinking more about £200 in a bodyshop.

My advice would be to get hold of some G3 and one of their applicator pads and give it a go. Then leave it for a few weeks and see if it's still annoying you too much or if you've almost forgotten about it.

Thank you so much for the detailed reply, I really appreciate it! can you tell me exactly what I would need to buy, please? I assume the G3 is black and would blend in with the rest of the paint work? or is that another G3 product I need?

I don't mind buying a machine if it would improve it better, can you tell me what machine I need?

Thank you

 

[MMarve]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply, I really appreciate it! can you tell me what I would need to buy, please? I assume the G3 is black and would blend in with the rest of the paint work?

I'd recommend this
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/p...-pro-scratch-remover-liquid-500ml-247929.html
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/c...cla-g3-pro-applicator-waffle-pads-248034.html

It's not colour specific. I know T-Cut spent years plugging that as their marketing angle but that's not really how scratches are polished out of paintwork. The paint finish of your car is made up of two layers, the colour is the base and then there is a clearcoat on top. When lightly damaged, the way light reflects through the clearcoat, shows as scratches. You can polish the clearcoat which is basically taking micro layers off of it to soften the damage and make the scratches appear less visible. If you have gone too deep with the scratches and you are through to the paintwork, then polishing won't work. But looking at your damage, I'd hazard a guess that most of it will polish off and you'll be left with something a lot less drastic looking. That is why I am saying to then live with what is left and see if it still annoys you.

 

[james_help]

I'd recommend this
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/p...-pro-scratch-remover-liquid-500ml-247929.html
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/c...cla-g3-pro-applicator-waffle-pads-248034.html

It's not colour specific. I know T-Cut spent years plugging that as their marketing angle but that's not really how scratches are polished out of paintwork. The paint finish of your car is made up of two layers, the colour is the base and then there is a clearcoat on top. When lightly damaged, the way light reflects through the clearcoat, shows as scratches. You can polish the clearcoat which is basically taking micro layers off of it to soften the damage and make the scratches appear less visible. If you have gone too deep with the scratches and you are through to the paintwork, then polishing won't work. But looking at your damage, I'd hazard a guess that most of it will polish off and you'll be left with something a lot less drastic looking. That is why I am saying to then live with what is left and see if it still annoys you.

Ordered! is this video good to follow? Do I need anything after i.e wax or paint resotrer?

 

[norseman]

Sorry, but looks like a body-shop job to me. You could spend time & money on a diy fix only to be unhappy with the end result & have to pay out again.
Worth shopping around for quotes though.

 

[james_help]

Sorry, but looks like a body-shop job to me. You could spend time & money on a diy fix only to be unhappy with the end result & have to pay out again.
Worth shopping around for quotes though.

Thanks mate, I have a BMW specialist near me will take it to them for a price!

 

[MMarve]

Sorry, but looks like a body-shop job to me. You could spend time & money on a diy fix only to be unhappy with the end result & have to pay out again.
Worth shopping around for quotes though.

I've agreed that to get it back to 100% it will need some paintwork. But you'd be surprised how much polishing can take out and for the sake of less than £20 investment, it is worth a try in my opinion. It's not really a case of paying out twice.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

OMG sliders and white socks?

 

[norseman]

OMG sliders and white socks?

 

[james_help]

OMG sliders and white socks?

ahahah stop it

 

[james_help]

I've agreed that to get it back to 100% it will need some paintwork. But you'd be surprised how much polishing can take out and for the sake of less than £20 investment, it is worth a try in my opinion. It's not really a case of paying out twice.

Will defo try it, the items are due to arrive tomorrow. is that video I sent earlier good to follow? Do I need to sand it down before polishing or just clean the area and polish?

the items have just arrived...

 

[james_help]

On another quote, I took it to a BMW specialist, they quoted £500

 

[MMarve]

Will defo try it, the items are due to arrive tomorrow. is that video I sent earlier good to follow? Do I need to sand it down before polishing or just clean the area and polish?

the items have just arrived...

I wouldn't wet sand if you don't have experience in it. It's a sure fire way to do more harm than good. The great thing about hand polishing is that it is pretty much impossible to do any damage. Wet sanding or machine polishing require more knowledge, experience and expertise to do safely.

The video is ideal, perfect to follow. Also you can wax it after you are done, but if you don't normally wax your car then there is no benefit to doing it here. It won't make any difference to the process you are doing with the polishing.

Good luck and be sure to let us know how you get on.

 

[james_help]

I wouldn't wet sand if you don't have experience in it. It's a sure fire way to do more harm than good. The great thing about hand polishing is that it is pretty much impossible to do any damage. Wet sanding or machine polishing require more knowledge, experience and expertise to do safely.

The video is ideal, perfect to follow. Also you can wax it after you are done, but if you don't normally wax your car then there is no benefit to doing it here. It won't make any difference to the process you are doing with the polishing.

Good luck and be sure to let us know how you get on.

Thank you Marve! I was waiting for you to message before I proceed, its dark out now but will do this tomorrow and will definitely send a pic after I have done it