Got a dent & scratches on my brand new car! What should I do?

Question

As it's not a very large dent I don't really want to pay over £100 right now to get it popped out and so was thinking to just use some touch up paint for now to stop it rusting and live with the dent.
If I use the touch up paint for now would that affect the quality of the repairs if I got the dent and paintwork fixed properly by the garage in a few months (since I'd have to scratch away a bit at the paintwork to remove dirt and stuff before applying the paint) or would it not make a difference?

Answer 1

There are a few things that affect what you need to do, or the outcome of what you would like to do. Let's break the paint and the dent into two issues:
First you need to know what type of a finish you have on your car. Most late model vehicles (after 1990) have a 2 stage finish, meaning there is a basecoat (color) and a layer of clearcoat (shine) on top of the primer. If the scratch is light and does not penetrate the basecoat, you can take some rubbing compound and buff it out. If it is too deep and you can see the primer(usually grey) or it is even deeper and you see metal, then you would be better served to apply a light coat of some touch up paint to prevent rust. Be aware that the touch up paint that you will buy at the dealer probably will not be an exact match. The paint is made in batches, and even though they use the same "formula", there will be slight variances. Apply in light, multiple coats and try to "build" the color back up to match.
If the dent has a sharp edge or crease, you had better let a professional do the work. If the dent is relatively small and has no sharp edges, you can have Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) done. This is a process where a technician goes behind the dent and "pushes" it back out. This is great if there is no exterior damage to the finish because it can reduce the overall costs by as much as 60%. Depending on where you live, a small dent (quarter size) can be as little as $60.00-$75.00 (US) . A similar dent with paintwork would be closer to $150.00 . Of course, the PDR has its limits. The technician needs to be able to access the backside of the affected panel. You can find PDR shops in the Yellow Pages under "Auto repair". And don't worry about your temporary repairs- it would be sanded off when the shop does their work and will not affect either the amount that you would pay or the quality of their repairs
Hope that helps!!

Answer 2

Firstly, where's the dent located? Secondly to paint a damaged area you will first need to clean it and ensure there is no dirt/dust. Use a toothpick, to avoid damaging surrounding area of paintwork to remove in grained dirt. Once this is done buy a touch up stick from the dealer or paint specialist, again apply with a toothpick. Then use the brush supplied, or if it is fine scratches use a toothpick to 'dab' on the paint (you will need to do a few layers with the latter procedure).

Ensure that the new paint 'just' rises above the rest of the paintwork, after about 10-12 days the paint should be hardened enough to use a paint renovator or more commonly known 'T-Cut'. This will help blend in the new paintwork with the surrounding area. Read the instructions on how best to use T-Cut and do not overdo it, as T-cut is a fine cutting paste which finely removes paintwork.

Use T-cut on the area you are repairing, after a bit of fine rubbing, wash off the T-cut to rid of any traces of it and inspect the paintwork, if it has blended in you should polish it off with something like McGuires Gold class polish (gives good shine).

This should avoid a trip to the body shop!

Answer 3

If it is missing the paint and rusting, remove the rust and put primer on it, as for the dent with gloves on apply dry ice to the dent, the cold will pop it right out, it might take several minutes to do, when the cold makes the metal contract the dent pops right out! You can get touch-up paint from the dealer, if there isn't any in the glove box or trunk. Good luck.

Answer 4

Touching it up wont affect the quality of a future repair. To do it properly a body shop would most likely take it back the metal and spray the whole panel anyway.
As regards to piggrumps answer these things happen. You could be the best driver in the world but someone will still give you a swipe whilst you in the Supermarket.
I`ve had this happen to the tune of £700

Answer 5

someone recently keyed my new car ( thoughtless gits! ) my little man that sprayed it actually told me to put a bit of touch up paint on it until he could get round to do it properly so it wouldnt get wet and rust, but he did take a look first to see how deep the scratch was, if its not too deep then it could just be polished out by a pro, ask someone to look at it ( a good pro wont charge you just to have a look )before you start slapping the paint on!!

Answer 6

I don't mean this in a bad way and I know you're not going to like my answer. BUT I would suggest that you leave it as it is until you learn how to drive better. I mean if you fix it you'll get more scratch and dents and be right back where you're at now. BUT Once you have learned how to drive better it won't be an issue.

Answer 7

if its a little dent then you can suck it out with a sucker.
as far as painting it as long as you t cut it back after a few days and polish the car no probs!

Answer 8

When that happens to me I just throw the car away and buy another... I hate dents!

Answer 9

go to west coast in America and tell pimp my ride to fix it he is so cool and you are going to be very happy for it.
Good Luck.

Answer 10

you can suck it out with a suction cup. you can buy the ding kong as well.