First Scratch

[ScubaDadMiami]

Just six weeks shy of my first year of ownership, it finally happened. I came out of the grocery store to find a scratch on the corner of my rear bumper. Of course, there was no note on my windshield from the perpetrator.

 

The scratch is not particularly wide or long, but it has sections that are deep enough to see black on my otherwise Oxford White vehicle.  The black areas do not look like deposits left from the contact. I am guessing that these areas show something under the paint, or that this black is the base color of the plastic bumper. Fortunately, I didn't observe any damage to the actual bumper material. So, touching up the scratch should bring everything back to looking like new.

 

I got Oxford White for a few reasons, one of them being that Oxford White does not have a clear coat. In theory, this makes touching up little scratches and chips the kind of thing that even a non-professional can do with great results. Well, I guess it is time to put this theory to the test.

 

For such a repair, I assume that everyone would suggest using genuine Motorcraft YZ (Oxford) touch up kit. I have used a pen style kit before, and I was satisfied with that. So, I plan to use that type of kit again.

 

In my only previous experience with trying to touch up paint myself, I started by wet sanding (1000 grit) at the direct site of the scratch, to even up the surface and to assure that the touch up paint adhered. I dabbed on from the pen, and then I very lightly and briefly wet sanded smooth after dry. 

 

If any experts have any advice to pass along, I would greatly appreciate your input.

 

I knew that this day would come. :sad:

[ptjones]

Sorry to hear about your miss fortune. Hopefully the touch up paint will work. :gaah:

 

Paul

[Noah Harbinger]

Any follow up on your touch up work? I just bought the Candy Blue touch-up kit. 

 

I've got 3 blemishes: A chip on my hood (probably from a rock), a barely visible scrape where my left rear bumper found a pole in a parking garage, and the bottom of my front passenger door where a friend didn't pay attention to a high sidewalk.

 

The door scratch got to metal, but since it's not really visible a touch-up would be more about just sealing out moisture.

 

The candy blue is good at hiding problems, so I probably won't do anything about the rear bumper (which is black plastic underneath).

 

I'm kind of scared about touching up the hood. 

 

Interestingly, there's a noticeable dent in the Ford logo on the grille. I'm vain enough that I would buy a replacement if that part were sold separately, but it doesn't appear to be. 

Edited May 3, 2014 by Noah Harbinger

[ScubaDadMiami]

I got the paint, but I have not yet done the actual work. Partly, it's because I am afraid of what I might do. It's on the list.

[Noah Harbinger]

Well I did a little touching up on the hood, and while it's far from perfect, it's certainly less noticeable than it was - and probably good enough that I'm afraid to make it worse. 

[RaPieR]

Just six weeks shy of my first year of ownership, it finally happened. I came out of the grocery store to find a scratch on the corner of my rear bumper. Of course, there was no note on my windshield from the perpetrator.

 

The scratch is not particularly wide or long, but it has sections that are deep enough to see black on my otherwise Oxford White vehicle.  The black areas do not look like deposits left from the contact. I am guessing that these areas show something under the paint, or that this black is the base color of the plastic bumper. Fortunately, I didn't observe any damage to the actual bumper material. So, touching up the scratch should bring everything back to looking like new.

 

I got Oxford White for a few reasons, one of them being that Oxford White does not have a clear coat. In theory, this makes touching up little scratches and chips the kind of thing that even a non-professional can do with great results. Well, I guess it is time to put this theory to the test.

 

For such a repair, I assume that everyone would suggest using genuine Motorcraft YZ (Oxford) touch up kit. I have used a pen style kit before, and I was satisfied with that. So, I plan to use that type of kit again.

 

In my only previous experience with trying to touch up paint myself, I started by wet sanding (1000 grit) at the direct site of the scratch, to even up the surface and to assure that the touch up paint adhered. I dabbed on from the pen, and then I very lightly and briefly wet sanded smooth after dry. 

 

If any experts have any advice to pass along, I would greatly appreciate your input.

 

I knew that this day would come. :sad:

I'm pretty sure that the Oxford White still has clear coat since the clear coat is really important for UV protection for the paint.

I've gotten a lot of rock chips on my blue candy c-max.  Luckily, they are all fairly small because the touch up can't seem to match the color of the original paint.  Or maybe I was applying it incorrectly but even though it's slightly off color/darker the chips are pretty hard to see after touching up.

[ScubaDadMiami]

I finally got to touching up the scratches, and it came out great!

 

First, I sanded with 800 grit sandpaper to get the edges of the scratches nice and smooth, ready to accept the touch up paint. I used the Ford touch up paint (comes with both the brush and the pen built in). I added two coats, sanded smooth, added another coat, sanded, added a last coat, and after very light sanding (using the part of the sand paper that was already worn), I applied some polishing compound, blending in to the surrounding paint. After all of this, I took my C-MAX to the detailer, who did a wash, clay application, and a good waxing of the entire vehicle, which made it all come together, evening out any differences in the tones.

 

Yes, if you get to within a six inches of the spot, knowing where the scratch was located, you can see a slight difference. Other than that, you can stand right next to the spot, and it looks fantastic. You'd never know!

 

Alas, after all of this, I found another paint chip on the hood. I didn't notice it before the detailing; I thought it was just some bird poop. So, I will have to touch this up at some point in the future. At least I know that it can be touched up to look as good as new.

 

Oxford White rules! :rockon:

Edited May 30, 2014 by ScubaDadMiami

[salsaguy]

Yes chips and scratches suck big time especially on a car less that 1 yr old

I seem to be cursed on every new car I get and always have something happen to mess up the body or paint in the 1st year of all my cars.

lets hope when we get my wifes CMax she wont be cursed the same way

My Passat has 2 nasty long scratches on both left and right front doors (one i think from car wash and other I think intentional) :(

I need to get these taken care of and I dont trust myself so I will have to pay a place to do it

I have some chips on my front I can have them work on as well at the same time

 

I have the Grey metallic with clearcoat like the Sterling Grey CMax color so....Im sure its harder to touch up

Dont like the Oxford white for it being non-clear coat (or not as nice and glossy/pretty as the other more expensive white color for the CMax) but its a lot easier to touch up as you stated

[ScubaDadMiami]

Dont like the Oxford white for it being non-clear coat (or not as nice and glossy/pretty as the other more expensive white color for the CMax) but its a lot easier to touch up as you stated

Well worth it. A little wax makes it shine nicely, and being able to touch up keeps it that way.