[bostitch]

Hi all,

My car has a tiny ding on the rear left door and ~3 inch deep scratch. How difficult is it to repair the ding yourself? Also, how difficult is it to touch up the scratch? The scratch is quite deep because I can see white stuff, which I think is the primer layer. Can it be fixed by touch up or do I need to have it repainted? Will touch up look as good (or close to) as getting it repainted? I also got a quote from a small dent doctor shop for $90 to fix the ding and $30 for touch up. Is this price reasonable? The ding doesn't really bother me, but the scratch does.

I'll post picture when I got a chance to take it.

 

[mshu7]

Sorry to hear about the ding & scratch!

If you can catch the scratch with your fingernail (which it sounds like like you'd be able to), it will need to be repainted. The best bet for your situation is to take it to a professional.

 

[mattleegee]

touch up will never look good

what color is your car?

as stated above a complete repaint of the section is in order

 

[bostitch]

Here is the picture:

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=287

My car is aurora blue. My fingernail can catch the scratch. So I guess repaint is the way to go. Thanks Mshu and Mattleegee.

How much is it approximately? I hope it is not too expensive.

How do I make sure that the picture can be viewed within the post?

 

[mattleegee]

It all depends on what shop you go to

It can be $50-$700

I got a quote for my passenger door for $600 at a top quality shop, cheapo places will sand it and paint it, while a good place with sand down to metal, reprimer, repaint, blend (if needed) and then clearcaot protection

Its pretty much you get what you pay for, i would just talk to the shops and go with whoever you feel comfortable with, you can get it done for cheap, but just make sure its a good place

 

[bostitch]

Thanks Mattleegee!

 

[wolfe]

I would take it somewhere like carsmetics or a good independant bodyshop if you have one near you & see if they have any suggestions.

Definitely touching it up with regular touchup paint will look pretty bad, but repainting the whole door & possibly having to have it blended on the other door & rear quarter panel seems a bit extreme for just a scratch. When I was asking about the same thing on another forum, someone suggested that a good body shop might be able to airbrush the area.