Odd scratch on rear valance

Howdy all.

Last time I washed the car I saw what I thought was a piece of a fir needle on the rear valance. Upon closer inspection it looks like an actual scratch that goes all the way down to the base material, but it's only about 3/8" long, 1/16" wide, and very distinct (see pic - please forgive dirty car). I have no idea how the hell this odd-ball scratch materialized, but of course with grabber blue everything stands out like a sore thumb.

So the question is - how do I fix it? I have a touch-up pen from the dealership (motorcraft) complete with the full process of roughing up the surface, etc. etc. that I bought from the parts counter. I also have a kit from Dr. ColorChip for dealing with rock chips. The problem is it's on the edge of the valance where it curves outward. It's really an odd place. Any suggestions? Pen, rock chip kit, or...?

I'd do the Dr. Colorchip and be done with it.

Wow quick and to the point. Ok...

limited02 said:

I'd do the Dr. Colorchip and be done with it.

Click to expand...

I second that, too much screwing around it will make it worse.

BluePonyGT said:

Wow quick and to the point. Ok...

Click to expand...

You asked a question, I answered? :shrug:

I believe Dr. Colorchip will provide the best look since you can easily layer it for a smoother finish.

If you're confident with wet sanding, you can layer the scratch with either the pen or Dr. Colorchip and after it's cured, wet sand it down and then compound/polish it out by hand. That would provide the best end result if all goes well. I did that on my door and bought a scratch repair wet sand kit from Autozone: https://www.autozone.com/wash-mitts...ratch-remover/finish-1st-scuff-kit/428671_0_0

Best of luck and please post up an after picture!

limited02 said:

You asked a question, I answered? :shrug:

Click to expand...

No, that's perfectly fine! Thanks for the info. I just expected a little more elaboration.

I haven't used the kit yet, so this gives me a chance to do so. I was going to use the pen since it has a process that's all contained in the pen itself, but I should get used to using this kit anyway.

I'll post some after pics to show how it turned out. Most likely I'll do it tomorrow after I wash it.

Used my Dr. ColorChip kit yesterday on a handful of paint chips on the nose, and this little bastard on the valance. I was tempted to take this part of the valance off to do it, but decided to simply "roll" the paint into the chip as it sat on the car.

I didn't let it dry long enough so some of the paint lifted out when I used the finishing solution to remove the excess, so I'm going to try again the next time I wash the car. Now you can't see it if you're standing up, and up close it's filling in the gap nicely. One more time with this kit and I think it'll be harder to see.