Paintwork scratch: vandals or natural?

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Fri 15 Aug 2003 08:27
Paintwork scratch: vandals or natural? - mikem004
There were some yoofs hanging around my car last night (3AM).
When I got into work this morning I noticed a 6inch scratch in the paintwork below the passenger door.
The scratch was covered by a film of black grease so I am tempted to think it was not done last night. Would a recent scratch still be shiny after 25 miles on the M1?

Bruce
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Fri 15 Aug 2003 10:06
Paintwork scratch: vandals or natural? - Ivor E Tower
Difficult to say. All I know is that these modern, water-based paints do not seem to be fit for purpose; they chip and scratch too easily, and are discoloured by bird-poo and the like. The paint on pre-1990 cars that I have owned always seemed resistant to scratches and chips. I then had a 1990 Rover 820 with pearlescent paint which I bought used at 18 months old. The front was peppered with stone chips, and hardly a week went by without another one appearing. In car parks, any ladies walking by and brushing the paint with their handbags would almost certainly result in a scratch. Changed the vehicle for a 1998 Renault Scenic, and similar problem although the paint seems a bit more resistant to chipping, but when I washed it with a hose-pipe, where the hose touched the tailgate when I did the roof, it scratched the paint - even though it had been waxed. Not used a hosepipe on it since then.
Now I have a 2000 Galaxy and again, the paint seems prone to scratching easily although it seems reasonably chip-proof.

Since 1990 I have carried a tube of baby-wipes in the car so that bird-poo can be removed as soon as I see it. This type of deposit seems to stain some modern paints really badly even after just a few hours.
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Fri 15 Aug 2003 12:11
Paintwork scratch: vandals or natural? - Hugo {P}
If it's below the passenger door (say near the door sill) I suspect it's occurred naturally.

Most vandel scratches are usually around or just below waist height.

If someone's going to do your car the will not go to the trouble to make sure the damage is not very prominent.

H
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