Doug G

Hey -- the archives are for newbies. I've been on this board long enough to ask repeat questions!<p>I'm getting ready for a Spring clean & wax session on my A4 and noticed what looked like a minor but long scratch running down the right side. I thought it would polish right out, but I tried two different brands of "clearcoat safe scratch remover" and they had no effect. I then moved up to a more abrasive "polishing compound" (still taking it very easy!), but still no removal. When I run my fingernail across it, I can actually feel the scratch, so it must be deeper than I thought. If it weren't so straight, I'd suspect that I'd been keyed.<p>Anyway, are there any suggestions for taking out a scratch of this kind? How can I tell if rubbing it out would cause me to have to rub right thru the clearcoat layer?<p>I also noticed a couple of places on the front bumper where the paint is chipped off. However, this is my own damn fault. I have to pull my car in close to where my motorcycle is parked against the wall. Since it's a BMW, the thing that I will be sure to hit if I misjudge is the opposed twin's left cylinder head. Sure enough, there's a smidgen of Hibiscus Red paint on the valve cover. Must be BMW's revenge against me for buying an Audi!<p> Doug G<br> 98.5 1.8TQM

ELH

Last summer I had a key mark strech the entire side of my A4. It was light, but enough to make my fingernail stop when sratching across it. I had to get the car painted on that side. The shop matched it perfect though. The whole side was about a $400 job. Best of luck to you!<p>Silver 98.5 1.8TM (for Sale)<br>Silver 99 1.8TQM R28s, Mintex, Blaupunkt Sydney (waiting for Garrett)

JimV

Sometimes an eletric buffer will let you smooth it out but then you risk 'swirl marks' and shining away your clearcoat.<p>I had a scratch on my hood from a SUV spare tire that came out that way.<p>Just remember to wax it right after the buffing.<br>

Dave M

Keep in mind that when you remove a scratch, you are really removing the paint around the scratch down to the depth of the scratch. If the scratch is deep, as yours sounds, trying to remove it may be worse than leaving it alone. The only other option would be to have a body shop touch it up (or if you are brave you could try it yourself, but I would be very leary of this).

Chris K

Ask a body shop to wet sand the area and get the scratch out.. worked well for me and my scratch was DEEP