Collision & Body Work
Scratch repair near you
Scratch repair for scuffs and stone chips: polished out, touched up or repainted, from light clear coat marks to gouges down to the metal.
- Time at the shop
- 2 h
- about
- Mobile service
- Available
- at your address
- Shops in Canada
- 1
- doing this work
- Your price
- You set it
- shops bid on it
You set the budget
Shops near you send their bids
1 shop in Canada does this
Collision & Body Work
What scratch repair is
Car paint is built in layers: bare metal or plastic, primer, the coloured base coat and a clear coat on top. How a scratch is repaired depends on how many layers it has cut through. Run a fingernail across it: if the nail glides over, the scratch is probably in the clear coat and can be polished out. If the nail catches, the colour or the primer is cut, and the area needs filling and repainting.
For deeper damage the technician cleans the area, wet-sands it level, fills and primes where metal or plastic shows, sprays matching paint in thin coats and clear coat over it, then blends the edges into the surrounding finish and polishes it to the same gloss. This small-area method, often called a SMART repair, avoids repainting a whole panel. Stone chips are cleaned, filled and touched up, and any bare steel is sealed so rust cannot start beneath the edge.
- For cars, EVs, vans and trucks
- Takes about 2 h
- Can be done at your address
What does scratch repair cost?
It depends on your vehicle and the shop. Post a job with your budget and compare the bids shops near you send.
Get bids
Name your budget. Shops near you bid.
1 shop across Canada does scratch repair.
What to expect
Scratch repair, step by step
What the job normally covers, what to mention in your request, and the signs that it is time. Every shop says what its bid includes.
The job
What’s included
- Scratch depth judged by touch and under a raking light, with the method explained before work starts
- Area washed and degreased, and the surrounding paint and trim masked
- Light scratches compounded and polished out by machine, with no paint added
- Deeper scratches and chips filled, wet-sanded level and primed wherever metal or plastic shows
- Matching paint mixed from your vehicle’s code, sprayed in thin coats and covered with clear coat
- New paint blended into the surrounding finish so there is no hard edge
- Cured repair polished to match the gloss of the panel around it
Checklist
Before you post
- 01Run a fingernail across the scratch first; if it catches, tell the shop, because it needs paint rather than polish
- 02Have a daylight photo ready, taken from the side with light raking across the scratch, plus one of the paint code label
- 03Ask whether the price covers one scratch, one panel or a whole side of the vehicle, and what a second panel adds
- 04Ask how metallic, pearl or three-coat colours are matched, and whether the repair is blended into the next panel
- 05Ask when you can wash the repaired area and when it is safe to wax it
- 06If the technician comes to you, plan on a dry garage or covered spot, since damp air, dust and cold weaken fresh paint
Signs
When you need it
- A key scratch, a shopping-cart mark or a scrape along a door
- Stone chips on the hood or front bumper, with grey primer or bare metal showing
- Scuffs and paint transfer where another vehicle brushed yours
- A scratch through the clear coat that looks white or dull and catches a fingernail
- A lease return or a sale coming up, with marks a buyer or leasing company would notice
Sound familiar?Tell shops near you what you need and what you want to spend.
Get bidsHow it works
Get scratch repair done in four steps
You set the budget and choose the shop. Posting is free, and you pay the shop you hire once the work is 100% done.
- 01
Post your job
Choose the service, describe the job and your vehicle, and set your budget. It takes two minutes and costs nothing.
- 02
Shops compete
Nearby shops that do the work see your request and send their best offer: price, when they can start, what is included.
- 03
Accept the best offer
Compare bids, ratings and distance, then hire one shop. The others are told, politely.
- 04
Talk and get it done
Your conversation with the shop opens right away to agree on the day. You pay only after the job is complete.
Keep exploring
Related services
Paint repair
Paint repair for faded, peeling or damaged paint on one panel or area: sanded, primed, colour-matched, clear-coated and blended in.
Detailing & Car Wash
Paint correction
Paint correction that machine-polishes swirl marks, light scratches, water spots and oxidation out of the clear coat, then seals the finish.
Bumper repair
Bumper repair for scuffed, cracked or pushed-in plastic covers: repaired, repainted or replaced, with parking sensors and mounts checked afterwards.
Paintless dent repair
Paintless dent repair for door dings, creases and hail dents: metal pushed out from behind with no filler or repaint, often at your home or workplace.
Detailing & Car Wash
Car detailing
Car detailing with hand wash, clay bar and wax or sealant outside and a deep vacuum and surface clean inside, for cars, SUVs, vans and trailers.
Questions
Questions about scratch repair
General answers for drivers in Canada. The shop you hire confirms the details for your vehicle.
Can a scratch be buffed out, or does it need paint?
If it sits only in the clear coat, a machine polish can level it and no paint is needed. The fingernail test is a good first check: a nail that catches means the colour coat or primer is cut, so the area must be filled, sanded and repainted. Scratches that look white but do not catch are often clear coat, and they polish out.
Can I fix scratches and chips myself with touch-up paint?
Small chips, yes. Find the paint code on the label in the door jamb, clean the chip, and apply thin coats with a fine brush, letting each dry. It will look acceptable at arm’s length but not perfect. For scratches longer than a few centimetres, a hand fix rarely matches the gloss, and a shop repair is neater.
Will a repaired scratch still be visible?
A good repair disappears at normal viewing distance. Up close and at a low angle you may see a slight change in gloss or texture where the new paint ends. Metallic and pearl colours are harder to match, so ask the technician to blend the new paint into the surrounding finish and to show you the result in daylight.
How urgent is it to repair a scratch?
A scratch in the clear coat is cosmetic and can wait. One that reaches primer or bare metal should be sealed within a few weeks, especially before winter, because road salt gets to exposed steel and rust can spread under the paint from the edges. A chip touched up now costs far less than a rust repair later.
What is the difference between scratch repair and paint correction?
Scratch repair targets individual marks: it polishes, fills or repaints those spots. Paint correction is a detailing service that machine-polishes the whole vehicle to remove swirl marks, fine scratches and dullness, and it works only on the clear coat. If you have a few deep marks, book scratch repair; if the whole finish looks tired, book paint correction.
Something else to ask? Once you hire a shop, you talk to it directly in your request’s conversation.
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