About a week ago, I parked my car in front of a pool hall. When I came out someone had scratched profanity into the hood with a key. They also keyed the entire right side of the car (the scratch runs down both doors).
Now, the scratches aren’t too deep, but if I run my finger over them, I can feel a small groove.
I realize the 100% fix would be to get the parts repainted, but I am a college student and I don’t always have money for gas, let alone repainting 2 doors, a hood, and two side elements of my car.
I was wondering if there is a cheaper solution to perhaps mask the damage somehow (products such as Scratch Doctor claim to be able to do this), and I was hoping someone could recommend a product or a method.
I am not expecting a miracle, I know that my car will never be perfect. But something to make the profanity less obvious without breaking my budget (maybe $50 or less) might be out there. Any thoughts?
Megiuars Scratch-X. Not a miracle but may work if your scratches are not really deep. The product states if it cannot remove the scratch you need professional body work.
Sorry to hear about it, my 95 Dakota got keyed when it was 2 weeks old. Fortunately vandalism was covered by comprehensive coverage, not collision (higher ded.) in my case.
I’m assuming you don’t have full coverage. Maguiars Cleaner wax is pretty good at removing light scratches without worrying about further damage. I would assume that Scratch-X mentioned by the previous poster would work even better. If the scratches are too deep and you need to use touch up paint, I thin the paint about 50% with lacquer thinner and use a fine paint brush to apply the paint rather than the brush supplied with the touch up bottle. It’s better to apply the paint in thin layers to fill the scratch. After the paint has dried, then use a cleaner wax or Scratch-X to buff out the scratch to blend it in with the existing paint. It won’t be perfect, but it should be less obvious.
Good luck,
Ed B.
“About a week ago, I parked my car in front of a pool hall…”
That might be the problem.
I know pool halls aren’t the safest place for cars, but imagine that I love playing pool and I don’t have money or space for a full-sized table. I’m left with either giving up a really great source of entertainment in order to protect a car? I know getting keyed is always a risk, but it IS just a car and I figure doing something I love is more important. The reason I want the scratch removed is that it could potentially rust (even though I live in CA, so probably not immediately) and it’s vulgar (and it’s indecent to drive around in a car that has an obviously visible swear word on it)
Thanks for the references, thought 
I was just kidding, the other folks provided some good advice and I had nothing constructive to add. I’ve parked in front of worse places.
If you do any paint touch-up, you’ll need to thoroughly remove the wax. Stop by an auto parts store, or an auto paint store, for some. You can get a bottle of liquid touch-up paint at the car dealer. Use a very tiny artist paint brush. Brush paint IN the scratches, only. Use multiple coats. DON’T go outside the scratches. The scratches will be less noticeable. + Eight ball in the side pocket!
I had great success restoring clear coat from a spray can. Sand as far down as you dare with 200 grit, spray it with a good color match, sand that a little and apply the clear coat. You will be surprised what you can do cheaply.