Time to get SMART

The latest buzz word in car repairs is the acronym S.M.A.R.T . The acronym SMART stands for Small, Medium Area Repair Technique.

This amazing car repair formula is saving car owners a lot of money. According to SMART repair boys, the customers save money by repairing only damaged areas of a vehicle. There is no longer the need to repair an entire vehicle surface for a scratch on the bumper or a dent on the door panel.

All vehicles experience the need for repairs somewhere down the line, and dents and scratches can damage more than the exterior of the vehicle. There can be considerable damage done to the monetary value of the vehicle as well. For this reason, it is highly advisable that car repairs be completed as soon as possible to prevent any further damage from occurring.

FOR HONEST, PROFESSIONAL & RELIABLE SERVICE SINCE 1996 CALL JOE 07802348096 OR 0151 4932600 OR VISIT www.scuffsnscratches.co.uk

SCUFFS ‘N’ SCRATCHES LTD, 60-61 LOVE LANE, LIVERPOOL, L3 7DD

How Do You Remove Spray Paint From Your Car?

Finding your car vandalized with a can of spray pain is one sure way to put a damper on your day. This is specially true if, like any proud car owner, you take pains to maintain its appearance. More so if the car that happens to have been victimized is your weekend toy or project car.

Depending on the toughness of your car’s paint (urethane paint is extremely hardy), the amount of paint that has been sprayed on and where, and the time the spray paint has been left on your car’s paint, the time you will need to restore your car’s finish will take from an hour or so to up to half a day. If you have discovered the vandalism pretty early, the spray paint may still be drying and a wash and soap job may be all you need to solve your problem quickly.

If this is not the case, there are many solvents or materials that can be used.  If the car’s finish is a bit sensitive or the spray paint has been left to dry for some time, extra care must be taken to make sure that you don’t take off your car’s paint too. Various chemicals like WD-40, nail polish remover, acetone, rubbing compound, gasoline or spray-on brake parts cleaner can all be used. For car show type paint jobs or finishes, Meguiar’s Clay is oftentimes used to make sure that only the spray paint is taken off. However, use of this specialty product is best left to the hands of experts who are familiar with its use. Fine rubbing compound can also be used but, again, care must be exercised as this is an abrasive compound that can take off the car’s paint if used improperly.

Remember that all cars have clear coats to protect the actual paint and the chemicals that were mentioned can remove all but the most stubborn or thickly laid-on spray paint. The basic method is to apply a small amount of the compound of your choice (say, acetone) on a clean rag and use a rubbing motion to try to remove the paint. If it is working, the rag will begin to show signs of the color of the spray paint that was used. If your car’s paint color starts rubbing off on the rag, this is a clear indicator that you have gone through your car’s top coat and are already taking off the car’s paint.

If the spray paint is thick in a certain place, try using a plastic scraper to remove the stubborn paint and then use the chemical solution of your choice to remove the rest of the paint. If the spray paint has gotten to the window or windshield glass, acetone would be one of the best chemicals to use and you will be able to remove the paint from the glass easily.

Take care not to use acetone on moulding or rubber seals that have been spray painted as this will soften the rubber which might destroy it prematurely. Strong soap used with a stiff-bristled plastic brush would be a better choice in this case.

The finishing touch after all that work would be to wash your car, or at least the affected area, using car soap liberally on the area you have worked on. Take the car to a body shop to see if you need to have the affected area sprayed with clear coat to protect the underlying paint. By doing the hard work of removing the paint yourself, you will have saved yourself some considerable expense, instead of having the entire job worked on by the body shop.

For more help & advice on this, call Joe on 0151 4932600 or 07802348096 or visit www.scuffsnscratches.co.uk

SCUFFS ‘N’ SCRATCHES LTD 60-61 LOVE LANE, LIVERPOOL, L3 7DD

EXPERT CAR BODY REPAIRS, CAR DENT REPAIRS, ALLOY WHEEL REPAIRS & CAR BUMPER REPAIRS IN LIVERPOOL

FOR HONEST, PROFESSIONAL & RELIABLE SERVICE SINCE 1996

Protect your car from rust

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside., oh we do like to be beside the sea… unless you want to protect your vehicle, that is.  Salt is an extremely damaging substance to vehicles and a major cause of rust, so if you live somewhere near the sea then you’re more susceptible to rust damage.  Similarly, during the winter the salt used to melt ice and snow has the same effect.

Small rusting which has not penetrated the whole panel but is to be found only on the surface can normally be dealt with at home. Just vigorously rub sandpaper about it and then coat it with epoxy primer. Epoxy has long been identified to have anti-corrosive properties. In fact, epoxy coating has been employed to avoid timber rot in boats. However, the more severe the rust problem the more likely you will need some professional help.

Despite advances made in technologies to produce corrosion resistant resources and undercoats, far more money is spent on rust management than collision fixes.  It is vital to go to the correct car body repair shop so that the car bodywork repairs carried out have a professional stamp.

Call Joe Woodhouse for a free quotation on 0151 493 2600 or 07802 348096 or visit www.scuffsnscratches.co.uk

SCUFFS ‘N’ SCRATCHES LTD 60-61 LOVE LANE, LIVERPOOL, L3 7DD

FOR HONEST, PROFESSIONAL & RELIABLE SERVICE SINCE 1996

Identify poor body repairs before you buy

Caveat emptor – buyer beware!  Before you part with your hard-earned cash here’s is a quick rundown of what to look for when buying a car.

Paintwork repairs: look at the overall paintwork, the texture should match all over, all the sides of the car etc should look the same in lustre, the colour should be the same all over too. Look at each panel in turn, check every feature line to see if the body lines have been roll masked off. Open all the doors, bonnet, tailgate and check the edges between the outer and inner panels, have they been rolled masked off? Look to see if any bolts on the car have been touched in. When a car has had accident repairs the panels will be re aligned so the paint on the bolts will be disturbed and then touched back in. If all looks good on the edges, look over the body for hazy patches, these patches are often ‘blow ins’ or ‘fade outs’, they are signs of minor accident repairs.

Body panel alignment: walk around the car and just eye up all the gaps, all the door gaps, bonnet & boot gaps should be equal and centralized. A good car body repair centre should have attention to detail and gaps are a classic tell tale sign of work being done. Lift the bonnet and check the engine bay, look at the flinches and chassis legs, all should look untouched. Look for marks where bolts have been undone and panels re-aligned, I call these ‘witness marks’ as they show something has been moved. Lastly, look at the cars sill. The lip part of the sill where the sill joins the floor pan should be covered in stone chip protector and painted. If there are pitted marks about twelve inches long and two patches on either side. These are ‘clamp marks’ and it shows that the car has been on a pulling machine to be re-aligned and accident repairs have been

There are many other ways to assess if a car has had accident repairs, these are my ‘must do checks’ list. Finally, there is nothing wrong with an accident repaired car as long as it has been repaired right. If you do notice a few little things on paintwork etc or you just want the car regardless, use what you have seen to bargain the price down. Car sales guys will hate me for telling you that but hey, I’m here to help.

I hope this article has given you a few things to think about.

If you need free advice or a quotation, call Joe 07802 348096 or 0151 4932600 or call in at 60-61 Love Lane, Liverpool, L3 7DD

SCUFFS ‘N’ SCRATCHES LTD FOR HONEST, PROFESSIONAL & RELIABLE SERVICE SINCE 1996