Make it easy to remove unsightly scratches with our best car scratch removers.
Sometimes no matter how careful you are with your car, it’s other people that cause scratches and ruin your hard work.
Scratches can be caused by many different ways and differ in intensity.
Some will look nasty but come out easy, others will look tiny but a pain to remove.
See our articles on car polishing to help keep your car looking like new!
Quick Tip. Wet the scratch with water; if you can still see it, it’s too deep. If you can’t, it should polish out.
While even the best car scratch remover can’t perform miracles they can help restore shine and peace of mind.
Understanding what can, and can’t, be achieved with scratch removers will avoid confusion or wasted effort.
Top 4 Best Car Scratch Remover
4. Meguiars Ultimate Compound
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Meguiars have been creating premium car care products for years.
Their experience has allowed for some great advances in making car care easier.
The most important feature of the Ultimate Compound is the use of their SMAT technology.
SMAT (Super Micro Abrasive Technology) uses lots of tiny abrasive particles instead of traditional gritty rubbing compounds.
This way, it can still effectively polish paint but won’t leave a dull appearance.
This makes it effective and efficient yet gentle on more delicate paintwork.
Meguiars Ultimate Compound is great car scratch remover for easy fixes while leaving a high quality finish.
Using their [amazon_textlink asin=’B0009IQZQG’ text=’Even Coat’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’aap’ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’48319748-010e-11e9-aa61-d18cae34b8db’] applicators will make the process as easy as it can be.
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3. Autoglym Scratch Repair Kit
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Autoglym have provided car care products for years but only recently aimed at detailing products.
The new Autoglym Scratch Repair Kit aims to remove unsightly scratches without leaving clouding or dull finishes.
To ensure the process is as easy as possible it contains everything you need to carry out a repair on your drive.
The supplied scratch remover comes with an accompanying pad to rub the scratch away with.
And even the microfiber cloth needed to buff away the excess.
As recommended, it also comes with the 5-star rated Super Resin Polish to leave an as-new shine and protect the area you’ve polished.
The kit is the most convenient way to remove any marks on your car on test but you get the least amount of scratch remover and is still the most expensive.
If you already own cloths, pads and some polish, then you may be better off with the Meguiars or Farecla offerings.
However, if you want to make sure the job will be done with all the right tools then this is good value and can be used time and again.
Autoglym Scratch Repair Kit[amazon_textlink asin=’B01N5VUKFH’ text=’ reviews on Amazon’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’aap’ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’fad58266-0118-11e9-9d52-47a8c5413209′].
2. Farecla G3 Scratch Remover – Best By Hand
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Farecla have been a long contender in the bodyshop industry for polishing compounds.
These were always professional-only machine applied polishes but recently they have released to the domestic market.
The [amazon_textlink asin=’B004RAUJA0′ text=’Farecla G3′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’aap’ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’fb648007-0111-11e9-827a-0175066820f1′] is a well known product but re-wrapped in fancy packaging for home users.
It is slightly more aggressive than the Meguiars Ultimate Compound but uses diminishing abrasives.
Diminishing abrasives start off fairly large to help rub down a scratch but wear down to little particles to leave a high gloss.
Farecla G3 is designed more for hand use whereas Meguiars Ultimate Compound can be used for hand and machine.
This is a highly effective scratch remover but is recommended for surface scuffs including paint transfer.
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But carry out any scratch removal in small sections to make the job manageable.
Farecla G3 won’t remove deep scratches on hard paints (mainly German vehicles) but will improve appearance on most other paints.
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1. 3M Scratch Removal Kit – Best overall
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3M only produce products of quality and their scratch removal kit is no exception.
It is the most effective kit available and is as close to what a professional can achieve.
Everything you need to remove scratches is included, even very fine sandpaper.
Although this might seem daunting for first time users, the 3000 grit sandpaper will polish up easily.
You will need a drill for this kit but this save a lot of elbow grease and makes for a much better fix.
Professional quality without the price
This kit will basically get out everything a professional can so if this doesn’t remove a scratch then it may need a professional bodyshop to re-paint the area.
Although we use slightly different products, this is basically the process we use in our car detailing services to polish and correct paint.
However if you don’t feel comfortable using the sanding disc then this can still be highly effective.
First of all skip the sanding stage and just use the pad and rubbing compound to polish the scratch instead.
However, if the scratch remains or is too deep then a light application of the sanding stage can really help.
The sachets can be slightly fiddly but just take care to dispense them onto the pads supplied.
It is worth following the repair with a good car wax but otherwise, as a scratch remover, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Overall; this is the best way to remove scratches or defects within your clear coat. If you want something to remove a scuff or some paint transfer then you can use the rubbing compound. If you want to remove a deep scratch then the full kit can really help. Very useful and can save hundreds on professional repair.
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Guide to using the best car scratch remover
Once you’ve decided which car scratch remover to use there are some generic rules which apply.
First, clean your work area
If you don’t want to wash the rest of the car use some detailer and microfiber to clean the area.
If you have dirt on the surface before polishing you will just add more scratches.
So to avoid blaming the product for not working and your scratch looks worse make sure you prepare the area.
If you are cleaning the car then wash and dry it but remove scratches before polishing or waxing.
Second, use the right applicator
If you use a cheap cloth or apply without care you will cause more harm than good.
So use a decent sponge or microfiber applicator as it will maximise the products use (ignore the packaging that says wax applicator!).
Hence, you will get better results and avoid adding more scratches.
Third, follow up with polish
Although car scratch removers are technically car polish they use a harsher grade of polish that sometimes needs improving.
So to improve the quality of the finish and restore an as-new shine we recommend a polish.
This can be something like Autoglym Super Resin or Meguiars Ultimate Polish as these are finer grades of polish.
Therefore obtaining a higher gloss and making the repaired area blend in with surrounding paintwork.
Fourth, apply a wax
A car wax will also further improve the finish but also ensures the paint is protected.
As a result it can help reduce and resist light scratches from inflicting further damage.
