Paint keyed

[Odd-no-more]

Hi everyone, my daughter has just arrived back from a flight and found her car has been keyed. She is going to try one of the mobile repair people but not sure how to protect the bare metal until it is fixed. Any ideas please? Is vaseline any good?

 

[andy63]

Think id get a little touch up stick af the correct paint type from a motorist shop rather than use anything else that might cause a reaction to a paint job...
Andy.

 

[Two on Tour]

Go with what Andy says is your best bet.
As a former classic car restorer, please restrain from putting anything like vaseline, WD40 or silicone anywhere near it as they would likely cause whoever does the repairs immense grief with the problems they would likely cause them.

 

[mfw]

See if it has scratched to bare metal or just back to the primer sometimes it only scratches back to primer if primer you could wait till paintwork repaired

 

[old-mo]

Leave alone........... They will soon get rid of any surface rust that might come along till it is done properly..

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[Odd-no-more]

Thank you everyone for the quick response. I've told her to leave it and she is going to call one of the mobile repair people when she has had a sleep. Apparently it has happened to a lot of cars at Heathrow in the last few weeks. It's surposed to be a secure parking facilitiy, access is via airport security ID, so you would think it would be safe. Laura is going to report it but we don't expect much will be done.

 

[Landy Andy]

I would get some car polish on it. That should keep the water off the scratch and also make it clearer for the repairer to see what’s required

 

[thedetailman]

If you have a little bit of time you can repair it yourself for pretty cheap. Do you have any photos of the damage?

I used this guide to fix scratches I had on my car and it worked out well. The quixx kit is pretty inexpensive and if you detail any of your vehicles you may already have some of the polishing / rubbing compounds:

http://highperformancejunkies.com/how-to-guides/deep-scratches/

If you post a picture or two of the damage it might let people help you a little more too.

 

[Crazylegs]

If the scratch is deep ( you can feel it with your finger nail) and on one panel get a competent mobile guy in, who should charge about £250. Do some research and speak to previous customers before asking them to do the job, there are a few chancers around. If the scratch extends to two panels or more my best advice is to make an Insurance claim and have the job done in a bodyshop.

 

[Wildbill]

Don't touch it just get a scratch and dent guy to do it as for worrying abut rust who ever repairs it will sort that out
Bill

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[pappajohn]

I'm with Mo, just leave it.
The repairer doesn't have a pot is magic scratch filling paint, they will flat the area back like any other paint sprayer so any minor surface rust will soon be taken care of.
The majority of customers wouldn't even think of covering the damage.

 

[Odd-no-more]

If you have a little bit of time you can repair it yourself for pretty cheap. Do you have any photos of the damage?

I used this guide to fix scratches I had on my car and it worked out well. The quixx kit is pretty inexpensive and if you detail any of your vehicles you may already have some of the polishing / rubbing compounds:

http://highperformancejunkies.com/how-to-guides/deep-scratches/

If you post a picture or two of the damage it might let people help you a little more too.

Thanks for the link, I will pass it on. But Laura is in London and I don't think she will be willing to try it herself. I haven't seen the damage yet, Laura came home after working a flight overnight and then went to bed. I'll get her to send me a pic later.

 

[bobandjanie]

I would leave it then the repaired can see what he is repairing, I had similar with a new car when a child crashed into it on a bicycle, and lucky enough to see who it was, needless to say they paid for the repair, and that was a mobile chap in Norwich, very pleased with him. Bob.

 

[airwave]

Leave alone........... They will soon get rid of any surface rust that might come along till it is done properly..

Concur with that ! .

 

[thebriars]

There are a number of fraudulent car storage companies operating around there who claim they have secure storage yet drive the cars to anywhere they can find. I watched a BBC program "The Defenders" recently where exactly this happened to her car and she found it had been keyed.

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[Odd-no-more]

There are a number of fraudulent car storage companies operating around there who claim they have secure storage yet drive the cars to anywhere they can find. I watched a BBC program "The Defenders" recently where exactly this happened to her car and she found it had been keyed.

Laura is cabin crew for Virgin she parked in the staff car park at Heathrow. Entry is via ID but the car park is used by a lot of staff and doesn't have cctv.

 

[Bobby22]

Laura is cabin crew for Virgin she parked in the staff car park at Heathrow. Entry is via ID but the car park is used by a lot of staff and doesn't have cctv.

The damage may have been caused by inconsiderate staff members with luggage and a zip or padlock scored across it. It might not have been deliberate vandalism. When I park in these places I always chose my space so that no one need squeeze through on the way to a bus stop or exit.
I have watched as harassed travellers are scrambling to catch the shuttle bus and pull trolley cases between cars.