Car scratch repair is easy to do on your own – as long as you use the right tools and techniques. There’s no need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to have a paint shop do what you could be doing in your driveway. But that doesn’t mean you should use the cheap-o products you find in stores, either.
These days, there are tons of car scratch repair products on the market. But sadly, only a few of them are effective solutions for the most common scratches on your vehicle. In fact, you may have already discovered that most products are a complete ripoff – designed to provide only a temporary solution, a simple cover-up, and big profits in the pockets of the manufacturers.
If you want to permanently remove those scratches and have your car looking like new again, here are 4 products and methods you should absolutely avoid.
You’ve probably seen this gem on a TV infomercial. “Just slide the little fix-it pen over the scratch and, BAM, it’s gone!” If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. Contrary to what the commercial makes you believe, this magic pen does nothing to remove a scratch. It simply uses a clear acrylic polymer that temporarily changes the coloring of the scratch and leaves an obvious bump on your paint. It does not actually fix anything. And, if you have a deeper scrape, the pen won’t even do a thing to cover it up
When it comes to car scratch repair, father doesn’t always know best. If you’ve inherited dad’s old-fashioned rubbing compounds in their rusty old tins, you better think twice before putting that stuff on your car. Those rubbing and polishing compounds can be extremely rough and abrasive on your paint. On most of today’s clear coat finishes, they will leave a dull, very noticeable haze. You’ll need to buy other products just to remove those markings!

Many companies will market their products as a temporary solution for repair. People buy it for two reasons: 1) It’s cheap, and 2) They think the bottle will last forever. Unfortunately, these products use a very ineffective silicone filler that simply fills in scratches for about a week or so. That’s why car dealers love this product, because it masks scratches just long enough to make you think everything is fine.
Made in Europe, Quixx is an amateur solution made by a company that has cut corners to sell its products to the masses for cheap. You get less than 2 oz. of formula, some paper towels and sand paper. There is no professional acrylic polymer sealant included. And the directions they provide to customers include methods that could actually make your scratches worse. There is also no product support in the U.S., so you’re out of luck when things go horribly wrong.
Do yourself a favor and stick to a formula the professionals – the Ultimate Car Scratch Remover System. This car scratch repair kit includes all the tools you need to completely eliminate scratches, scrapes and deeper gouges, plus step-by-step videos, VIP support and much more for both beginners and advanced users.