Auto body repair & detailing: Small Scratch on New Car, auto body work, automotive touch up paint

Question
Hi,
My roomate put a small(2.5 in) yet deep scratch on the door of my new black truck a few days ago with the lawnmower handle. it is deep enough that i see white (primer?/metal?) but it is rather thin. THe toyota dealer scheduled a repair with an airbrush guy, who refused to do repair it because it was too deep. The autobody shop i went to said it would cost around $500 to do it because they would need to redo the entire door. What would you recommend? Would an airbrush look so bad on a deep scratch? could i possible repair this myself or should i go ahead and get the auto body work done?

Thanks!

Chris

Answer
Hey Chris! Buy some automotive touch up paint in a tube, and carefully brush touch up the spot. Practice on something else made of painted metal, and remember, less is better. Once you have it touched up, then decide if you can live with the spot, or would rather have it painted. Bill