Card-door nicks happen frequently. Whether it is from kicking the door with your feet, a loose grocery cart hitting the side of the car or even a nick that occurred from another door hitting the side of the car; nicks are part of a car's daily life. However, there is no need to live with the unsightly nicks. It is a simple process to restore these nicks yourself.
Before a nick in a car door can be repaired, the area must first be cleaned. It is best to use a general purpose adhesive cleaner to prepare the area for painting. Start by using a soft sponge and soapy water. Follow this cleaning job with the adhesive cleaner. Allow to dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step.
If the nick is large, sand the edges. Use automotive sandpaper for this task, not wood sandpaper. Use a fine grit sandpaper. Do not sand deeply. Just sand enough to smooth the edges of the nick. You can wipe away the paint dust with a clean, soft cloth.
To restore a nick you have to fill it in with paint. Call the manufacturer of your vehicle to find the original color of the car if you do not have a bottle of touch up paint for your vehicle. If you know the year and model of your car, then it will be easy to find the correct paint locally or online. Use a clear primer on the nick first. Allow it to dry for 2 to 4 hours before applying the colored paint. Dab some of the paint onto the surface of a piece of cardboard or paper plate. Mix it up to ensure there are no clots. Apply the paint, in a very small amount, just inside the nicked area. Allow the surface to dry for 24 hours.
Use a rubbing compound and polishing wheel to buff out the nick. These items can be purchased at most automotive supply stores. Be careful not to apply too much pressure to the paint, or else some of the original paint may come off with it. Buff the nick until the two coats of paint blend in with one another and you can no longer tell where the nick was.
Use a soft, dry cloth to hand buff the area that you buffed with the polishing wheel. This removes all the last traces of the rubbing compound. The car door should look like new again. Follow this process with an application of car wax. You can wax the nicked area, or you can wax the entire car. If you wax the entire car the nicked area will have cohesion with the rest of the vehicle.
