There are few things more infuriating than finding a scratch on your car.

No matter what steps you take to ensure your car stays safe and sound, the presence of a small scratch or ding can completely ruin the look of it.

Sadly, your car can be susceptible to disfigurations and scratches from innocuous things like parking too close to a tree or wall, wayward trolleys at supermarkets, or even just from someone opening their car door onto yours.

If you do find yourself having to repair your paintwork, it can cost you a tidy sum, not to mention be a real hassle too.

Thankfully, there are several things you can do to protect your car from scratches, including these six actions below. 

1. Protect your paintwork with paint protection film

One of the easiest ways you can reduce the risk of scratches on your vehicle is to install paint protection film onto it.

Also known as PPF, paint protection film is used to protect everything from RVs and airplanes to electronics. It takes the form of a flexible and very thin film that is added to your vehicle.

Although invisible to the naked eye, it works very well when it comes to protecting your vehicle from scratches and other abrasions which can occur, particularly from road debris that might bounce off it.

Although this is a costly option, it is quite effective in protecting your whole vehicle. It is also available as both a gloss or matt finish, and you should be installed by someone who is certified to do so by the PPF manufacturer.

2. Ceramic Coat Your Vehicle

Another paint protection option that can be applied to your vehicle is ceramic coating.

When compared to paint protection film, this provides much better protection overall. However, an even greater piece of mind can be gained from using both concurrently. As some ceramic coatings have been specifically designed to ensure that PPF can be used on top of it.

Aside from preventing your vehicle from getting scratched, some coatings also provide other benefits too, including blocking UV rays, which might otherwise fade or damage your paint.

In addition, they can also repel materials, like dirt, oil, water, and even acid from squashed insects, and their surface makes it easier to wash the vehicle as well.

3. Reduce carelessness

Often scratches to our cars occur due to lack of concentration or carelessness on our parts.

Things like reverse parking and taking corners too fast, can often lead to mistakes that cause dents or scratches.

Similarly, taking shortcuts on gravel roads might save you some time, but could also expose your vehicle to the risk of scratching from road debris.

Prevention is always better than cure, so the more careful you are when driving, the less likely you are for your car to damage.

4. Choose Your Parking Spots

It is incredible the number of scratches, dents and bumps that occur in public car parks like supermarkets. As a result of wayward trolleys, other vehicles or even people carrying bags or other objects.

For this reason, it is always worth parking as far away from the shop entrance, most foot traffic and other cars, as possible when you go to these types of venues.

When out elsewhere, try and park in a garage, as opposed to the side of the street, as this offers better protection to your motor.

Also avoid parking under trees as seeds, fruits, resin, bird droppings and fallen branches can all damage your car’s paintwork.

5. Regularly hand wash your car

You can be forgiven for thinking the main reason why people regularly wash their cars is to just maintain its appearance.

However, there is another very good reason for doing so and that is because regularly washing it can protect your vehicle from erosion that occurs to the paint sealer from dirt and debris.

This paint sealer protects your car from rust and corrosion, so as a general rule the cleaner you maintain its exterior, the better it will preserve. 

When washing your car, try to do so by hand, as the abrasive brushes used in car washes can easily scratch your vehicle’s paintwork.

Also try and avoid ‘dusting’ the surface of the car with a dry cloth, or indeed rubbing it directly with a sponge prior to rinsing away the dirt and dust, as these are common mistakes people often make.

To reduce the potential for your car’s paintwork to be ruined whilst cleaning, also use a top-of-the-range non-abrasive cleaning product.

6. Don’t use car covers

Do you always put a cover on your car when you are not using it? Then you might want to rethink this practice.

Not only do covers offer nothing in the way of scratch protection, but they can also be doing more damage than you think.

Whenever you put a fabric over your car, particularly if it has not been washed in a while, the risk of scratches increases due to friction, which occurs between the dirt, dust and other particles on both surfaces.

This can be exacerbated by wind flap damage, but also just by putting the cover on and taking it off.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it! Our recommendation of 6 ways to protect your car from scratches.

Ultimately at the end of the day, prevention is better than cure, so if you take these steps, you will go a long way to looking after your car and reducing its risk of being scratched.

This in turn will retain its pristine appearance for many years to come.

However, should the worst happen and your car does get scratched, be sure to find a local car scratch repair expert with DingGo to try and minimise damage.