I've read the posts. In my case, it isn't Prius envy, or hatred. Rather, I am a school supervisor in a BAD neighborhood, and a lot of my kids have Assistant Principal HATRED! Can anyone recommend a good body shop on Long Island? My scratches are small, but deep, all the way down to the white! One kid pressed so hard, a small dent was even made. Will touch up paint work? Thanks for any advice... c ~
Oh Man,,, so sorry this happened, that really sucks, I would be so pissed off right now, as I am sure you are. Does your school parking lot have cameras to see who did it?? Your car insurance should cover the repairs minus the deductible under the vandalism clause, and since it was vandalism you will not have to worry about them increasing your rates. I had my old 2002 Saturn SL1 vandalized twice within 3 months back in 2003. 1st time they slashed all 4 tires then they threw a brick threw the drivers window and set off a whole package of Saturn missile firecrackers inside the car. State Farm paid for everything minus my $100 deductible for the vandalism clause. Good luck in getting it fixed and hopefully someone here can recommend a good place for you.
I'm sorry to hear of your plight. Presuming the scum won't be caught & punished and that this will happen again IMO the touch up paint would be good enough. I'm not an expert but the couple of scratches I touched up go from invisible to very visible depending on the angle of light. I used Toyota's paint, rubbing alcohol, a q-tip, and Meguire's Scratch-X, spray & claybar. There are some very detailed pages from pros but I wasn't that industrious.
NO touch up is only good for the top layer. To be honest I have never seen a successful self touch up job. Once a scratch gets past the primer you have to get a body shop. Your insurance company should provide suggestions that they will warranty.
Oh you have never seen MY touch-up jobs! Sorry to "hear" about the nasty damage to your car Chachabah16. Kids will be kids but some should be locked up. Pity the kids don't understand that they will pay for the damage because their insurance when they get their own cars will cost more because of your claim. Payback.
I certainly hope surveillance cameras monitor your parking lot. I feel bad for you that it is a new Prius too. One week after I bought my last car, I was at work when we had a hail storm which covered everything completely white. In a surreal way, I know how you feel about right now. I wish there were such a thing as an economical, motion sensor camera which could be concealed on the rear view mirrow somehow with about a 48 hour loop. This would have a chance to catch the vandals in the act. I would love to show up to court with footage of the crime. This would be great footage to turn over to the police if you ever have a drunk driver in front of you or if an accident happens in front of you. Just a brainstorm.
I had a car "keyed" with an exacto blade. The "scratch" was very thin but went right to the bone. I used a scratch polish which hid most of it, then I just let it get a little dirty. If you didn't know it was there you wouldn't notice, but I sure did. There are some very good cut polishes on the market now, I'd try one of those before the touch-up paint. My touch-ups were horrible. It takes a real knack to do that right. Buck
Don't suck this up silently! Even it's happening at school you should file a police report for this vandalism act (or at least alert the authority) and make this incident known to the student body for a deterrent purpose at least..... You can touch/fix it up all you want, but this may happen again if you let it slides quietly.
Good to know you've ruled me out. The sharp edges around a scratch can be rounded off a little by polishing, causing them to reflect a more diffuse light and make them less visible. If you want to try to repair them, Google "Langka scratch repair".
I haven't used this stuff but saw it used on an automotive show last weekend. Perhaps others have used it: https://www.duplicolor.com/duplicolor/step1.php
