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2018 - How to cover hatch scratch - any tasteful way to cover it up? (picture added)

('14-'18) 
3K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  UrbanLaxBro 
#1 ·
Hi all-

Been a while since I've been on this forum. Today the worst thing happened... I was pulling my daughters stroller out of the back of my 2018 Forester, and I left the hatch open while the car was in the garage. Normally no biggie, but I got distracted and decided to go walking and I closed the garage door, stupidly forgetting I left the hatch open.... I heard some really loud thumping, and it hit me what I did. I ran in, turned the garage door off, closed hatch and assessed the damage. There were 4-5 REALLY bad scratches (down to the metal) on the surface where one usually grips to close the door. I was outraged.

During my walk A. I fumed over my stupidity but B. wondered if there is any tasteful way to cover it up? It is relatively in the center of the hatch door, so I was curious if there was something made of rubber or plastic that is available that people use to improve the closing grip on Subaru's? In other words to they make a product that you can put on the edge of your rear hatch door so you can grip/close it better?
 
#2 ·
I bought a paint correction pen on eBay to fix scratch's and it haves a very fine tip resembling a liquid paper pen. You shake that pen very hard for a minute and clean the scratch with alcohol and paint INSIDE the scratch using the least amount of paint possible. Usually you search on eBay with the car brand, + paint code and touch up pen.

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#8 ·
Let me suggest that this should be the worst thing that any of us have to deal with these days......my stomach would have done a 180° twist had I done something like this (and I certainly did similar damage in my younger days!) BUT this is easily fixable. Clean the area well with a solvent like Bestine to get rid of any wax or grime. I use it all the time when I'm repairing chips....The use of an OEM paint touchup pen is the best way to go.......I'd use magic tape just outside the scratches to limit the paint application (use an Xacto blade to trim magic tape BEFORE applying it to the metal unless you can cut with very lite pressure to avoid cutting into the paint!......once you've applied the tape, use the pen to, as others have suggested add the paint INSIDE the scratches in very limited amounts until the added paint is just a teeny bit higher than the surrounding paint. Let the applications dry completely between coats......after you're done, use some very fine polishing compound on a microfiber cloth to blend the new with the old paint......and then, go inside and forget about it. I also recommend that you pickup a magnifying head band that allows you to get way closer to the surface so you can monitor how much paint you are using......less is better than too much....

Stay healthy and count your blessings.......
 
#9 ·
you need to sand it, prime it, paint it, and clear coat it if you do not want it to rust. otherwise slap a big bumper sticker over it and let the next owner worry about it if/when it rusts out.
 
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