[Goofy]

Hello,

I have a soul red 2016 CX3 that I absolutely love.
I scratched it while parking on Friday and the scratches are kind of deep. I am heartbroken, it feels like I just dropped my newborn. I have been researching ways to fix it... I know red is a very hard color to work with but I've been reading all these things about the paint on the newer red Mazdas and how they are pretty much un-repairable, and even if I try to fix it, the colour will never be the same and my car will be 2 different shades of red...
I am so sad and feel so guilty. Has anyone scratched their car and successfully got it fixed? Any tips?

Thank you!

 

[DJ9999]

Welcome to the forum. Thankfully I have not had that misfortune. Can you post a pic of the scratch? Curious of the location, how big etc. Members may have feedback based on that.

 

[Snoogie]

I scratched my rear hatch removing the Mazda log to be replaced with an evil M one and although I can still see it I did managed to fix my scratch. I used a combination of the OEM touch up pen, rotary polisher with light grit polish, and some brake clean or solvent to quickly wipe away any excess touch up paint. I'll get a shot of it later if I could to see how it now looks better than when I first had the scratch.

 

[Goofy]

It's on the right rear door.

I went to a body shop near my place to get a quick quote and they want $900 to fix it and it won't even be the same color. Gah.

I don't know if the dealership would be able to help or if they would just send me to a body shop?
As you can tell, I am absolutely clueless lol... this is my first car.

 

[Geezer]

I had a nasty deep rock chip on my hood before I had a chance to get the protective film applied. I used the Mazda OEM Soul Red paint stick and then went to work. The best outcome will be achieved by not avoiding a lot of hard work and elbow grease. You really need to be armed with a kit that has all the various grades of fine grit. Then use some rubbing compound. Finish off with a couple of coats of clear coat lacquer and polish some more when it is totally dry. It still will not look 100% blended with the surrounding area, but close enough.

 

[jtonline]

A bit of Googling revealed that, in 2013, Mazda in Australia were working with their preferred paint supplier, PPG, to establish the paint formula and application process to refinish Soul Red vehicles. This webpage from PPG indicates how time consuming it is to refinish a three-layer paint finish: Efficient Three-layer Paint Repairs

The PPG approved body shop locator on this webpage for the USA (assuming that's where the OP is located) may be worth investigating: Home

 

[anchorman]

I really can't handle these thumbnails, they are microscopic and fly all over the page when I try to expand them. However, it looks like most of that scrape would polish and you will certainly improve it with just a mild one like Meguires that you can get in Walmart. These smart paint repairs you can get would be a very bad move on Soul Red in my opinion and if you want it perfect then the only option is a good (no back street codger) bodyshop. Try that polish first and see how it looks.

 

[Craigh]

Have to agree with anchorman.

Before you go getting it re sprayed, check out how much you can recover with some simple paint repair and correction.

1. Wash the area of the car to remove any dirt.
2. On a soft cloth use wax and grease remover (prepsol) and see how much of the damage comes off.
3. Carefully work the area with a polish like Meguires ultimate and see if it corrects the problem somewhat.
4. If there are some areas missing paint use a paint pen or small brush to touch them up. Once they are fully dry, like days if necessary use some of the polish again to smooth it out a bit.
5. Wax the area to protect it.

All stuff u can do at home.

And u know, what do you have to loose, don't be frightened to give it a go, you can't really do much damage with those products and hand application.

What was it u hit ? If it's paint from another car it may clean up a bit better than if it was concrete but I am sure u can make it better.

 

[Goofy]

Thank you everyone! Greatly appreciated.

I will give your suggestions a try this weekend. Will keep you updated. I scratched it against a concrete wall... yupp. I feel stupid but also glad I didn't hit someone else's car in the process.

 

[Snoogie]

It was actually a deep scratch but after using touch up paint, buffing, and some solvent it looks 1000x better than initially. I will be trying to make a few more attempts to clear it up but so far from a distance you can't even tell.

 

[Levi3xt]

I really can't handle these thumbnails, they are microscopic and fly all over the page when I try to expand them. However, it looks like most of that scrape would polish and you will certainly improve it with just a mild one like Meguires that you can get in Walmart. These smart paint repairs you can get would be a very bad move on Soul Red in my opinion and if you want it perfect then the only option is a good (no back street codger) bodyshop. Try that polish first and see how it looks.

I've found that when looking at the thumbnail if I try to enlarge them with finger/thumb they fly over the page. BUT, if I press in the middle of the thumbnail for a sec I note a slight movement in the pic (almost if you've just taken a pic of the screen) if I then enlarge with finger/thumb it works a treat. Hope it also works for you.