Scratch Removal & Machine Polish

We remove or reduce light scratches and swirl marks by machine polishing at our workshop in Wyken, Coventry. Scratch removal and machine polishing costs from £144 including VAT (£120 plus VAT) per panel, with the final price set after inspection. We check paint thickness with a paint depth gauge, because polishing takes a little paint off.

Which marks polishing helps with

Polishing works on marks in the clear coat, the clear top layer over the colour on most modern cars: light scratches, swirl marks that show in sunlight, and dullness on the surface of the clear coat. It takes a very thin layer off the surface to level the marks out. How much a mark improves depends on how deep it goes, and a deeper scratch on the same panel may be reduced rather than removed.

When a scratch is too deep to polish

If you can see primer, bare metal or plastic, or a line where the colour is missing, the scratch has gone through the paint and polishing cannot fill it. A scratch that catches your fingernail is often too deep to polish out fully, and we check it at inspection. Peeling or flaking clear coat cannot be polished back either.

Damage through the colour needs paint instead. Depending on its size and where it is, that may be a paint touch-up or single panel painting. A dent is a separate repair, covered on our panel dent repair and respray page.

Why we check paint depth

Each polish removes a little paint, and a panel only has so much to lose. A panel that has been machine polished before may have less left to work with, so tell us about any earlier polishing or paintwork you know of. The gauge reads the total thickness of the paint on the panel, not the depth of one scratch, so it helps us judge how much polishing the panel can take. Our article on paint depth measurement explains the check.

Price and inspection

Polishing costs from £144 including VAT (£120 plus VAT) per panel, not for the whole car. The final figure is set after inspection and depends on the work each panel needs, for example light swirl marks or a deeper scratch. A small inspection is free.

Avoiding new swirl marks

Swirl marks usually come from washing and drying, when grit trapped in a sponge, mitt or towel drags across the paint. Rinse the car well first, use a clean wash mitt and clean microfibre drying towels, and do not wipe dust off a dry panel. There is more on washing in our guide to avoiding swirl marks.