Car Scratch Repair

Car scratch repair in Ilford from £79* — from light clear-coat scuffs to deep scratches through to the metal, we repair and refinish them so the panel looks like it never happened, with paint colour-matched to your exact manufacturer code and the work guaranteed in writing.

What kind of scratch is it?

Run a fingernail across the mark — if it doesn’t catch, you’re probably in the cheapest category. Either way, a photo tells us everything we need to price it.

• Clear-coat scuff — the most common: car park scrapes, hedge and brush marks that haven’t broken the colour. Usually machine-polished or refinished the same day.
• Colour-coat scratch — through the lacquer into the paint. Repaired and blended in our spray booth, typically 1 day.
• Deep scratch or gouge — through to primer or bare metal. Filled, refinished and blended, typically 1–2 days. Left untreated, bare metal corrodes — a £150 repair becomes a £400 one.

How we repair a scratch properly

1. Assess & match — we identify how deep the scratch runs and mix paint from your manufacturer’s exact colour code.
2. Prepare — the area is sanded back, filled where needed, and primed. No shortcuts over damaged lacquer.
3. Refinish in the booth — colour and lacquer are applied in our heated spray booth, then baked — the factory process, not a driveway aerosol.
4. Blend & polish — new paint is blended into the surrounding panel so there’s no visible edge, then machine-polished to full gloss.

Why not just use a mobile “scratch pen”?

Fillers and pens sit in the scratch rather than repairing it — they cloud within months, and unsealed metal keeps corroding underneath. A proper bodyshop repair seals, refinishes and blends the panel. If you’re keeping the car it holds its value; if you’re selling, a visible scratch costs more off the price than the repair does.

Why drivers choose Thames Autos

• 20+ years repairing paintwork on all makes and models
• Heated spray booth and manufacturer colour-code matching — including metallics, pearls and tri-coats
• Fixed price from photos before you commit, from £79*
• Written guarantee on every repair

Scratch repair near you

We’re at 1A Spencer Road, Seven Kings — two minutes from Seven Kings station — serving drivers across Ilford, Goodmayes, Barking, Gants Hill, Chadwell Heath and Romford. Photograph the scratch next to a coin for scale and send it through our photo estimate form or WhatsApp — we’ll reply with a fixed price and timescale, usually the same working day.

Scratch repair questions