How to Polish Scratches From Under Your Car Door Handles

You may not have noticed before, or maybe you have, but most cars have a decent stock of ugly little scratches under the door handles. I think it's the result of rubbing your finger nails over it every time you grab the handle, it could be some sort of alien activity during the night, or maybe it's the kangaroo activity over here and other parts of the world don't have this problem, I'm really not sure.

In this instructable I'll show you how to get that section of paint looking brand new again. I have a white Volkswagen Transporter, I'll demonstrate on that. It takes no more than 5 minutes per handle once the car is clean, and does not require a PhD in car detailing (if there is such a thing?), it actually requires very little skill, basically if you are able to wipe water spots off a mirror you will be able to manage this.

This is my first instructable so please let me know if I've screwed anything up.

It's really annoying me now, can someone in a country without kangaroos please check if their car has these scratches and let me know?

Step 1: Wash Your Car

Wash the entire car and park in the shade. This is very important because you need to ensure that there are no little bits of dirt and grit on the car, these will cause more scratches than you already have. The bit about parking in the shade is because you want the metal panels to be cool to touch, if they are hot the polish will bake on before it has a chance to do anything, and you will be left with polish stuck to the paint which is quite hard to wash off.

Step 2: Gather Materials

Materials. I use a cheap polish from Bunnings (hardware chain store here in Australia), most polishes do a similar job, experiment with the cheaper ones before going out and paying big money for a Meguiars or Turtle brand name. You will save big bucks in the long run. Other than a bottle of liquid polish (or a tin of cream polish), you just need a clean soft rag for applying the polish (I use old Bonds cotton singy), and a clean microfiber towel for wiping it off.

For those reading this in countries other than Australia, a singy is a singlet, which dictionary.com tells me may also be known as a man's undershirt or jersey, I have heard them referred to in the UK as vests.... How different our cultures are.

Step 3: Apply the Polish

This is where the fun begins, it is really easy too. Simply put a little bit of polish onto the rag and start to rub it into the section where the scratches are. People talk about circular motions with polish, it really isn't that technical, just don't rub back and forth on the same spot for too long with too much pressure, heat is the enemy here, same thing as parking in the shade. If it gets too hot the polish sticks like sh!t to a blanket.

It is very simple, the scratches will disappear as you rub the polish in, and as the polish dries it will leave a white powdery residue, this is normal.

In the last picture on this step you will see a little bit of residue above the handle, it is hard to see on a white car, but will show up on a darker colour.

Step 4: Remove Residue

This is the last step, and is no harder than the rest. Grab the microfiber towel and wipe off the polish residue once it has dried. It is very powdery and will just wipe off very easily

Step 5: Admire Your Handiwork

That's it! The scratches are gone! Go and find a very cold beer, crack it, take a swig, stand back and look how shiny the paint is under the door handle, then invite a couple of mates around to check it out. Don't thank me, just make sure you have a few more beers in the fridge if you go down this track.

You will be pleased to know that the same process and materials can be used to polish any painted part of your car (I did my whole car after this). Any small scratches that aren't through the clear coat can be fixed with polish, deeper ones may need a few applications, if they are very deep you may need to sand them, but have a real good think about how bad it actually looks before sanding because that is a long process to bring the shine back after sanding.

Thanks for reading, I trust you enjoyed the i'ble. Now go out and get polishing!

Comments

[Imrtbpsp]

I live in India. I have Honda Accord with same body color like yours as show in picture, but with chrome garnish handle.
I want to let you know that these marks/scratches isn't alien or Kangaroos activity because here in India no Kangaroos or such animal who can scratches under alI of your cars handle, While my cars always parked in Remotely controlled Garage. I also have same scratches under the all four handles except driver's door (a little bit). Because when I open the car door, I always keep in mind that my nails should not touch/rub the car body under the handle.
I am the only who drive my own car so there is not marks(a little bit) under the driver's side handle.
3 year before , one day me and my wife were traveling in car. We stopped at road side cafe for coffee and I was waiting for her in parking then I noticed that there is some red color scratch under the handle of passenger's door (front other side). While these marks was not there 2 or 3 ago because I took car to washing station and deeply inspected the car my self.
So I got an quick clue about from where these mark came from. As soon as my wife came back first of all I check her nails then I find that those red marks was there due to my wife blood res Nail Polish/Paint.
Hope it will help you, I am posting the pics my car's handle.
Sorry for my Bad English.
I am Indian and Hindi is my mothertounge. English is secondary.
Thanks You.

[twit7503]

They look cuddly with their lil pouches..... surely they wouldn't deliberately deface automobiles!

[360hobbyist]

I have the same scratches behind my door handle and my door handles look almost identical to yours. I live in the central U.S. on gravel and the only reason I can come up with for the scratches is that small rocks get flung in between the handle in the door, possibly when I turn corners with a bit of speed. Don't know if this would apply to your situation though. Nice tutorial, I will have to give that a try at some point.

[rq2500]

Thanks, I trust it helps. I think you'll find it is caused by fingernails when opening the door, I'd expect the whole car would have scratches if it was gravel flinging up from the road.

[rajarshi]

i ve been neglecting too

[DIY Hacks and How Tos]

This is something that I have definitely been neglecting on my car. Thanks for the tutorial.

[rq2500]

Yes it's incredible how much the little details make when you're trying to impress someone with your car. No probs.

[uwalts1]

Thanks for the tutorial, it's great mate.

[rq2500]

No worries, trust it helps.

[KEUrban]

Living in someplace that is not Australia, I can confirm that here at least the scratches are not caused by marsupial vandals (since the only marsupial native to North America isn't tall enough to reach the door handle).
YMMV.

[rq2500]

Haha thanks mate, those roos are cheeky blighters though, gotta watch them.