Scratched Matte Paint

Last Updated June 7, 2023

We’ve blogged about this topic on more than one occasion, but we still receive tons of comments and questions from our customers about scratched matte paint.

Matte 101

There are some basic matte paint rules to know. Matte paint cannot be clayed, polished, or waxed. Ordinarily, these are the processes one would use to remove scratches from glossy paint. If these methods are employed on matte paint, the finish will be permanently damaged. Your matte paint will not be sleek, sheen, and flat but instead blotchy and shiny.

So what are you supposed to do if your matte paint becomes scratched? There are fortunately some steps you can take to reduce the appearance of scratches on matte paint, though they cannot be removed. It all depends on the depth of the scratch and how it happened.

Cleaning Up

If a scratch is deep, there’s not a lot you can do outside of repainting the whole area or using touch-up paint. However, many people don’t realize a big portion of the ugliness of a scratch is actually contaminant. The scratch might appear to be huge, but if you use a product like Matte Paint Cleanser on the area you could very likely see a lot of the blemish disappear. Paint transfer and baked-on contaminants (mud, tree sap, overspray, etc.) can make a small scratch seem much bigger than it actually is.

For fine, hairline scratches, you can reduce their appearance with Matte Paint Coating. Not only does this matte-friendly nano coating protect flat paint from staining, fading, and etching for a year, but it also evens out the paint to make small scratches less noticeable.

For matte wheels, you can use Matte Paint Coating AND Matte Wheel Seal to hide scratches. Both products work together to keep the area looking uniform.

Personal Preferences

Some people don’t mind scratches on their matte. When you use your vehicle for off roading or other extreme activities, scratches will absolutely occur. If it makes you cringe to look at a scratch, don’t get an off roading vehicle with a matte finish – get glossy. If the scratches feel more like awesome battle scars, roll with them. Regardless of your feelings about scratched matte paint, always use Matte Paint Coating to prevent other types of damage to flat, frozen, denim, satin, pearlescent, or any non-glossy paint.