Touch up paint on my Volvo

[caviar]

Someone keyed my car in the front and left a visible scratch.

To remedy I have done the following:

Order and apply Volvo touch up base paint, then remove extra paint and apply clear coat. Once totally dry I use a wet 2000 grid sand paper to remove the imperfections, then I washed and rubbed with rubbing compound.

The result is I am back to square one, I don't see any difference from where I started this work. Well the difference is that the scratch area is shinier and more visible now. Should I start over? Apply more base paint? Any advise?

I went to two body shop and they approved this process so I don't know what I should have done differently.

[crzyhorse]

First of all, is the scratch itself more visible, or is it a shiny patch where you did the repair?

If it's a shiny patch, you can "feather" the area out by going wider with the 2k paper & water.

If it's the scratch itself, you need to build the base color up. Most likely the clear is deeper, causing some silvering.

A few pics might help.

[caviar]

It's the shinny path that's more visible, however the scratch is still visible as well. If I sand around this path I am afraid I will just enlarge the visible mark.

At this point I am wondering if there is a way to eliminate the scratch by spraying paint or something else. I used a paint pencil and removed the extra paint after 10 minutes, this is how the scratch became visible again since I removed the extra paint not what went inside the scratch.

I will try to get some pics

[Some_Kid]

I would try getting the paint color in or right over the scratch. Then apply coats of clear. Build it up enough to where it is nearly level with the rest of the car paint. Then get some polishing cloths, or rubbing compound, or both then try to level it out.

If you really wanted to do a good job I'd airbrush it. Sand the scratch down flush with the the rest of the car paint but not enough to go through primer. Airbrush the touch up paint, then maybe clear it with 2k and gradually work the clear down with some sanding/compound.

That really sucks to hear that. I would be unbelievably pissed if that happened to me.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

If you don't want to see the scratch you really need to do a proper repair, sand, skim-fill the depth of the scratch, block sand, prime, respray. The way you are doing it is tedious, time-consuming, and as you see ultimately unsatisfying. You might get away with a brush touchup/sand/polish repair if the car is black or white, if it's metallic, forget it. You either live with it, end up making it look worse, or get it fixed by a professional.