MY Nissan 2015 SV rubbed the front fender against a plastic hose reel in my garage. It looked pretty scratched until I realized that most of what I was seeing was the plastic from the hose reel adhering to the fender. I was able to clean it, but I took the wrong approach, using green Scotchbrite. All of the residual plastic from the hose reel is gone, however, now I am left with Scotchbrite scratches, which are very light surface scratches, not deep at all. The base color is still there. I have a kit coming with the correct paint code and the clear coat. So my question is, can I skip the primer since this is such a light set of scratches? I am familiar with the normal recommended routine from YouTube videos I've watched that include sanding, priming, color paint and clear coat. I do have an electric sander-polisher but don't want to start anything that might potentially make it worse.

Gary L.

You should try buffing the area first.
Fine scratches in the clear coat should buff out fairly easily with a rotary buffer and some compound.

by all means do this FIRST. can you feel the scratches with your fingernail run across them? i will post some products i use that should cure your problem later. a picture would help.
Jay D.

I tried taking some pictures to include with my post but background reflections interfere with seeing the scratches. Most of the scratches do not have a finger feel to them. One does, but it is very thin. I'm trying to understand here under what conditions a primer is needed or not.

GaryL

If the scratches are not all they way through the clear coat, the don't waste your time and money, priming and repainting.

Simply trying buffing it first.
A rotary buffer with a wool pad and Meguiar's M100 should do the trick.

I agree with the others. Use the most gentle approach first, to eliminate the scratches. I would do a liquid polish first. If that doesn't do it, go to a fine compound. If that isn't enough, you might try sanding with 1500 or 2000 grit, wet, then going back up the scale (compound, then liquid polish). If that doesn't work, 1000 grit would be my next try, but now we are really starting to thin out the clearcoat, might not be a good idea for a beginner.

gliebisch wrote: I'm trying to understand here under what conditions a primer is needed or not.
GaryL

that varies with conditions. even then, different primers are for different conditions.