Does It Really Do That? Scratchdini
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Little scratches on your car can seem to show up out of nowhere.
It can be time-consuming and expensive to take your car to a body shop to have them fixed too.
Joe Romanelli and his son see a lot of scratches, dings, and dents on cars brought to their shop in Turtle Creek. They were interested to help KDKA's Jennifer Antkowiak test a product called "Scratchdini" that claims to erase scratches like magic.
Normally, Joe would use a professional rubbing compound and a high-speed buffer to get rid of those scratches. He wanted to see how the results from Scratchni compared to what he gets.
"If something like this could remove a lot of the superficial ones, that would be great," he said.
The Scratchdini commercial shows the product working quickly, making scuffed up cars look like new again.
Joe is used to using compounds like that, and he was familiar with the instructions.
He made sure the surface was clean and dry. Then, they taped off an area to keep track of where he'd be working.
The instructions say to apply a small amount of product to the area you want to clean, using a clean, soft cloth, and direct, even pressure.
You're supposed to let it set for up to 30 seconds, then wipe excess product away before it dries with a damp cloth. The directions say to go over the area with a clean, damp, soft cloth to buff.
It definitely smoothed out the paint.
"Take the rag and you can run it across here and you can feel the drag on it, but when you put it across here, it's smooth as silk," Joe said.
Jen gave it a try and agreed.
Still, they saw some scratches that would need more work.
"Would you say that these are superficial scratches?" Jen asked Joe.
"Yes they are. You wonder why they're not coming out. It's taking some out, but not all. It's taking out the microscopic scratches - the real fine ones that actually define the haze that's coming to the car. Yes, it did bring the color back, but as far as the scratches are concerned, they're still there," Joe said.
Even though they are less pronounced, Scratchdini claims to be a scratch remover that makes scratches disappear.
Joe wanted to give it a try on another car with another common kind of scratch -- more of a scuff.
Joe said he sees this kind of thing all the time – scratches and paint transferred to the car.
Joe liked how Scratchdini worked on the scuffs. It removed a lot of the paint marks too.
He wanted to compare that result to what he would get from the professional rubbing compound he normally applies with an electric buffer.
"The stuff that's used in professional garages is more potent than what the Scratchdini has in it, and this is coming off a lot easier and quicker because of the coarseness of the compound," he said.
Joe said the professional compound was much easier to use, and gave much faster results.
Scratchdini claims to buff away scratches in seconds. Does it really do that?
Joe says he didn't see professional results, but, for $10, it serves a purpose.
"Would I buy it? If I didn't do this for a living, yes. I'd have it on the shelf for some minor, small imperfections, but would I buy it to use in my shop? No."
Scratchdini is available online in an stores that carry "As Seen On TV" products.
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