How To Fix a Deep Scratch in Your UTV
Scratches in your UTV are inevitable as you cruise through rough terrain. Light scratches can be tolerated, but deep scratches in your UTV can lead to further issues and fissures in the plastic. You will often need to fix a deep scratch in your UTV to prevent this from happening, and knowing how to do it is a great skill to have in your toolbelt.
Light scratches can be lightly sanded down and re-sealed, but these deep scratches need a bit more work and love to get them back to normal. Using sandpaper for deeper scratches requires removing a lot of plastic, which isn’t sustainable over the long term. Plastic bonder or filler is how to fix deep scratches in your UTV without removing layers of plastic that you can’t put easily back on.
Clean the Surface and Lightly Sand
Before you start fixing the deep scratches in your UTV, you’ll need to clean the surface around the scratches and lightly sand it. If you can, sanding inside of the deeper scratch will help you get the best results. This allows for a textured surface that the bonder can grab ahold of. Smooth plastic is designed to let things slip off of it, which is not what you want.
Apply Plastic Bonder/Filler
Now, you’ll apply the plastic bonder or filler that you have to the deep scratch. This is essentially filling the space in to later be smoothed down with sandpaper.
Most plastic bonders will be a 1:1 ratio that comes out simultaneously or mixes as you use it. This is best for avoiding making large mixtures and wasting filler that you don’t need.
Fill the deep scratch in your UTV and apply some of the bonder around the scratch as well. To make your life easier, use a putty knife to smooth the material out before letting it dry completely. It will require far less sanding, so you can save yourself some hassle here.
Allow for the filler to completely harden for as long as the instructions say on your particular brand. You want this to cure completely so that sanding doesn’t go wrong.
Sand Down, Paint and Seal
Finally, you’ll put the finishing touches on the fixed scratch. Using a finer grit, sand down the area to make it as smooth and flush as possible. Different plastic fillers will cure in different colors, so you may need to paint the area to get it to match the rest of your UTV.
It’s best to do a lot of deep scratches at once so you can paint over them all simultaneously, rather than doing multiple paint jobs. If you do paint, be sure to also seal the area with a hydrophobic sealant for the highest level of protection.
