Repairing Black Finish Scratches

If you're like me, you try to keep your photo gear looking as new as possible against the day you may decide to sell it.  I recently found a 2 inch long white scratch on the outer barrel of a long tele zoom lens that was finished in flat black.

Thinking about how best to minimize that scratch I remembered I had a bottle of Turtle Wax Color Magic Car Polish - Black in my store of auto supplies.  Now, the bottle says it's not recommended for flat finishes, but you can disregard that for this.

(1) Wipe the scratch area with alcohol to remove any finger print oil.

(2) Mask around the scratch with Scotch Magic Tape (or the equivalent).  The idea is to minimize the unscratched area that the Color Magic will be applied to.

(3) Apply a small dab of the Color Magic to a soft cloth (like an old handkerchief) and firmly rub that into the scratch using various strokes to get a thorough coverage.

(4) Allow the Color Magic to dry to a haze (15 to 20 minutes depending on the humidity of the air).

(5) Gently remove the masking tape and buff off the haze.

The results look pretty darn good.

landscaper1 wrote:

If you're like me, you try to keep your photo gear looking as new as possible against the day you may decide to sell it. I recently found a 2 inch long white scratch on the outer barrel of a long tele zoom lens that was finished in flat black.

Flat black is usually anodized black aluminum.

The best repair I know of for that is BIRCHWOOD CASEY Aluminum Black. This is wiped on with a Q-tip and basically reacts with the raw aluminum to produce a hard black finish. It might take a couple of coats, depending on the type of aluminum. A little bottle costs less than $10 and will cover an amazing amount of use.

I'd just use a black Sharpie.

HRC2016 wrote:

I'd just use a black Sharpie.

I used to do that... but:

• Black Sharpie is actually not black, but very dark purple.
• It doesn't really stick very well to raw aluminum and does stick to paint/anodizing, casting it shinier and purplish.

Before I found Aluminum Black, my other fix was black acrylic paint filled-into any scratch or gouge. Acrylic paint also works well for refreshing engraved lettering. The result is durable, yet can be deliberately removed quite easily, so it's still a good option if "prettying-up" a lens that might have significant collector value with the original finish.

Bonzodawg wrote:

Just use an indelible marker pen, a fine point can disguise small scratches well!
Bonzodawg

Not the best solution. First, it's not truly black; more like a very dark purple that's visible in bright light. Second, it's not permanent; it can be dissolved eventually by skin oils.