Noticed these scratches this morning, before with added dirt and after a rinse off.

After initially thinking that someone keyed it I’m thinking it might have been a dog scrabbling at the car. This didn’t happen when I was in it so at a bit of a loss.

Any thoughts on what did it and how best to repair?

Thanks

by Plot82

29 comments

  3. I’d guess cats or any other type of animal honestly. Doesn’t look like a person or a child.

  5. Have you parked next to a thorny bush recently? When it was windy?

  9. I don’t know but clearly infectious since they’re on your legs and floor in the second picture as well….

  13. Looks like an animal has been trying to get another animal that’s probably perched itself on your roof laughing. Speak to a detailer first as they might have success with polishing if it’s superficial, then a smart repair, otherwise respray the door at a body shop.

  14. Pheasants have a habit of seeing their reflection and trying to fight it at this time of year. They’ll repeatedly jump at their reflection thinking it’s competition. I’ve seen it in our car park at work on a daily basis since the beginning of spring.

  16. It’s probably a bird, peacocks are bastards for this but they usually dent it

    It should polish off with something like t-cut or G3 but it will take a lot of work and can be quickly sorted by a car detailed or a bodyshop

  18. Anywhere near peacocks? the males are dumb as anything and a shiney car/esp if dark is enough of a mirror that they see “another peacock” and then try to fight it. Since it won’t back down they then keep fighting it and mess up the cars. This is a crazy level of damage but the weird pattern makes me also think potential bird leaping and raking? that sideways squiggle element. This happened where i worked once or twice, cars would get the lower section all scratched by the idiot peacocks. Could be a similar bird though.

    Cat scratches would most likely have a few thin lines and be straighter lines/very small lines.

  19. Some birds peck at reflections in cars, corvids (crows rooks, magpies etc) and in the village where I live there are several peacocks that are a menace and will peck at anything.

  20. I’ve had this happen to me before, it happens to me because of bird breeding season, and a particularly randy crow.

    I got my car professionally valeted for the first and only time; the reflections in the paint work tricked a local crow into thinking someone was making moves on his woman.

    I’d frequently hear to thumping and scrabbling sounds coming from the driveway in the morning as he attempted to attack his reflection in my door panels. Ruined the paint on all 4 doors of the car.

  22. Crows see their reflection and attack it, similar to the marks on my car

  24. Having been into car detailing in the past, I’d say there’s a possibility these are from some form of car washing. A small stone or piece of grit in a washing mitt, brush or automatic machine could have made a similar impression on the paint.

    Edit: a quick test to see how much repair that might need to fix the scratches is run your fingernail over one gently. If it doesn’t catch your nail, a machine polish should be enough to remove them.

  25. Crows are bad for attacking their reflection. I had a mirror on a van completely scratched by one pecking it before.

  27. Do you drive down a narrow country lane with things like hawthorn bushes along the road

  28. If you’re trying to filter through the wave of comedians for an actual answer I believe someone posted suggesting that it was pheasants or some type of bird fighting their reflection.

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