Stone chips and scratches are unavoidable, but you can do something about the steady decline they cause to the value of your car.

The most effective cure is a bodyshop respray. Yet this is an expensive option, and can cost several hundred pounds. If you are unable to stretch that far, mobile SMART (Small and Medium Area Repair Techniques) operators do an excellent job on a wide variety of scuffs, dings and dents.

For even less outlay, there are several DIY options, ranging from pastes to full primer and paint repairs. But are they a false economy? We put eight to the test to find out.

The test
Repairing paintwork is not the kind of job you want to rush into, and potentially make a mess of – so before trying each product, we rated their instructions.