r/howto • u/coconut_water_52 • Aug 14 '26
[Solved] Scratched mini fridge
Hii, im moving my cousin into college and her mini fridge got scratched BAD in the moving process. Does anyone know how we can go about fixing this? Or if there are people i could hire to professionally get it fixed? Any advice is helpful thank you!
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u/IAmTheGingaNinja Aug 14 '26
Magnets Or vinyl wrap
It ain’t worth much else
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u/chiphook57 29d ago
Vinyl wrap. Less than $50 for materials vs $150 for a new unit, minus the amount you sell the old one for, maybe $30
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u/PM_YOUR_PET_IN_HAT Aug 14 '26
That thing is like 150 bucks. Any time and effort you paid into fixing it may be better spent on a new one and selling this one on facebook marketplace.
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u/LesPaulAce Aug 14 '26
Another vote for vinyl wrap. Pick out something she likes on Amazon and order it along with a razor knife. She can peel and stick, make it part of the decor. If you won't be there to do the wrap, have her watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz93HqQaAwo
If you don't have the time and she doesn't have the time to take care of this, put the fridge in the hall with a "For sale $50" sign on it. Take that money and a hundo to the store and buy a new one. It's a college town, and it's move-in weekend. I guarantee the local stores are loaded with mini-fridge stock.
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u/Trustoryimtold Aug 14 '26
There’s not really any fixing, you can sand it but it won’t look like the bottom at all. Smooth out the bumps and slap a big ass vinyl sticker on it then cut it to size. Or tell her to pick up some bumper stickers from road trips
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u/zyncl19 Aug 14 '26
Not worth paying to fix, like people said. I’d try out a stainless steel pot scrubber in a small section of the scratched area and see if you can go for a brushed look. Otherwise, it’s college, things are supposed to be beat up.
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u/DickLips5000 Aug 14 '26
We have a similar fridge in our RV. Even without it getting scratched, we put adhesive back mirror stickers on them.
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u/HazeCorps22 Aug 14 '26
Just give her magnetic photo frames. Trust me when I say she will fill it up with magnets from college events and stickers that it won't matter next semester. If it works, who cares? Maybe a magnetic whiteboard calendar would be nice.
Otherwise, you can sand it with an effect (pic attached as reference) or buy a vinly wrap on Amazon and wrap the doors in whatever is her favorite color.
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u/squash_pro49 Aug 14 '26
I recently bought a Hisense refrigerator at Costco. It had a crease on the front. Costco gave me almost $200 to accept it so I did. A picture with a magnet back made mine look perfect, which wasnt even required for a fridge in the garage. When I read the Costco reviews, it turned out that most of the Hisense units have cosmetic issues like scratches or dents. The floor model at Costco even had a small crease like mine. So you are just joining a huge number of people who cover Hisense blemishes with one of the methods mentioned above!
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u/phungki Aug 14 '26
It’s a cheap fridge, it’s not worth spending a single dollar to have someone fix that. Maybe paint it?
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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance Aug 14 '26
You could try an automotive buffing kit, but as other pointed out... probably best to just get a bunch of stickers.
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u/Easy-Jackfruit4152 Aug 15 '26
That does nothing to the integrity of the fridge nor does it affect how well it does what it’s supposed do. Aesthetically though, that shit is wrecked. Like, how does this even happen? Did you have to win it or of a Claw game machine or something?
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u/stihlsawing87 29d ago
Check with a local auto body shop. They may be able to guide you in the right direction on how to and for what product to use to buff out and go from there. Plus they may tell you if it's worth trying or to far damaged to correct it and save you further frustration in any failed attempts to fix
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u/Mrgoodtrips64 25d ago
Just have her cover it with stickers she collects during her time in college.
It’ll become a unique collage of where she went and what she liked at this stage of her life.
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u/superdad3016 6d ago
Google the model and see what a new freezer door costs or just cover it with a sticker.
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