Best Camera to Catch Someone Keying Car: Scratching the Surface of Vandalism


Best Camera to Catch Someone Keying Car

There it is again, a long jagged scratch down the side of your car. The only thing worse than having your car keyed is having it keyed again after you repaint and having to wonder who hates you that much. Once could be random vandalism, but when it happens regularly, something is very wrong. Do you have a stalker you don’t know about? It’s an awful thought.

If you have a lousy ex or two, you could end up spending a fortune on re-paint jobs. Moreover, if your ex, or even a current cheating spouse or their lover is doing this, then it might not stop as long as they’re angry. You could pay for their mistakes, but you shouldn’t have to. Instead, you need a good spy camera. Catch them in the act and make sure the right person ends up paying your paint bill. Leave the camera in the car to add a layer of protection against theft, vandalism, and any criminal activities that might happen where you can see them.

How to Quick Repair A Small Scratch on Your Car

It’s already happened, and the ugly scratch on your car feels like it’s staring at you. Or worse, it feels like everyone is staring at your car and wondering why you don’t take care of it. You can’t very well let it stay, but if this is the tenth time it’s just too expensive. Catching them will help, but you need a solution now.

The first thing to consider is how deep the scratch is. A shallow annoying scratch is predictably easier to fix than a deep scratch. The techniques are different, but the great news is that both are the sort of thing you can DIY if you’re careful.

Examine the scratch to see how deep it goes. A scratch in the clear coat is the simplest. Any scratch that cut through to the paint will take a little more effort.

Shallow Scratch Fixes

Any scratch that nicks the coat over your paint can be covered up. It’s not a permanent fix to fill in the gap in the clear gloss with something else, but it will make it look like you had it repainted. Plus it costs a fraction of professional paint services. Naturally, these solutions won’t work for everyone.

  • Shoe Polish- Choosing shoe polish works best if your car is a lovely glossy black. It doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination to see how and why this works beautifully.
  • Wax- Yes, even humble candle wax can fill in a clear coat gap. Don’t forget to polish it up nice and shiny.
  • WD40- The same stuff that makes bicycle chains go around and doors stop squeaking could help obscure the scratch on your car.
  • Toothpaste- Because it’s mildly abrasive, rubbing toothpaste over a light scratch can help buff it out.
  • Paint Pens- A good acrylic paint pen can work wonders on a shallow scratch.
  • Nail Polish- With the ability to mix custom paint colors and apply multiple coats, this method requires patience, but it pays off in the end.

Deep Scratch Repair

Fixing a deeper scratch means you’ll need some materials to handle the job. Collect up everything you need and prepare to give this some serious time and attention if you want it to look good.

What you want to do is get some very fine grain sandpaper, primer and matching paint. At this point, we suggest you watch a few videos and see professional car painters walk you through the steps before tackling paint. If it can’t be filled in with nail polish, then you need to follow along with a pro tutorial.

In addition to making your car look better, if you’ve had a recurring problem, the undamaged surface might tempt the vandal out of hiding sooner. Once you have your camera in place to catch them, that could be a good thing. Damage is never positive, but a quick resolution is better for you.

Keying a Car Can Cost

A small surface scratch is one thing because clear coat fixes aren’t so bad. Additionally, DIY can help, so it doesn’t need to be a serious expense to fix a keyed car. For those who can’t do the repairs or don’t have the time, it’s not an option. Plus there are car colors you can’t easily match.

If you’re truly unfortunate, there’s even more damage to consider. A scratch is a scratch until it hits the metal and then it’s a source of potential rust. For those of us who live in a moist environment, that’s a nightmare. Moreover, the cost of your car will often affect the value of the repair. A beautiful Bentley you worked your whole life to earn can quickly become an expensive headache if someone in your area decides that they resent symbols of wealth.

How Much

Costs are going to vary from one place to the next, but if you have to go to the autobody shop, you’re looking at a minimum of $150$400 to fix a small scratch. When the damage goes deeper, you could be spending a thousand dollars or more. Custom colors and more complicated and expensive vehicles add to your bill. Likewise, if your stalker or crazy ex goes buck wild on your ride and you have to have the hood, plus doors or other parts redone things can add up fast.

Top 5 Cameras to Catch Someone Keying Your Car

When you can’t stop vandalism, it could leave you feeling helpless, angry, or afraid. There’s no need to live with that sort of negative emotional cloud over your head when you can take actions to stop the crook. Car keying is an aggressive action. Never let weirdly violent outbursts that damage your property slide past like they’re normal. Instead find the right camera for catching them, like the ones we’ve put together for you on our top five list.

1. Mini Wireless Hidden Spy Camera by Supoggy

Seriously small is the way to go if you don’t want a criminal to notice your camera. This marvelous mini cam can sit right on the dashboard and still be overlooked. Our first choice is positively minuscule at 0.87in, 0.7oz cubed, or about the size of oversized dice. With dimensions that tiny you don’t need to spend much time thinking about where to place your camera, just make sure it’s facing the area most likely to be keyed.

Plug & Play

When you’re already stressed out and worried about car damage, you don’t need to spend a lot of time thinking about how to set up a camera. Supoggy has created a spy cam that you can pretty much stick a memory card in, turn on, and walk away. Despite the ease of setup, it’s still an excellent quality camera and even records sound. (Check your local and national laws on this function. Recording sound is a surprisingly complex legal matter.)

Pros

  • Excellent Night Vision Mode- The 1080p video camera is outstanding in the daytime. You’ll have crystal clear images with good color, but that’s not too hard to find in a spy camera. It’s the night vision mode that stands out on this model.
  • Motion Detection Only Recording- What do you need with a ton of empty footage. The tree across the street isn’t that great. With motion detection, you get footage only when there’s something noteworthy going on. Happily, you can catch the crook and save yourself the headache of sifting through a lot of useless nonsense.
  • Doesn’t Attract Attention- There’s no flash when the camera goes off. Likewise, you don’t need to worry about recording lights giving the game away. This spy camera is made for stealth operations.

Cons

  • Motion Detection Setbacks- If you are forced to park your car in a busy area, you may have more on your recording than just the culprit getting up to their old tricks.
  • Easy to Hide Means Easy to Lose- Unfortunately, the drawback to seriously tiny spy cameras is that they are easy to misplace. Always make sure you know where you put the mini camera down.

Get your own super Supoggy here.

2. TAOZHI Spy Camera

Watch your car from inside the office. The 30m range of the wifi on this astonishing little camera means you can keep everything under surveillance without needing to be at risk. Don’t try and confront someone crazy enough to ey your car more than once. You can breathe easier knowing that the second someone messes with your car, you’ll know it.

As an additional bonus, you’ll get the covers for easy disguised wear. Once you’ve bagged the car keying criminal, you can use the camera for other things. It makes a great button-camera in your pocket, so you can use it for those times when you need to keep a record of things in case they go south without the muss and fuss of carrying a traditional camera.

Pros

  • Multi-Device Support- Got a car keyer who isn’t predictable? No worries, you can set up more than one of these incredibly small cameras and watch the whole car at the same time.
  • Motion Detection Smart Alarm- Always know when something is going on with your car. You will get a notification on your smartphone when something happens for the camera to record.
  • Free App- You don’t need to buy an extra app to run this spy camera. Saving money is always good when you have to worry about paying for paint again.

Cons

  • Bigger, Not Better- The battery pack and USB charger are attached. While the ability to charge and record is great, more equipment means more to hide.
  • Hot on the Case- The battery case has a heat dissipation hole on top. That’s not a bad idea, and it helps keep the device cool, but you have to be careful where you place it since blocked air might mean camera failure.
  • Lights- Don’t forget to turn off the indicator lights with your app, or you’ll draw unwanted attention.

Keep an eye on trouble here.

3. AREBI A-10 Plus Spy Camera

If you need to park your car long term, for example at an airport, but you need to keep an eye on it too, this is the one. The AREBI is exceptional because you can remotely view your camera anywhere in the world right on your smartphone. You don’t need to be nearby. Unlike the TAOZHI above, which is ideal for those who are parked nearby, this updated for 2019 spy cam lets you set it and walk, run, or even fly away and still see who messes with your car.

Knowing your car is in good hands while you’re away will let you work, travel, or vacation with ease. Moreover each A10 Plus comes with a unique ANTI-FAKE QR code, so you know you’re not getting a knock-off product. When you don’t have time to shop around everywhere to find a reliable camera, you need a verified product. Scan the code and check in moments, then set up your camera to catch the keyer.

Pros

  • Magnetic- The ability to use the built-in magnet for placement makes this mini-camera one of the sneakiest but also most versatile on the list.
  • Record While Charging- If you need to plug in the AREBI spy camera, you can still record HD images while it’s tethered.
  • Remote Control- You can use the playback, record, and snapshot functions from your phone, plus it’s cross-compatible with either Android or IoS.

Cons

  • No Windows Phones- While the AERBI does fine with iPhones and Androids, unfortunately, you can’t use it with a Windows Phone.
  • Might Take a Minute- Sometimes it can take a while to install or connect the wifi and camera correctly. This is not a plug and go option.
  • Battery- The battery isn’t fantastic, just an hour or so of charge, but the records-while-charging makes up for it since you can plug into a power pack.

Acquire an A-10 right here.

4. AOBO Mini Spy Camera

AOBO will astound you. Their mission is to create the best, affordable, portable, home, car, and personal security spy camera around. They’ve done an absolutely fantastic job of it. If you’re looking for an all around, anywhere you need it camera, then choose the AOBO. It will send you a push notification with pictures any time you need to know what it’s seeing.

This will help you catch the crook, and when all’s said and done, you can use it for home security, your office or wherever you need it next. Conversely, you could leave it where you installed it and make sure no one else ever keys your car and gets away with it. However, you use it; you’ll love the value to cost ratio and the quality.

Pros

  • Setup Anywhere- Use the magnet or the stand to record. Also, when it’s plugged in, you can record. Or, attach it to the wrist band and wear your AOBO Mini Spy Camera anywhere.
  • Good View- You can use the 150° wide angle lens to capture a wide shot, which helps you catch the troublemaker on film.
  • Recording- You can record up to 30 hours on an SD card with this terrific tiny camera. Even better, you can plug it in via the USB and record 24/7 if you prefer.

Cons

  • Wifi- As with most, you need wifi to live stream remotely. That means a hotspot or signal nearby.
  • Only in Motion- This camera only records when something triggers the motion detection, so if you want a continuous recording, you’ll have to turn it on manually.
  • Sound Optional- Since you can get in quite a lot of trouble for sound recordings, you always have to remember to toggle for sound as necessary.

Check out how affordable AOBO is here.

5. Hawfy Mini HD Wireless Hidden Camera

This camera made the list because it’s the whole package. You’ll get a stand, flexible, rigid cable, camera, longer USB cable and everything you need to record right away. You also get the long-lasting battery to record up to ninety minutes.

Better yet, you also get the intelligent motion detection system to keep from getting those annoying false notifications. Add the powerful five-meter night vision and a huge list of standard features, and anyone can see why this camera snagged the last slot on the list.

Pros

  • SDC Reader- Some cameras make you buy extra parts or subscriptions to apps, but this one gives you a free SD card reader in case you need it. It’s thoughtful little touches like this that make you feel like a company wants your business.
  • SD Card Included- Most cameras ask you to buy a separate SD card, but not this beauty.
  • No Audio- Because it’s widely illegal to record voices, this camera bypasses the problem by simply not offering to record them.

Cons

  • Loop Recording- Sometimes excellent, sometimes not, the ability to loop record can be a boon or a problem. Record with care, so you don’t overwrite anything you need.
  • Network Error- There is a tiny chance you’ll connect to the wrong camera if another user of the same product is nearby. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s possible.
  • More Features, More Setup Time- It won’t take that long, but a more complex system does require more knowledge to use it correctly.

Find out More about Hawfy here.

Final Thoughts

Don’t key someone’s car. No matter how angry you are, vandalizing, one of the most expensive items most people own is deeply juvenile behavior. If you get caught, there’s hell to pay. Court fees, fines, and even jail time can result from a keyed car. Vandalism is considered more serious in some places than others, and no jilted love is worth that sort of risk. There are better ways to get even with a lousy cheating ex.

 

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