Abstract: A scratch preventer for use in preventing a sanding tool from straying onto a surface of a panel adjacent a workpiece that is being sanded includes a panel or sheet of molded elastomeric material having magnetized material included therein to permit the panel to attach magnetically to a metal panel. The scratch preventer further includes a lip having a narrow transverse dimension molded onto and extending vertically from a first surface of the preventer such that the lip may be inserted into a gap between the workpiece and an adjacent surface not intended to be sanded. The preventer also includes a bumper molded on a second surface of the panel and having a transverse dimension substantially greater than the aforementioned lip. The bumper is vertically offset from the lip such that a sanding tool will collide with the bumper if the tool strays from the workpiece toward the adjacent surface.