The scratches are prolly caused by whatever was chipping the paint.. So it's good you took it apart, you just might have saved your marker.. I would also like to see a picture so I can tell what scratching and chipping you're talking about...

Depending on how used the marker is, and how lubed it was while you were using it.. Light chipping/scratching/wear of the paint on the inside of your marker is normal. And is the main reason you want to remove it.. First, The bolts o-rings will drag more on painted surface than a polished metal surface, also the paints surface will wear the o-ring faster than a polished metal surface..

As stated before, sand or brillow all the remaining paint off, and then polish the actual metal.. Most of your light scratches will be gone by then.. But if you have any DEEP scratches in the metal, not just the paint, Something is real wrong....

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