Touch-Up Paint Usage

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Andrew Tsen, Jun 21, 2004.

  1. Andrew Tsen

    Andrew Tsen Guest

    Hey all...

    I got myself a bottle of touchup paint from the dealer that
    I purchased my 03 accord from. Basically, parking in the
    city and such is a pain because other people bump my car,
    and stones hit my car daily on the highway.

    So I decided to use it to get rid of the dents, nicks, etc.
    I noticed that after I apply the paint, it's very runny.
    I followed the instruction to the letter. And some area
    have bumps from the paint being too thick.

    Any known method for me to even these out ?
    Buffing? Waxing? I am not too concern w/ the ones I
    already messed up on which are on the rear bumper. But
    for future reference, I would have the buffer or whatever
    ready to even it out after I apply.

    Thanks.
     
    Andrew Tsen, Jun 21, 2004
    #1
  2. Andrew Tsen

    y_p_w Guest

    Touch-up paint is far from perfect. Its use is only meant
    to make scratches less apparent and to reduce rusting.

    That being said, you should apply it thin, and do it several
    times. It's not going to look anywhere near new - only a
    body shop can do that.
     
    y_p_w, Jun 21, 2004
    #2
  3. Andrew Tsen

    MAT Guest

    For most nicks, I use small, precise layers (sometimes over days or weekends
    even) applied with a toothpick! You can get pretty good results this way.
     
    MAT, Jun 21, 2004
    #3
  4. Andrew Tsen

    Mike S. Guest

    You have two options:

    1. Sand flat and polish.

    2. Use solvent to remove. See http://www.langka.com for a product that is
    kinda like a mixture of solvent and polish. It will cleanly remove "oops"
    mistakes with touch-up paint that isn't too old.
     
    Mike S., Jun 21, 2004
    #4
  5. Andrew Tsen

    ravelation Guest

    I have black cars and have good results with a Sharpie permanent marker.
    Very carefully fill the spot with a fine point. Apply more than once to
    achieve a darker color black.

    I don't know that I'd recommend doing that in the salt belt, but here in
    SoCal, works for me. :)
     
    ravelation, Jun 22, 2004
    #5
  6. Andrew Tsen

    SoCalMike Guest

    how often do you have to reapply it?
     
    SoCalMike, Jun 22, 2004
    #6
  7. Andrew Tsen

    Andrew Tsen Guest

    Thanks. This sounds like what I was looking for.
     
    Andrew Tsen, Jun 22, 2004
    #7
  8. Andrew Tsen

    ravelation Guest

        >how often do you have to reapply it?

    For my garaged car, every few months keeps the scratch someone left on
    my Lexus hidden and not quite so obvious. The boy's Honda could use a
    touch up more often as it's outside. The permanent aspect of the marker
    seems to ride out a car wash ok.

    And now that you mention it, I need to recheck the spots and see if they
    need touching up! :)
     
    ravelation, Jun 22, 2004
    #8
  9. Andrew Tsen

    y_p_w Guest

    Have you tried the "Industrial Sharpie"? It's designed for lab/industrial
    use, and is supposed to be more fade resistant. While a regular Sharpie
    has a mild solvent odor, the industrial Sharpie really smells until it's
    dry.

    You should be able to find it at most office supply places. I bought a
    3-pack at Office Depot. I use it for marking my various new/used
    automotive fluid containers.
     
    y_p_w, Jun 22, 2004
    #9
  10. It depends how much trouble you want to go to and doing it right is time
    consuming. See here http://www.carcareonline.com/ and
    http://www.autopia-carcare.com/autopia/ for grisly details - near
    perfection is possible but it requires some skill and uhh, did I say
    time?:) Maybe it's my aging eyes but I find a magifying glass useful for
    making sure I got just the right coverage and depth of paint of a nick.

    If the paint is runny, are you sure you're shaking the bottle enough -
    several minutes if the paint has been sitting for a while. BTW touch-up
    paint is only useful for small nicks - I use a toothpick to scrape any crap
    out of the hole in the paint first. Obviously it's no use for dents and is
    only useful there to prevent rust spreading or for color-fill so that a
    blemish is not obvious from a distance.

    Rgds, George Macdonald

    "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
     
    George Macdonald, Jun 22, 2004
    #10
  11. Make sure you shake the bottle thoroughly before you start. That way
    the paint will be well mixed. The other thing is that you should not try
    put on too much paint at once. A few thin coats is better than one thick
    coat. If you want a better looking repair, build up the paint until it is
    just above the surrouding area. Then very carefully sand, 600 wet/dry would
    work, the repaired area until is even with the surround area. Then use a
    little polisihing compound to blend the whole are. Finally put on some
    wax.
     
    Alex Rodriguez, Jun 23, 2004
    #11
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