Touch-Up Paint Question
 

Hopefully somebody here might know the answer to this... I am kind of in a crappy situation with my '92 Claret. I had the whole car repainted 6 months ago with a base/clear based off of the original paint code from the VIN number. Well, some *&*$#$# person hit my door with their's and left a nice scratch in the paint.

I spoke to the body shop who did the painting and was told that you can't just get touch-up paint when you do a base/clear, because the clear is added after the fact. (perfectly logical). His suggestion was to try to get touch-up from Subaru to fix the damage. However, my Subaru dealer is unable to get any touch-up for the car.

Admittedly, I don't know much about the whole paint process, and am kind of at a loss for what my options are. The size of the damage is minimal (maybe about the size of 1/4 of a penny) and I know that the only way to make it look new again would be to repaint the whole door. I don't need it looking absolutely perfect, just not noticeable when you look at the car.

Advice anyone?

For a start you might want to try a paint pen from PaintScratch.com.
http://www.paintscratch.com/
They will match the SVX color.
Gene

This looks perfect! Have you used their stuff before? If so, would the pen be easier to apply than the brush for such a small area?

I second Paintscratch.com, but found the touch-up pen they sell cumbersome to use; the brush-in-the-cap route is the way I'd go. Buy separate color and clear coat. The teal was a near-perfect match.

dcb

dcarrb: Based on your feedback, I will avoid the pen and go with the brush. I just put my order in, we'll see how well this stuff matches! (but ANYTHING will look better than black showing through!)

Thanks for everyone's input!

I have touched up all over my car (hood mostly) with a small brush from Subaru, it looks horrible in the sun because it did not dry perfectly smooth due to temperatures being low.

I beg to differ with your body guy. You CAN touchup a base/clear. Go to your local autobody supply store & they'll take a scanner out to your car, then make up a can of spray paint that PERFECTLY matches your color. It'll cost you approx $30, but it'll cover a whole fender if applied right. While you're there get a can of matching clear.

Once you prep the area with 1000 grit sandpaper (dry) Spray it lightly to cover the sanded area + 1 inch or so. Let dry for 48 hrs. sand again, this time with 2000 grit paper.(wet) Then spray the clear. Let dry for another 48 hrs, then wetsand again. Let cure for 2 weeks, then buff out with your favorite polishing compound.

Yep it's a pain in the butt, but it's MUCH prettier than the touchup pens, or brushes.

For a minor scratch, you can use the touchup stuff. Let it cure for a week or so, then wetsand with 2000 grit, using a VERY light touch. What your'e looking to do is level out the paint around the repair. After that you should be able to just wax it back to a shine.

Hope this helps dispel the myth that you HAVE to have base/clear fixed @ a bodyshop.

Hmm...Many touch up methods.

Base clear IS touchupable...Your body guy is kinda like...meh
Being a repaint, Id be a little incined to say thir color isn't exactly 100% true to factory, and it might be better to have them make you a 4 oz bottle of touch up paint.

From here there's quite a few things you can do.easy way in your case... You could apply the paint to the scratch, unreduced. let the paint fill the scratch, but keep it in the lines.Keep it nice and tidy. Let it dry, and then go over it with........Clear nail polish :eek: Once again, keep the paint / polsih within the boundries of the scratch. If you have some good quality rubbing compund, you can hand buff the area to further make the scratch disapear. If you're really anal, before you buff it, you can wetsand the area of the scratch with 1500-200 grit sand paper

I think he means 1500-2000 grit. :D
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Re: Touch-Up Paint Question
 

DETAILING TIP

When touching up small chips in the paint, I found that disposable eyeliner brushes are PERFECT. Very fine pointed shape with synthetic Taklon bristles.


Just use them and toss them away. You can find them on ebay under 'disposable eyeliner brush'



Run as cheap as $13.85 for 100 brushes with free shipping

See HERE


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Re: Touch-Up Paint Question
 

Great tip. I've always used #2 Artist brushes but these look better and are a lot cheaper.

Re: Touch-Up Paint Question
 

Love the tip about the eyeliner brushes or the #2 artist brush (which is what I use.) The in-cap brushes that come with touch-up paint are pretty much garbage for fine work.