Touch up paint

S

Stephenkelly

Guest
Hi Everyone,

I went out to my car yesterday and noticed someone had rubbed off the front wing and had taken some paint off. It is noticeable but its not too bad. I cant afford to get it repaired at the moment so I have rang VW and ordered a tube of touch up paint.

Has anybody used it before? Does it look ok or can it look worse than the scratch itself?

Thanks in advance
 
Make sure the paint is suitably mixed/stirred/shaken to ensure its the right colour to match.

If it arrives in an aerosol can, don't spray it unless you really, really know what you're doing.

Wear gloves and make sure that the surface you're going to paint is free of grease and dust and is completely dry.

Make sure that your scratches don't go down to the metal - painting over them if there's the chance that water's got in could trap the water and create rust.

get hold of a very fine paintbrush and use a small container for the paint, that you can hold comfortably. If it is an aerosol that arrives in the post, spray some of the (suitably mixed) paint into the cap and use the brush.

Don't work in direct sunlight as it'll warm the paint to the extent that it could dry far too fast and you may get an effect similar to nail polish that dries too quick (not pretty).

Apply it very slowly and keep a rag handy to clean up any spots or drips - much better to take longer to do it than splash it on and then have to undo it.

If it all goes horribly wrong, use a rag dipped in some petrol to clean the paint off and wait til its completely dry before starting again.

You'll probably be the only one who notices it - once the colour's matched it'll be a lot less visible
 
Cheers Paul,

What can I do if teh scratch does go down to the paint?


THe paint is in a pen - like a tip ex pen. Any advice?
 
Depends on the depth of the scratch. If the scratch is white or another non-metal colour, then it probably has not broken through to the metal. This makes it a bit more straightforward.

If you can see bare metal, then it is paintable, but you'll be applying what is effectively topcoat to bare metal and this isn't great - particularly if the scratch has been there for some days. The oxidisation process that creates rust may have started. In that instance, touching up the scratch is a very temporary measure as it might start looking dreadful within weeks.

The touch up pens aren't a bad job, tho I recommend getting a brush the same and using them both. There may be parts of your scratch that are finer than the point of the touch up pen and the last thing you need is to put a big glob of paint on when you could have hidden part of it much more effectively with the fine brush.

Try using it on a piece of spare metal (or a bit of paper at least) to see how it works first so you don't end up putting too much on by accident. I think you could probably put a few drops into a clean jam jar lid or whatever for use with the brush on the more fiddly bits.

Touching up on unbroken paint might hide the scratch so well that it may be years before you decide to repair it properly. This being the case, you would want to do the best job you can. Keep the paint as well for other parts of the car that get the odd dig.
 
Thanks Paul,

I think most of it is white but i have a feeling some of the paing may be down to the metal - I assume it needs a respray if this is the case.

I assume an art shop is the best place to buy the brush!
 
Thanks Caveat

Where is the best place to get one?
 
Any art shop - or maybe even the likes of Argos - will have these.
 

I had the same problem with my A4. Ended up ordering a 50ml can of spray paint from the dealer, cost €35. Was really happy with the results, you would need a magnifying glass to see the difference!
 
Hi All,
Got the paint yesterday - its not a pen like i thought. It comes in pot something similar to a nail varnish. It did a pretty good job I have to say.

THanks for all the suggestions.
 
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