Consider everything your vehicle goes through in its lifetime. For hundreds of thousands of miles, your trusty automobile endures everything from continuous 70 mph winds, torrential downpours, bouts of hail, sheets of snow and the occasional rock lobbed at its windshield or hood from the vehicle driving in front of you.
Your car goes through a lot! So naturally, after carting you to wherever you need to go over the course of a decade (or more), your paint job is bound to accumulate a nick, scratch or ding from time to time.
Fortunately, you don’t have to suffer with these unsightly blemishes. Today, we’re discussing how to apply touch up paint to car scratches. Let’s get started…
What types of paint scratches is touch up paint perfect for?
Touch up paint is a relatively nifty resource to have, just in case you find yourself in need of its visual healing powers. Generally speaking, touch up paint is best suited for areas no larger than a pencil eraser. If your scratch exceeds this diameter, you are advised to consult a body paint professional.
Which shade of touch up paint is right for your vehicle?
Consider this: there are approximately 16,777,216 possible color variations that can be used to make the precise shade of paint that covers your vehicle. Not only this, but even the same color between automobile manufacturers can vary in their tone and luster.
As a result, matching the perfect paint to your vehicle is critical to flawlessly touching up a scratch or scuff. To ensure you purchase the right color, you may wish to buy a bottle of touch up from an official manufacturer dealership. If you would rather purchase a bottle of touch up paint from a third party outfit, you may find your vehicle’s color code printed in the driver’s side door, in the owner’s manual or concealed within the VIN.
How to Apply Touch Up Paint to Car Scratches
1. Sand the Touch Up Area
The best way to ensure your touch up paint adheres to the scratched zone is to scuff up the area a bit more. Carefully take a piece of #220 sandpaper and gently rub it against only the portion you plan to cover with touch up paint.
2. Wash the Touch Up Area
After you have roughed up the touch up zone, it’s imperative you wash away any remaining shards of old paint or metal to ensure the touch up paint adheres properly.
3. Apply the Touch Up Paint
Now that the area is clear of debris, the touch up paint can be carefully applied to the body panel using a small brush or a matchstick. When painting the scuffed zone, be sure to apply the paint in thin strips to the sanded area so that the paint doesn’t clot.
4. Wait Several Days
Even though the paint may appear to dry rather quickly, it will take several days before the paint is strong enough to be touched or cleaned. During this time, it’s important to ensure the newly painted zone is not manipulated in any way.
5. Wax the Touched Up Area
After several days have passed, the area should be carefully washed one more time and then waxed. This will help the new paint blend in better with the older paint to ensure a perfect finish.
When touch up paint isn’t enough…
Not all scratches can be conquered with touch up paint. If your nick or scratch is too large for a bottle of touch-up paint, Shur-Way Auto Body can make your car’s scratch virtually disappear! Click here to receive your free repair estimate today!