Performance Car Reviews, News and Parts for the Car Enthusiast

There are several ways touch-up paint can be applied. If the scratch is not large, all you may need is a touch up pen.

In this dime-sized case, all that you should need to take care of the problem should be touch up paint, (comes in a bottle with a brush) which is verymuch like nail polish.

Begin the process by washing the area to be painted using soap and water. Remove any waxes or greases by using an appropriate cleaner for automotive use. Once the area has been cleaned, you may want to mask the area with automotive masking tape.

Sand any surface rust and coat the area with a rust converter. You do not want the rust process to continue under the paint.

Make sure that you sand away any rust using fine (220 grit) sand-paper that has been
coated with a rust converter.

The base coat is applied next. It is better to use several thin coats rather than one big blob of paint. Let each coat dry about fifteen to twenty minutes before attempting the next coat of paint. Allow the base coat to also dry thoroughly (another eight to ten hours or longer) before applying the top clear coat.

The clear coat is also to be applied in thin layers with twenty minutes for drying in between layers. Once you have the clear coat looking good, give it another overnight period for drying. Imperfections in the clear coat can be smoothed using very fine sandpaper or rubbing compound. After three more days use the rubbing compound and an old t-shirt to smooth the entire area.

If the rest of the car is oxidized, gently rubbing with the compound will remove the oxidized paint. Be careful that you do not rub through the paint with the compound. Do not use towels or wash cloths with rubbing compounds, only t-shirt materials.

Let the touched up area cure for thirty days and then wax the entire vehicle. After the final waxing, you will hardly notice the area that was scratched anymore. It may even be invisible.