A lot of people get stressed about minor damage to their vehicle, but there's really no need. There's something nicely satisfying about touching up. Taking things into your own hands is the best way of making sure that you get a thorough job done on it, and if you've got the time it can be a nice project too. Here are some handy hints for anyone that's setting about this process for the first time, or perhaps just wanting a little refresher on things they've done before.
Of course before you start you really need to be sure that this is a job for touching up. The problem is that the paintwork of a car does not stay the same colour over time. Exposure to the sun and rain damage fades the original sheen of a vehicles coating. This means if you're dealing with anything more than a nick or a scratch you're not going to be able to fix things with a few dabs of paint. Sadly you'll need to spray it, which is a more serious endeavour, best left to professionals.
Finding the right paint isn't rocket science. Save yourself a lot of time by looking at the paint colour information beside the serial number of your car. You should use some caution here with second hand cars though, as they could have been re-sprayed. You're also going to want to look into some primer, and maybe some rust arrestor, depending on how deep the damage is.
To prep the car for its paintjob the process is the same however severe the scrape is. Get some tape around the affected area, and rub it with some sandpaper. If the scratch goes down to the plastic or metal you'll definitely need to put some primer on. If it goes down to the metal and it's corroded you need to put some rust corrector on. If it's a shallow scratch with existing paint in tact, you just need to apply fresh paint.
And then it's just a case of applying the paint. Less is more in this instance. If you put too much on the paint will bubble or run onto the existing paint. Just put on enough to bring it to the level of the other paintwork.
Of course before you start you really need to be sure that this is a job for touching up. The problem is that the paintwork of a car does not stay the same colour over time. Exposure to the sun and rain damage fades the original sheen of a vehicles coating. This means if you're dealing with anything more than a nick or a scratch you're not going to be able to fix things with a few dabs of paint. Sadly you'll need to spray it, which is a more serious endeavour, best left to professionals.
Finding the right paint isn't rocket science. Save yourself a lot of time by looking at the paint colour information beside the serial number of your car. You should use some caution here with second hand cars though, as they could have been re-sprayed. You're also going to want to look into some primer, and maybe some rust arrestor, depending on how deep the damage is.
To prep the car for its paintjob the process is the same however severe the scrape is. Get some tape around the affected area, and rub it with some sandpaper. If the scratch goes down to the plastic or metal you'll definitely need to put some primer on. If it goes down to the metal and it's corroded you need to put some rust corrector on. If it's a shallow scratch with existing paint in tact, you just need to apply fresh paint.
And then it's just a case of applying the paint. Less is more in this instance. If you put too much on the paint will bubble or run onto the existing paint. Just put on enough to bring it to the level of the other paintwork.
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