Touch up paint. How to get it right?

[RandyG]

I hope this is not too far out of the realm of this forum, but, what is the best way to fix the little blemishes and nicks, etc. I have never been able to make the repairs look right and I know a lot of other people have the same problem. It is something that should only be done by a professional?

[Jeff Smith]

Per this thread:

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9909

Charlie is putting something together that will likely help you out as well as myself. I am on hold on repairing mine until his how to is out.

[Five Star]

if you want quality touchup paint have it mixed at a bodyshop.

that way they can color match it by dabbing a spot on your vehicle and letting it dry.

[Setec Astronomy]

Originally posted by Five Star
if you want quality touchup paint have it mixed at a bodyshop.

that way they can color match it by dabbing a spot on your vehicle and letting it dry.

So then you'd have a scratch and a "dab" on your vehicle? And how many dabs before they get the match right? I was under the impression that body shops did color matching by computer, not by dabbing some on the car and looking at it.

[MB///HRV]

Although I have never tried it, I have heard people getting good results with a product called "Lanka". It may be something to look into further.

[tguil]

Randy,

Here you go. The *ultimate* article on scratch repair:

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=27

Tom

[Five Star]

Originally posted by Setec Astronomy
So then you'd have a scratch and a "dab" on your vehicle? And how many dabs before they get the match right? I was under the impression that body shops did color matching by computer, not by dabbing some on the car and looking at it.

dabs can be wiped off,

not every body shop uses a color eye to match the color

[Shiny Lil Detlr]

Originally posted by Five Star
dabs can be wiped off,

not every body shop uses a color eye to match the color

I've never had a problem with getting DupliColor and/or Paintscratch.com's touch up paint to match and blend well....

That bettercarcare article that was posted looks to be pretty sound; I'd follow that, it's fundamentally correct.

I'm working on a few touch-up projects on both my own truck and on a customer/friend's car. Winter weather is just slowing me way down.