What to do about old poorly-done touch-up paint spots

[cptzippy]

The 1994 XJS experience is going pretty well. Just drove it from KC to Denver and back and aside from some small issues it`s working fine.



There is something that is bothering me. Someone went around and `touched-up` rock chips all over the front of the car. Problem is that the color doesn`t match well (about all I can say is they are both a form of white) and second they are globby and often incomplete in covering the chips. Paint otherwise is livable and besides don`t want to invest in a re-spray if I can help it.



What are my options dealing with these eye-sores?

[Wax5thave]

Lacquer thinner will remove the paint but will also remove all wax... So you will have to re apply wax.. Use a fine microfiber cloth



I do b/t 60-80 cars a month touch ups and scratch repair and lacquer thinner will not hurt the paint or clear coat..

[Wax5thave]

Lacquer thinner will remove the paint but will also remove all wax... So you will have to re apply wax.. Use a fine microfiber cloth



I do b/t 60-80 cars a month touch ups and scratch repair and lacquer thinner will not hurt the paint or clear coat..



Also if paint has been on there for longtime you can wet sand spots also then buff.. Usually lacquer thinner works tho

[DHCrocks]

theres a prduct called lanka. I`ve used it before and it works as advertised. it`ll knock down the blobs of touch up paint to be flush with the surface. I could be just that the touch up is a little discolored, maybe taking off the surface layer will reveal a closer match color and you then seal it with your LSP.

[Johnny 5]

theres a prduct called lanka. I`ve used it before and it works as advertised. it`ll knock down the blobs of touch up paint to be flush with the surface. I could be just that the touch up is a little discolored, maybe taking off the surface layer will reveal a closer match color and you then seal it with your LSP.



cptzippy, he`s particularly talking about the Blob Elimininator. (Langka makes a larger kit with stuff you very well might not need). Though now I wonder if that little microbrush is worth having (many of use toothpicks to apply to the small scratches). The BE comes with a plastic card, that you use to level the height of the touch up "blob", down to the level of the surrounding paint.



You did get the proper matching touch up paint? Metallic paints are harder to blend, so if this is not a metallic white, I would hope you could get at least reasonable results. Though maybe UV aging has changed the color now, or something, I dunno.

[Accumulator]

Yeah, I too use the Langka Blob Eliminator for this. Safer approach than lacquer thinner IMO, never had a problem with it.



I prefer a solvent-based approach to this rather than an abrasive one. Plenty of time to [mess] around with abrasives after you redo the chips, should you be itching to take sandpaper to the paint that way.



White can be a bear to match! I have to do this on the (Vibrant White) Crown Vic sometime, and I bet I`ll go through four or five different versions of "the exact same color" before I find the one I like best.

[mikenap]

I used mineral spirits this weekend to remove poor touchup spots. It worked but took some time. Would the Langka BE have worked better or faster? Also, is it safe on SS and CC paint?

[Accumulator]

mikenap- IME the Langka is OK on *factory* paint, but as with most any such approach I`d say you`re gambling when you use it on post-production paintwork.

[mikenap]

mikenap- IME the Langka is OK on *factory* paint, but as with most any such approach I`d say you`re gambling when you use it on post-production paintwork.



Thanks Accumulator. Would you say it works rather quickly?

[cptzippy]

Is the langka procedure best done before or after polishing the rest of the paint?

[DHCrocks]

use the langka first to level off the paint, if you have a metallic it will end up being a little flat/dull looking. After that I`d wait at least 2-3 days to let the paint fully cure since you softend it up with the langka. then hit it with your polisher to bring back the shine, polishing it works well to help blend it in.

[Jpostal]

Lacquer thinner will remove the paint but will also remove all wax... So you will have to re apply wax.. Use a fine microfiber cloth



I do b/t 60-80 cars a month touch ups and scratch repair and lacquer thinner will not hurt the paint or clear coat..



What type of touch up system do you use? I purchased the Applied Colours kit and it works ok, but I getting a proper color match is pretty difficult.

[Accumulator]

Thanks Accumulator. Would you say [Langka] works rather quickly?



Yeah, quickly enough that you don`t have to figure out a way to...say...hold a saturated cloth against the chip for an extended dwell time or anything like that.




Is the langka procedure best done before or after polishing the rest of the paint?



I do it before in case it results in some marring. I get things as nice as I`m getting them "touchup-wise" and then do the polishing.




..if you have a metallic it will end up being a little flat/dull looking..



I`ve only tried it on clearcoat, which is over top of the metallic basecoat.




What type of touch up system do you use? I purchased the Applied Colours kit and it works ok, but I getting a proper color match is pretty difficult.



IME it`s a crapshoot. You can buy six different touchup paints in the same color code and they`ll all be just a little different. Simply no way I can generalize about whose is best.



Well...the best is to have it mixed up by a paintshop; the stuff my one painter has mixed up by "the girls over at Glasurit" is always a great match, but who`s gonna mess around with having that done? And unless you give somebody (like said "girls") enough business to be their pal it might not turn out all that great anyhow.

[Jpostal]

IME it`s a crapshoot. You can buy six different touchup paints in the same color code and they`ll all be just a little different. Simply no way I can generalize about whose is best.



Well...the best is to have it mixed up by a paintshop; the stuff my one painter has mixed up by "the girls over at Glasurit" is always a great match, but who`s gonna mess around with having that done? And unless you give somebody (like said "girls") enough business to be their pal it might not turn out all that great anyhow.



The Applied Colors kit is an $800 professional kit with maybe 40 different colors that you tint yourself to match the specific vehicle. The problem is the colors always seem to change colors as they dry so tinting to the right shade can be tough. Wondering if there are other affordable kits that would provide a better match.

[Accumulator]

JPostal- Ah, thanks for schooling me (gee, was I clueless about the Applied Colors kit or what?!? :o ). Sounds problematic, what with that "changing" business; kinda defeats the whole idea, huh?