I have some questions about diy touch up paint

[accordmaniac]

Ok guys, the situation I`m in right now is that someone keyed my car about two months ago. It`s about a foot long. My insurance wrote me a check to repair it but since it is a small thing and after seeing my mom`s car come back from the bodyshop with more orangepeel and fisheye than Toyota included in their standards list, I got a little scared to bring it to a bodyshop since my paint looks decent right now. So I`m going to attempt to fix it with some touch up paint. This is where you guys come in so I don`t mess up.

1.)Where can I find Prepsol or its equivalent?



2.)Do I need to use touch up primer?



3.)When sanding how big of an area do I sand?



4.)Is it possible to make a 1 foot long touch up spot unnoticeable?



5.)How long should I wait to seal or wax the touch up area?



Any answers to the questions above and any tips are welcome and appreciated. Also the paint is white.

[01bluecls]

Click on the "Learn" section all the way on the top of the screen. It has an article on the proper ways to touch up. Bettercarcare also has another or the same article.



Prepsol I think can be found in Walmart and I know my local autozone has it.



In one of the article it suggests using a hole puncher to punch out holes of sandpaper and rubber cementing those holes to the end of a pencil eraser. This will allow you to sand the are you are working it. I wouldnt think it would be more than necessary to sand outside an inch of where you applied the touch-up. Sanding in this case is to level the touchup after multiple applications and to help "blend" it in.



I wouldnt say it would be unnoticeable after every thing is said and done but pretty darn close if you do a good job.



Most touch-up paint you get from the dealer already has some clear coat in it. I would wait at least a couple of days or longer before you seal or wax the area.

[Accumulator]

I don`t mean to be a drag, but IMHO that`s too much for a DIY touchup, at least if you haven`t done it a few times before.



A *good* paintshop will do a much better job and shouldn`t cause any problems. Orangepeel shouldn`t be an issue with a spot repair and fisheyes are just a matter of cleaning the area being painted. The trick (for you, the shop, anybody) is to get the repair to blend smoothly into the surrounding paint.



You can get PrepSol type products at an autobody/paint supply place.



You need primer anywhere it`s down to metal.



You need to sand a large enough area to "blend in" the repair, but no more than that. Try to keep the area being worked very small.



I think it`ll show, at least unless you do it with an airbrush.



Something that size I`d let cure for at least a few weeks.



Again, sorry to be so pessimistic, but I`d spend your time and effort finding a shop that can do the job.