scratch touch up, I give in

A

arnie

New member
Hi,

don't know where I am going wrong with touching up small scratches but it never looks any good at all. The paint is metal flake so I know it is never going to be easy but you guys make it look so simple.

I am talking about a few sratches where some idiot dug the badges off the rear of my skyline 350 gt. I could feel the scratches with my finger nail so I knew they would not polish out. First cleaned the car then clean the scratch area with a bit of ISO. Slowly build up the paint in the scratch until I am happy it is slightly over filled( used paint colour matched at local auto store) Leave for a day then start to rub down with 2000 grit followed by 3000 grit wet an dry, lubricated and cleaning often. I wrap my wet and dry around a rubber eraser to give a flat sanding area and allows me to focus on the scratch and not the surrounding area. when happy that it is nice and flush i use sonus renovating polish to get rid of the haze left by the 3000 grit. End result!!!!!!!!!!



it looks crap:think: I can see a 1cm scratch repair from 3mtrs away:angry:

what am i doing wrong? I am wondering if the paint is the wrong colour.

may post up a pic to show it better

cheers
 
Could be a couple of things. Doesn't sound like technique especially if you are able to level it out and buff out the sanding marks.



1. With the touch-up - is it an all in one type paint touch up? Or is a 2stage or 3stage application?



1 stage is paint only

2 stage is paint coats + clear coat

3 stage is primer, paint and clear coats



2. If you have a "special" paint that has some tint to the clear as some companies are doing now, that makes it even harder to match.



Personally, I feel the 1 stage isn't going to give you a good result but at least prevents corrosion.

The 2 stage works well for most paints but the 3 stage is ideal to get as close a match as possible. Spray cans are better then brushed on and you can even considering using an airbrush for the base and clear coats using a hobby airbrush system.



Automotive Touch Up Paint is one of the better ones in my opinion for either minor to medium sized repairs.



Sure it's a 20 pen system but at least you have enough product that will do your entire car scratches and chips for a long time and the results are way better. Still way cheaper then having a bodyshop do it.
 
arnie- It's just *VERY* tough to get brushed touchups to look good, especially if you have high standards. The *vast* majority of mine look like [crap] but they're still better than how many people's turn out.



My one painter can do touchups that are incredible, virtually impossible to see even with metallics. But he's been doing it for decades and he'll spend a whole day redoing one chip until he gets it just right. Guys like him are few and far between...



Touch up paint that matches can be hard to find. I've gone through three or four different ones, all the "same color" but from different vendors, before I found the best match and sometimes even that isn't too good. Ideally, you'd take a sample to a place where they'll mix it up custom (my painter uses the local Glasurit place and says "the girls there are miracle workers!"). Since most normal people are never gonna go through that, finding paint that matches right can be incredibly hard, and then you have to do the touchup just right...easier said than done.
 
You didn't mention what kind of paint you're using. I have tried a few different sources including dupli-color, paintscratch, and a few others, but I had above-average results with automotivetouchup. That said, a bodyshop can usually do the absolutely perfect job but not everyone can justify the cost.
 
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