Touch up painting?

[Lydia]

Hi y'all,
I've got some places on my truck that need touch up paint (they've needed it for a while but I just finally found the right color for them). There's two different things in particular I'm working on. On my tailgate I've got several deep scratches, and on my front bumper, the bottom of the grill is rubbing on the bumper, and there is a spot about 3" by 2" without paint (of course it's rusting now). Which kind of touch up paint would be better; the one with the pen and the little brush, or a spray can? I'm guessing the pen and brush one would be better. Also, any tips as to how to prevent ugly touch up paint blobs would be appreciated. I actually am hoping to learn how to do this so I can get a few spots on my motorcycle too (and maybe even offer it as a service of my detailing biz? I'm not sure about that, though...). Thanks in advance for any help!

Edit: Also, would using clear coat on top of the touch ups help? I'm not looking to make it perfect (I know it's not possible), but I would sure like to get it looking as good as I can.

[Andy M.]

Re: Touch up painting?

Hey Lydia,

Go with the pen and brush. Try cutting a matchstick at a 45% angle to prevent the blobbing. Make sure you clean whatever spot you are going to touch up. Get all the waxes and sealants off first.

Andy
101impala

[Jeepster04]

Re: Touch up painting?

I dont believe touch up paint is practical for a 3"x2" area. Its mostly for small scratches and chips in the paint.

I used the brush as using a pen didnt seem like it would work out that great. You want to get the paint right in the scratch and not the paint around the scratch as it will show up. Using a fine tipped tooth pick helps.

[Lydia]

Re: Touch up painting?

Thanks for the tips, y'all.

Just went out and looked at the rubbed area again. It's closer to 1"x3" (not that that makes much of a difference anyways). What else could I use there? Like I said, it's rusting so I need to do something to it before it actually starts rusting through. ATM it is just light surface rust and can probably be fixed easily. If I don't use touch up paint, I don't think there's any other option. I just found out that dupli-color does not make a spray can of touch up paint for my color (it's kind of a rare green). All they make is the touch up bottle/pen.

[rks]

Re: Touch up painting?

I have used the touch up paint with the brush and am in no way good at painting but I did buy a kit at Walmart I think made by 3M that has rubbing compound, sanding pads and a buffer to go in a drill and made a scratch in my truck disapear. I hope this helps.
Kevin

[Jeepster04]

Re: Touch up painting?

Got a pic of the area youre talking about lydia? That would help a bit.

If its under the grill then I would take the grill off along with the bumper and paint the area. Even if it doesnt match 100% it wont matter since its covered up. Maybe even see if a body shop would mix you up some paint that would match.

[tguil]

Re: Touch up painting?

You will need a "rattle can" for the big area. Your local auto body supply store should be able to mix a can for you. It is possible to blend in an area. It will, however, be far from perfect.

A small sable artist brush should work for the scratches. Spray the paint from the rattle can into a small container (cap of rattle can) and dip the brush into the paint. This paint is very thin and will require lots of coats. Allow time to dry between each coat. Of course you will need to primer all bare metal. Clearcoat is optional especially on the scratches.

After the paint is dry, you will need to use very fine sandpaper, compound and a polish.

Again, the results will be far from perfect. I should know. I've been messin' with touch-ups for 48 years.

Tom

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Touch up painting?

Hey Lydia,

I agree with Tom.

One of the problems with using touch up paint, is when the paint is metallic as the metallic flake will float to the top of the touched up area, making it appear much lighter/brighter than the rest of the paint around it. A person can sand it etc and it will still be way lighter.

But for small chips and nicks, floating metallic flake will not be that visible and will work just fine. But for an area the size of yours, the only solution is to have the area sprayed or you use the rattle can approach, followed by wet sanding and buffing. You need to be really careful that the paint you use is matched and that the surrounding paint has not faded too much. In most cases, I find that one needs to paint the entire trim piece etc in order to avoid making the fixed area stand out badly...

Tim

[Lydia]

Re: Touch up painting?

For the scratches: Ok I think I am starting to get what to do with those. I got some nice, really tiny paint brushes from a crafts store (I didn't think to see if they were sable but they aren't cheap ones). As far as sandpaper, what grit would y'all recommend? Any specific manufacturer? I know I've heard of Meg's Unigrit paper, but I don't really know anything about it. Also, I don't have a rotary buffer yet, so I guess I need to be really careful with the sandpaper or else I'll have sanding scratches in my clear that I can't get out. Right?

For the 1"x3" area: I don't have a pic of the area. If you are familiar with the S10 grill, the grill is black, and the bumper is the same color as the body. The grill is plastic, the bumper is (obviously) metal. The grill on my truck rubs on the center of my bumper. At first, it was just a minor thing, and could barely be seen (because the rubbed part was only under the bumper). Once it started rusting, though, the area kept on spreading so now 1"x3" is the part that I can actually see (once I flake off the paint that is loose). I'm sure the area itself is bigger, but the rest is under the bumper. I hope that makes sense. Anyways, I just found another manufacturer for touch up paint that I can get a spray can from. Here's the link: http://www.expresspaint.com/productc...ory=21#details. Has anyone ever heard of them or ordered from them? Anyways, with the rattle can paint, does that have the problem with the metallic flakes like the touch up paint that is brushed on does? Or is it OK since it's just light coats sprayed on? Maybe for the bumper the wise thing to do would be to just repaint the whole thing if I want it to actually look good? There are many other little blemishes on it. Of course then I'd have to sand the whole thing down, prime it, paint it, and clear coat it, right? Yikes; this is turning out to be a big project lol. I'll wait for answers to those questions before I ask more. Thanks so much for the help, everybody! I really appreciate it!

On the plus side, this will be good experience for me! Lol.

[tguil]

Re: Touch up painting?

Lydia,

This book is available from Amazon.com. It is probably the best little book around.

Touch-Up & Dent Repair: A Mini-Course for the Do-It-Yourselfer Who Wants to Learn How to Do It Right (Professional Tips and Techniques Series) (Paperback)

Tom

[Jeepster04]

Re: Touch up painting?

I would wait and do a test spot to make sure the paint matches before I started prepping the entire bumper. It wouldnt be near as noticeable if the area under/around the grill didnt match but you would be able to tell if the entire bumper didnt match.

[Lydia]

Re: Touch up painting?

Thanks for the book recommendation, Tom. It looks like I can get it for $5 or less with shipping included...I think I can fit that into the budget lol.

That's really good advice, BlueLibby...and I'm glad you mentioned it, because that sounds like something I might do...prep my bumper, then start spraying just to find out it's the wrong color.

Any other suggestions are appreciated!