Another Paint Question

[soulreapersteve]

Finally got my lazy self to do a proper wash of the car (instead of just spraying it down like usual). Looks just like the day I bought it. When I opened the door to move the car inside the driveway, I forgot about the wooden sticks that my mom uses to hold her flowers up and the door brushed against the stick.

Now, it looks like someone got a nail file and did a one time run on the door. Very fine, thin scratches within the area of a US quarter in size. So here is where I am requesting some help.

- Has anyone used touch up paint from the dealership? Much older threads mentioned paint from the Toyota dealerships did not match at all. Perhaps it has changed since then. Also, its a 15 minute drive so I can run and get in a flash.

- I found these two: http://www.automotivetouchup.com/tou...fr-s/?code=H8R and https://www.drcolorchip.com/

The 1st site is pretty cheap for the paint pen ($13) but the 2nd site is kinda pricy (40 for basic kit). Has anyone ordered from these two sites and how was the end result?

Just wanted some opinions before I go out and buy. Thanks!

[ajaxthebetter]

Don't think you need touch up paint. I'm no expert on detailing, but buy a DA buffer and some scratch remover polish and go to town. Electric would be safest, as you are unlikely to burn through.

I recommend you look into optigloss. I did it myself after I purchased my car. Was afraid to do apply it, but it turned out well. It won't save you from anything major, but you can be at peace knowing bug guts and bird droppings won't bake onto the paint. Cost around 60 dollars and will last two years. Essentially an extra layer of clear coat that is about two microns thick. A clear bra, for example, is 8 microns, so you do get some pretty decent protection.

Someone else will have a much better answer for you, no doubt. But avoid touch up at all costs, haha.

Edit: I ordered from automotive touch up for my previous car, 2007 Lexus IS, and the match was flawless. Lexus is known for immaculate paint too, so I was astonished.

[phrosty]

Can you take a pic of the damage? Generally if it's only a scratched clearcoat, a polish will probably be all you need. If it's down to the base coat, give it a polish and apply some clearcoat touch-up.

Can vouch for Automotive Touch Up. I ordered from them a couple years ago, their match is perfect. How it looks on your car will depend on how diligently you apply it and if your paint is pearl.

[soulreapersteve]

Sorry the pictures aren't really clear. After reading the two replies, looks like touch up paint isn't needed? At least for these two.

I also have a rock chip that flaked the paint away on the bumper (I see black underneath). Presume thats where touch up paint would come into play.

[swarb]

White is usually clear coat catching the light. you should be able to buff/polish those those out.

Now if someone could give me advice on my clear coat. There was some tree sap I left on the car because I was going to wash the car. I wash it a few days later and the tree sap damaged the clear coat. I tried clay, then a light polish and what is left over is some micro cracks in the clear. Any ideas?

[ajaxthebetter]

My Lexus had sap that cracked the clear...I could not get it to go away for the life of me. I would look into a professional detail. Maybe with a rotary buffer they could melt the clear enough to have it smooth back out nicely?

[mscamp02]

Originally Posted by swarb

White is usually clear coat catching the light. you should be able to buff/polish those those out.

Now if someone could give me advice on my clear coat. There was some tree sap I left on the car because I was going to wash the car. I wash it a few days later and the tree sap damaged the clear coat. I tried clay, then a light polish and what is left over is some micro cracks in the clear. Any ideas?

depending on how deep the crack is you could attempt to sand down the clear starting at about 800 and working back up to 2k sand or even 3k foam pad. Then do a 3 step 3m polish with an electric sander (RPM Controllable to prevent burn through).

Only thing here is if it is to deep you risk burning through the clear and get down to the base in which you would need to reclear the panel. If it is through the base as well then you could spray base on the damaged area then re clear the panel

[akash_]

wet sand with 3000 grit wrapped on a block or a flat hard object that fits in ur hand.
hand buff with meg ult compound and meg ult polish
wax ... finished

[Kiske]

Wipe some tire shine on it. If the scratch 'disappears' then you can polish it out. If you can still clearly see it then touchup is needed.

[akash_]

thats a cool trick

[Shinobu's Smile]

I bought the touch up paint kit below which has some clear coat and a "rough" polishing compound/ultra cutting cream. I would try to use this rough compound with a small microfiber cloth (like the kind used to clean eyeglasses) and apply some decent pressure in a circular pattern, to see if it will buff the scratches out or at the very least, reduce some of the smaller ones. It will leave the clear coat with a milky finish which is why you will also need to go over the area with a finishing polish like Maguires 205, which will return it to factory shininess. If this does not work, you will have to break out the clear coat from the kit below and with a very, very fine paint brush, try to fill in the scratches. Be sure to use a light touch and just fill in the scratch and not the adjacent area. You may need to go back over the area with the "rough" polish from the kit and then the maguire's finishing polish. Let the clear coat dry for a day before polishing it. This is only if it was a clear coat scratch. If it went into the paint, i would polish then paint, then clear coat then polish again.

This is what worked for me when a stupid piece of road debris got kicked up and scuffed my bumper.

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[sr86]

In my idea the scratches can still be remove by polishing or wet sanding followed by polishing.

[Shinobu's Smile]

Originally Posted by sr86

In my idea the scratches can still be remove by polishing or wet sanding followed by polishing.

It depends how deep. I had several that were just too deep into the clearcoat to reasonably buff out. They had to be filled in with clear coat and now they are gone.