moreace

For those of us who have unfortunately been hit by rocks and suffered minor chips: does anyone have a technique for applying touch up paint.

Logically I assume you need to wash and dry the area first
Is 1 coat fine or do you need multiple coats?
Should you not do it in the sun?
Anyspecial way to keep it even, not blobby, no brush strokes?
how long to let it dry?
Should you wax over it after for a clearcoat?
...... so on and so forth


There is no reason for a clear bra discussion in this post :/

Lore

You will need several coats to build up the layers.

Use the butt of a paper match to apply the layers of paint and allow 10-15 minutes to dry between layers. You need to let it dry at least 24 hours before applying the clearcoat, using the same method. However, with the clearcoat usually one or two layers should do it.

Don't wax for 30 days after the clearcoat.

www.paintscratch.com has a lot of good info!

moreace

Wow, thanks Lore, Quick and descriptive.

I will check out the link, but I dont really understand what to do with the paper.

JoganJani

Mo here is one link I referred to last time;

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=27

moreace

AWESOME, thanks guys!

caball88

no matter how hard i try to follow those instructions the paint chip never looks 100%. has anyone even come close to fixing a paint chip that appears un-noticable from medium to close range.

JetJock

When you buy touch up paint from Acura....it doesn't have clear coat included...where do you get the clear coat? The parts guy told me they put clear coat into the touch up paint..so it's not necessary, but I'm skeptical. Do you really need to put clear over a small rock chip...or is the touch up paint enough.

narikin

The touch up paint as it comes is probably o.k., esp. for small rock chips. Many thin coats, applied with a brush (not the one in the touch up bottle) is best; I actually thinned the paint with lacquer thinner. The question is what to do next. I've struggled with this on my NBP, but then it got hit in NYC and is now in the body shop, where they say they will also touch-up the hood scratch. Do a search for Langka; my experience w/ this product:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87671

Short answer: I couldn't make Langka work (it's supposed to replace wet sanding and buffing compound after the paint chip is dry, but made the paint into dull blobs whenever I tried it). The old-fashioned way of gently wet sanding the paint blob and surrounding area, and then using progressively finer buffing compound is probably best.

In addition to the other tips here, you need to carefully remove all wax and/or Zaino, or it will peel (there are special products, or use bug and tar remover). As for touch-up paint, I've found the two-headed Canadian Acura paint pens (clear coat on one side) available from E-bay. But more promising is the "2 in 1 Scratch Fix" system from Dupli-color (you can purchase touch-up paint separately--in a special roller-tip bottle--from the 2 in 1 repair kit, which includes putty, sandpaper, and clear coat). Again, I haven't tried it yet, b/c the car's in the shop already, but it looks like perhaps the best way to go (anyone tried it?) Available at: http://store.yahoo.com/rodi/duplicolor.html

Lore

After you apply the clearcoat and let it dry 24 hours, you should also buy some rubbing compound to smooth out the clearcoat. It'll help blend it in to the neighboring paint. You can get clearcoat bottles from any car store - it's all the same.

Use the butt of the paper match to gently transfer paint to the chip. You'll have to be very patient and will need to do it several times for it to rise up to the original paint level.

I had two severe rock chips on my hood. I had touched it up to the point whereit was very well matched from about 1 foot away, but if you looked at it dead on you could tell the different shade of gray (due to the way the flecks are laid out with the touch-up).

livnforyou

i have a ton of chips on my hood and the front part of my car. i feel that acura used some cheap paint. i've never experienced this many chips on any of my previous cars.

narnia

I bought a touch-up pen that has paint on one end, clear coat on the other. There is a guy from Canada on e-bay who sells them. Maybe they're only available in Canada? My dealer here didn't have one. You can search by his user name, serf21, or search for Acura Touch-up Paint Pen on e-bay.

1FasTL

I think H and A parts also carries the pens. Unfortunately, the do NOT make them in all colors. I couldn't get one for ABP. I think DGP owners are out of luck too (almost got this color myself).

From what I've read, the pens work great. Even the parts guy at my dealership said they work well but that we just don't have them here in the States. Makes no sense???

Lore

The touch-up pen is not that great - it's hard for the ink to flow with the right amount to the tip, so sometimes you have too much and sometimes way too little. I like the matchstick method a lot better.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

The pens are great.

jaysu

Hi there!!
I've had my TL Anthracite, for about 5 months, and I LOVE it! Sadly, I went to a party on Halloween and realized the next morning my car had been keyed! I later found out they had vandalized a few cars at the party- its so sad when you work so hard for what you have, only for some jerk to come along and do something stupid like that . Anyway, the hood has a deep scrach about 6 inches in lenghth and they wrote a nasty word on the driver's side door (all scratches are down to the metal). Does any one have any suggestions? Should I use the touch up paint, or should I just get the door painted???? And does any one have a clue as to how much getting one door painted may cost me?? THANKS!

Bplayer

I understand your pain as I had a similar experience in a commute parking lot near to a school. One day the hood of about 10 cars were keyed. The only good news was that the repaint fixed scratches and stone chip accumulated over 5 years.

If you want to retain the appearance of the car and prevent possible rusting then a repaint is mandatory. The bad news is this is going to be expensive. A good bodyshop may recommend that additional panels be repainted to ensure an good blended colour match. The incremental cost may not be too much more for the additional panels.

An alternative is touch up and clear coat for now, and then repaint in 6-12 months catching any other dings or scratches over that time period.

JetJock

Thanks for the info RE: touch up paint.....I'll try the thinner and using a match or small artist brush next time. Also, I've found using those jeweler goggles, not a loupe...help you see what your doing...they are simply amazing with how they allow you to see exactly where you are applying the paint. They are cheap...I bought a used pair from a jewler friend of mine for $10.00. They look silly but certainly give you 10X vision.

FastJoe

Where do I get the clearcoat paint? I got the touchup pain from my dealer.

Bplayer

I got a combination pen from my dealer. One end is paint and the other is clearcoat.

jaysu

Thanks for the advise, I think I'm gonna try the touch up paint first and see how that looks-- sorry about your car.

jaysu

thanks for your advise, I think i'm gonna go with that. And I'm really sorry about your car.

TacoBellSauce

i got a real thin paint chip on my car and everytime i apply the touch up, the silver does not show. only the flakes do

does anybody know how i can get the color on the chip?

does the weather (around 40 here) has to do anything with this?

SilverStoneTTL

How much did you guys pay for the regular touch up paint at the dealer?

If its a good amount less then the $17.00 I would be paying for the touch up pen off eBay I would rather just use the clearcoat that came with my Audi touch up paint.

Bplayer

C$11.35 for the combination pen with paint and clear coat.

ra3eleven

hey guys, i'd like to do some touching up, so thanks for all the advice.

but first, i had a minor incident happen the other day...made contact very slowly/lightly with the car parked behind me while pulling out of a parallel spot. there are two little marks (the size of screws from the license plate) on my bumper.

but it looks like the paint was actually scrunched up, not so much chipped. how would i go about flattening/smoothing that surface before doing the touch up paint and clearcoat?

thanks!

Ricky Vaughn

I just ordered some WDP OEM paint from the Acura dealer. It was not in stock and only cost 10 bucks.
I have used factory touch up before and it looks ok, but I was wondering if this will look awful if I do not follow up w/ clear coat? I have never done this before.
I need to touch up 2 license plate screw scratches, a few tiny rock marks and 1 ugly deep scratch at highest point of the hood right underneath the wipers that I can only assume happened while scraping ice off the windshield.

flanso

iTrader: (1)

I have successfully repaired paint chips using this method:
First go to an artist supply store and buy a 000 camel hair brush. Using that fine point brush, apply color paint into the area that is chipped without getting paint on top of the undamaged surrounding paint. Apply as many thin coats as needed to get the level of the new paint above the level of the surrounding finish. Give the paint several days to thoroughly cure. Then, take a small piece of 1500 grit wet or dry sand paper and glue it to a one inch piece of sanded smooth Popsicle stick. Trim the sand paper smoothly to the edges of the Popsicle stick. Using the piece of Popsicle stick with 1500 grit, very carefully sand the new paint down to the level of the old trying not to take off much of the surrounding clearcoat. I usually wear an optivisor magnifier for this task. Next, polish out the sanded spot using a mildly abrasive polish like 3M Swirl Remover. If you have a delicate touch and are very patient, the repair will be almost undetectable.

FSU-Acura

Can anyone post pictures of a before and after shot while using the touch up pen bought on ebay?

Thank you in advance!

Ricky Vaughn

I have neither of these, but that sounds like a great metho.d

Ricky Vaughn

I have neither of these, but that sounds like a great method.