Instructions For Automotive Touch Up Paint

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:59:00 +0000

It always has to happen sometime. You purchase a new vehicle, and are in a parking lot or driving on the highway and you get that first scratch. It could be from a rock the car in front of you picked up in its tires or from a shopping cart that someone let go that rolled into your vehicle, but now you have a scratch and it needs repair. Automotive touch up paint can come to the rescue. Just follow the instructions.

Touch up paint can be applied in several different ways. It the scratch is small, a touch up pen may work just fine. If the scratch is small, up to the size of a dime, you may be able to take care of it with touch up paint that comes with a brush in the bottle, much like fingernail polish. For larger scratches, you will need to use paint in a spray can. When using the spray can, you will want to mask the area using automotive masking tape and newspaper.

To begin the process you will need to wash the area to be repaired with soap and water. Then the waxes and grease should be removed from the area using an appropriate cleaner. Automotive quality masking tape can be used to protect the rest of the area.

Any rust should be sanded using fine (220 grit) sandpaper and then coated with a rust converter.

Apply the primer to the unpainted surface. It is made so that it will stick to the surface and that your paint can stick to it. It can also fill any small imperfections that are in the surface of your vehicle. Allow at least eight to ten hours drying time for the primer to cure and then use the same grit sandpaper as before the feather the edges of the primer and make it smooth.

You are now ready to apply your base coat. Apply the base coat in several thin layers rather than one large layer. Give each coat about fifteen or twenty minutes to dry before applying the next coat. Let the base coat dry thoroughly before you add the top or clear coat. Drying time may be overnight or even longer in cooler temperatures.

Apply several thin coats of the clear coat, again allowing to dry twenty minutes between coats. Once satisfied that you have added enough clear coat allow to dry overnight or longer. If there are imperfections in the clear coat use very fine (1000 grit) sandpaper or rubbing compound to remove the imperfections. After three more days of drying time use rubbing compound to smooth the entire area.

Rubbing compound can also be used to remove oxidation from the finish of your vehicle. Be careful with rubbing compound or you may rub through the paint on your vehicle all the way to the primer.

Once you have applied the touch up paint to your vehicle, you will need to wait thirty days before you apply a good quality wax to the vehicle. Wax will help to prevent your vehicle for becoming oxidized.