paint touchup tips

**Camineet** · 07-13-2021, 07:48 PM

Hi guys,

Wondering what the consensus is on basic paint touchup. I've got a couple of nicks and gouges that don't seem like they can be fixed like stone chips with chipfix or one of those kits that works wonders. Rather, these look to me like they need the basic paint brush treatment.

What's the general thinking on this on these paints? Is it ok to buy something budget on eBay like this?

Pick Your Color - 1 Oz Touch up Paint Kit with Brush for Nissan Car Truck SUV | eBay

Or rather, do guys usually stick with the OEM stuff and just pay double or so for it?

Also, do guys usually go the extra step of dabbing on clear coat on top after allowing the paint dab to dry?

That's all I can think of for now.

Thanks.

**Rsurfer** · 07-13-2021, 08:23 PM

The extra step is not the clear coat, but the wet sanding before clear coating.

**2black1s** · 07-13-2021, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by Rsurfer

The extra step is not the clear coat, but the wet sanding before clear coating.

No need to wet sand before applying clear coat. In fact, ideally, the only wet sanding required would be for the final leveling just prior to polishing if you are going to that level of detail.

In many cases for a daily driver just dabbing some color into the chip is good enough.

The single most important piece of advice I could give is to keep the touch-up paint within the chip. Nothing looks worse than a small chip with a big blob of touch-up paint surrounding it.

If you have the time and patience, here's how I do it...

Discerning Paint Chip Touch-Up; Not for Everyone or Every Chip

**Camineet** · 07-13-2021, 09:18 PM

Cool thanks I'll check that out. As far as wet sanding, I just learned and put several hours into paint correction with a DA polisher. Wet sanding for me is like whaaaaaaat? Maybe sometime down the road.

**Rsurfer** · 07-14-2021, 02:27 AM

Originally Posted by 2black1s

No need to wet sand before applying clear coat. In fact, ideally, the only wet sanding required would be for the final leveling just prior to polishing if you are going to that level of detail.

In many cases for a daily driver just dabbing some color into the chip is good enough.

The single most important piece of advice I could give is to keep the touch-up paint within the chip. Nothing looks worse than a small chip with a big blob of touch-up paint surrounding it.

If you have the time and patience, here's how I do it...

Discerning Paint Chip Touch-Up; Not for Everyone or Every Chip

So you wouldn't level the edges of the chip by wet/dry sanding?

**2black1s** · 07-14-2021, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by Rsurfer

So you wouldn't level the edges of the chip by wet/dry sanding?

Absolutely not! The edges of the chip provide a perfect dam to help keep the touch up paint inside the confines of the chip.

If you featheredge the chip you have now 1) increased the size of the repair, 2) eliminated any physical boundary for the touch up paint; both of which are undesirable.

If you were repainting the entire panel, then you would absolutely featheredge the chip and fill it with primer/surfacer before proceeding. But brush touch-ups are a different animal. You want to keep the repair as small as possible, ideally, no bigger than the original defect. You can't do that if you start featheredging the chip.

**Rsurfer** · 07-14-2021, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by 2black1s

Absolutely not! The edges of the chip provide a perfect dam to help keep the touch up paint inside the confines of the chip.

If you featheredge the chip you have now 1) increased the size of the repair, 2) eliminated any physical boundary for the touch up paint; both of which are undesirable.

If you were repainting the entire panel, then you would absolutely featheredge the chip and fill it with primer/surfacer before proceeding. But brush touch-ups are a different animal. You want to keep the repair as small as possible, ideally, no bigger than the original defect. You can't do that if you start featheredging the chip.

Well I guess I've been doing it wrong all these years.

**Camineet** · 07-16-2021, 08:59 AM

Hey would you guys weigh in on the 2nd pic above? I'm inclined to not try a touchup repair on this one because I think the repair will end up more prominent than it is now, especially with a noob like me doing it.

Rather, I'm thinking of trying a filler like this Poorboy's World Black Hole:
Amazon.com

Can you guys let me know if you think it's unwise to let an issue like this remain unrepaired? It looks like the scratch is down to the metal, but not entirely sure. I'm just concerned about leaving it like this for ten years or however long I own the car with only wax and other LSP's on it preventing rust.

**MisterSnoop** · 07-16-2021, 10:47 AM

How wide is the scratch in the second shot? It's possible that Dr Colorchip could work but if it's a narrow/shallow scratch, you may just end up pulling the paint back off during the SealAct step.

**Camineet** · 07-16-2021, 10:53 AM

It's really narrow and shallow. But I will consider Dr. Colorchip. I wasn't aware that solution was suitable for long scratches. Thought it was exclusively for stone chips based on a video I watched.

I'd really prefer to do nothing other than maintain the spot with proper car care. But I just want to see what the general opinion is on something like this over a ten year period or so and whether or not I should really bother with a proper fix.