Paint Chip Touchup Repair systems?

[Tekken]

Hi All,

New here and hopefully this is the right category to post this in.

On a whim I have taken an Auto airbrush class at a trade school and really enjoyed that and the part that got touched upon that I really liked the best was fixing and blending paint chips and scratches. I wish it was more part of the class but basically went into masking ,cleaning filling, painting and wet sanding it. It was a fairly long process but enjoyable.

Since then I have just done a few friends and referrals PT and wanted to get into this area a bit more on a PT basis as I have FT job.

Two things I am looking for is a system that may be more efficient then the way I am currently doing it and a way to mix the paints onsite instead of having to purchase the actual touchup paint from a dealer and then use that. That is a pain and not efficient at all when I tell someone they have to wait until I get the paint.

I have been looking and searching for systems and everyone seems to tout theirs as being the best but I was looking for opinions on anyone who may have used the AppliedColors Touchup2 system or the Rightlook touchup system? They both seem to use the Sherwin Williams lookup site to be able to match paint onsite which is what I would like. Also being able to do this as a mobile setup as those packages look like they are made for that as well.

Between AppliedColors and Rightlook there seems to be other products that looked interesting like the bumper and wheel repair and even the interior repair interests me as well but really just looking to start with the paint touchup system first as I am really only looking to do this on weekends and possibly after work in the evening hours a day or 2 a week in a mobile capacity. It really is amazing how once word gets out people just start coming to you.

I don't really have a budget but I'm thinking around $1000 to start which I know is less than the system at applied Colors at $1695 and Rightlook doesn't give a cost. I am attracted to the repair end of the auto appearance world and can see there is a good amount of opportunity to keep me busy on a PT level.

Sorry for the long first post. If anyone has any opinions or ideas on what system to use or a path to follow, including any more specialized training specific to this type of work I am all ears.

Thanks.

-Bob

[JimmyH5]

So you don't feel alone... as I do being a new poster, I'd have to say that that approach is truly in depth; I have done numerous chip/scratch repair, but using AG Dr. Colorchip kits; I don't mind detailing a car and then having the client wait for the paint to finish.... I know the rest of the car is done for the week it takes to get the paint. Good luck in finding the right equipment for mixing on site; please share your experiences when you find what works best for you.

[Tekken]

I've been doing quite of bit of searching around and it's interesting to say the least about how many products are out there for the Appearance restoration market segment. I'm just looking to start in one area of it and it is hard to narrow down what is what. For those interested you can find more info about what's going on out there from a website I found called mobiletechexpo.com There are a trade show for the reconditioning market. Unfortunately I found them to late as they have a show in Orlando in January. I would like to certainly go next year as these things can be great for seeing things live and in person.

But what I have found from that site was a list of their exhibitors and have just been going through them and searching their sites to see what they have to offer. Out of all of them so far I keep coming back to Applied Colors for their touchup kit 2. It is so far the most reasonably priced from what I have found so far and I am still searching. From a training perspective I wish Applied colors would just sell the training DVD to see how their system works and if it's a fit for me. There have been a couple of other systems(Detail king) and (RightLook) that I wish I could do the same for but they appear to be more than the AC product. I'm going to start another thread with just an Applied colors subject to see if anyone is familiar with just them and their product. I will probably just email them as well to see if the sell any training first.

With all of the searching around I am amazed at the amount of things that are available for this market segment and how much you could really get into. But baby steps for now. I'll keep those interested posted on what I am coming up with.

Thanks,

-Bob