fixing scratches?

I was wondering what is the best method of repairing minor scratches. Do those little bottles of touch up paint work or will they fall off in the rain.

they work ok. I always touch up the new rock dings in my hood after i wash. I'd get one from the dealer with the vin so its an exact exact match. Avoid Plasticate (wall-mart brand) that paint is very runny and a lot of times requires you to go over it again and again and again.

http://www.langka.com/

If done properly, they are almost undetectable.

Read the paint codes for your car off the sticker, get BOTH codes, the base and the clear...

The touch up paint works best IMO if just dropped into place, not brushed on, as it will sink and level out as it drys...the area should be very clean or it won't stick well, and you'll be doing it again in a couple of months.

Drop the base color on it and allow to dry and repeat until you have 2-3 layers of base, and the scratch is filled nicely, then topcoat it with clear to seal and match shine...after it all sets for several days, you can go over the area (noit real aggressively) with some buffing compound to blend your job to the surrounding area a bit better...then wax it in...

If your car is a dark color, I'd suggest Zymol...I discovered there is nothing like it for dark colors (especially black) to put the darkness and depth back in into it, I heard (maybe on the bottle?) that it's what they use on the royal carriages at Buckingham palace to keep that black laquer slick looking...the SS looked like a bottomless pool after using that stuff, it became all I'd use...takes out fine clearcoat scratches and swirls from car washes, etc...leaves it looking like it's wet...very cool, well you can make that out in the pic, it was just washed, but i'd towel dried it, still looks wet, no?.

Get liquid in the bottle, not the paste in a can. It's sky blue colored:)

yeah, last time i waxed i used zymol. I thought maybe being a different color that it would be easier to wax a white car, but after its applied it looks the same as any other. I did also really like it, well worth the 18 bux spent on it.

Zymol is some good stuff. It worked so well, I contacted the company to tell them how impressed I was, and they sent me a full color catalogue of their products.

Is the Zymol a product to use after repairing scratches or does it actually fix minor blemishes itself. Also does anyone have any thoughts about "Dr. Color Chip"? I read about it in the car detailing forum. Thanks everyone for the input.

Is the Zymol a product to use after repairing scratches or does it actually fix minor blemishes itself. Also does anyone have any thoughts about "Dr. Color Chip"? I read about it in the car detailing forum. Thanks everyone for the input.

It will clear very fine scratches, like from car wash brushes or salt etching, that make the clear dull, it won't "fix" scratches...I suggested it after a touch up repair to make the repair blend into the rest more seemlessly...

thanks for the info. I've got a few blemishes I'd like to fix. I'll try the Zymol. I guess I'm gonna go to the dealer for the paint. Is there anywhere to get it cheaper?

thanks for the info. I've got a few blemishes I'd like to fix. I'll try the Zymol. I guess I'm gonna go to the dealer for the paint. Is there anywhere to get it cheaper?

http://www.expresspaint.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idProduct=6378&idCategory=21

LOVE the touch-up pens....easiest thing there is to use...verify your color.

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/paintpen.asp


Here's a bit cheaper source for the touch up pen....there may be even cheaper, I don't know...

Beats the hell outta motorcycle OE color pens...I had to pay $35.00 EACH (x2, base, clear) for my kawasaki...farg...

thanks jeff. Have you tried that specific brand with good results? I guess I would need to buy the primer, basecoat, and clearcoat to do it right. I'm pretty sure my color is "dark carmine red metallic" but I think I'll check my paint code just to be sure.

thanks jeff. Have you tried that specific brand with good results? I guess I would need to buy the primer, basecoat, and clearcoat to do it right. I'm pretty sure my color is "dark carmine red metallic" but I think I'll check my paint code just to be sure.

you don't need primer...I'd bet you arent scratched through the primir...that's prtty hard to do..

I've used both of those brands in pen form...

I'll give it a shot. I don't guess there's any quick fix for this :(http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/455507100_2091.JPG

I haven't messed with the touch up pens or paint at all yet. However I did try the Zymol Wax Cleaner last night/this morning. I bought it on my way home last night at around 11:30 and couldn't wait to use it, so I washed my car in the porchlight. Then I used the wax. WOW! that stuff was worth the $14 I spent on it. It really does hide the minor scratches quite well. I would agree with the bottle and only do one small section at a time; that stuff really dries fast. Thanks for the recommendation!!:grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes:

I'll give it a shot. I don't guess there's any quick fix for this :(http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/455507100_2091.JPG

If you feel ambitious, and are prepared to have it fixed or deal with it if it goes wrong, you could try feathering the edges of the broken clear with very fine wet sanding, and then re-spray with new clear...it'll darken the color coat below and seal it up...it'll begin to peel around the edges in the future again, but might look better for a year or so...you need clear that is made for the flex covers, regular will crack under thermal expansion of the plastic cover...

I don't have any experience sanding vehicles, so I'll think about finding someone who does. Thanks!

I was really tired when i looked at that...it looks like there's probably not enough color coat left in that patch the bring it back...sanding would probably remove any color left, so that's out...

It might not be too expensive to either have that cover re-shot, or find one (salvage, Ebay, etc) the same color with better finish and replace it...

I was really tired when i looked at that...it looks like there's probably not enough color coat left in that patch the bring it back...sanding would probably remove any color left, so that's out...

It might not be too expensive to either have that cover re-shot, or find one (salvage, Ebay, etc) the same color with better finish and replace it...

You're probably right. There are two other large spots on the bumper that look similar. Also on the bottom, the clearcoat is so damaged that fixing it would be much too time-consuming. How hard would it be to repaint it? Would matching the color be difficult?

Matching a factory color is not at all difficult. Urethane clear coat if fairly easy to apply as well. It seems that if you have a Lumina, there is a finish problem somewhere:

http://72.19.213.157/files/W-DeckRepair.jpg

I agree. A friend of mine has a '97 "granny blue" lumina. She hardly ever washes/waxes it, but the paint is very glossy and has no blemishes. I wax mine twice a week and the damn clearcoat just keeps peeling. I'm just praying that my paint doesn't start to flake off like I've seen many do. They almost always seem to be white and I'm not sure why.