How to Use Touch Up Paint on Your Automobile

Use touch up paint to fix those scratches on your car.

Touch-up paint is used to repair minor scratches on the paint of your car. Touch-up paint, which is especially formulated for use on cars, is easily available from motor parts stores and websites. Minor scratches occur from gravel and branches hitting the car while driving as well as general wear and tear. Touching-up minor scrapes can be just as important to the maintenance of your car as touching-up the deeper ones, as even minor scratches can develop into rusty problems later on.

Things You'll Need

• Automotive lacquer thinner
• Rubbing compound
• Primer
• Automotive touch-up paint with brush
• 2 clean soft rags
• Automotive clear coat aerosol spray

Instructions

1. Pour a moderate amount of automotive lacquer thinner onto one of the rags and use it to clean the problem area of any debris. Replace the cap on the bottle thinner and set it aside.

2. Allow the area to dry for 20 minutes.

3. Open the automotive touch-up paint. Dip the brush in a small amount of paint. Dab the paint carefully over the damaged area of the car. Do not use brush strokes as this may leave marks in the paint work. Do not paint over the original paint with the new paint. Fill the damaged area completely using thin layers. Allow the paint to dry according to the instructions on the label.

4. Apply the aerosol automotive clear coat to the area covering it completely in a thin coat after it has dried. You do not have to avoid the original paint at this point. Allow it to dry according to the instructions on the aerosol can.

5. Open the rubbing compound. Place a small amount onto the second rag. Rub the touched-up area in small circular motions until it starts to shine in a similar way to the paint on the rest of the car. Allow the compound to dry in the shade for a minimum of four hours before washing the car.

Tips & Warnings

• Purchase touch-up pens for small scratches, brushes for scratches up to the size of a dime and aerosols for anything larger than that.

• Do not allow the paint to get on your skin. Wear protective clothing with goggles and a breathing mask if you are using aerosol cans.

References

• Autobody 101: How to Paint Your Car
• The Car Bibles: Basic Car Maintenance Tips

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish