used car blues.

[shaggyhair]

so, i've come to learn through my car purchases that used cars always have some sort of issue. my last protege had a LOT of rattles. i could just tune that out. well, my new beautiful midnight blue mica mp5 has some paint issues.

basically, i've got two questions.

first off, the car is a few too many dings and scratches in it's paint for me to ignore. it came with a bottle of touch up paint, so i am planning on tackling that when it gets a little warmer outside. my question about that is what's the best way to get good coverage and color even-ness.

secondly, it has two small dents in the back driver's side wheel wheel. they are barely noticeable, and as usual, this doesn't apply to me. i can't stand it. has anyone here had any experience with hammering out small dents? is it even worth me trying to do it myself?

thanks. i really just want it to get warmer so this car's color can really shine.

 

[GhostMercury]

touch up paint not a good idea cause you will see it..unless some how you do it really well? or have good luck. hammering out small dents is a bad idea, from personal experience. someone dented my trunk by hitting it with a cro bar and messed up the paint so i knew i would have to get it fixed anyway so i hit out the dent and it ****** up the paint. but i dont care cause i have to get it fixed anyway. so that my 2 cents

 

[kura808]

one the bottle i think it said to fill in the knick with several layers(until it becomes even). ya gotta wait 5 mins after each layer lol. i gotta start putting on some touch up paint too on my hood cause of those damn rocks. btw dont smell that s*** cause it went straight to my head when i first opened it LMAO

 

[2xsess]

I've heard that using the filter off a cigarette with the touch up paint works awesome. I don't use the stuff myself but the previous owner did on my P5 and it's very obvious.

 

[mzdalvr]

true, ive used touch up paint for some long scratches on my pro. the thing is that you'll need to get a very fine paintbrush and stroke it into the chip/scratch. then wait until it dries and use a paint polish or cleaner wax and put some stank on it. eventually you will wear the touch up paint until it blends into the original. it might not be perfect but you'll really not see it unless you have a light colored car.

 

[chiefmg]

Something else that works well is the torn end of a paper match. Dip it into the paint and daub it in the spot. I have used this method quite a few times.

 

[Hughes412]

That's why I buy new! That way I can be the one that messes it up. I got it on the 22rd and was in the mud on the 25th lol.

 

[Mr Detailer]

The touchup paint is the color of the car's paint when it was brand new. If there is ANY oxidation or ANY swirls in the paint, the color will appear faded. If this is the case, the touchup paint will not match. The severity of the oxidation/swirls will determine how noticeable the difference in color will be. Unless the paint is in damn nice shape, I would not attempt the touchup paint. Furthermore, in order to get the touchup paint to be level with the surrounding paint, you'll need to be VERY patient with the process, and delicate wetsanding will be necessary. Proper touchup paint application is no small feat.

Hammering out small dents is also a bad idea for the average person to try. Chances are, you will crack the surrounding paint, and the dent will never be perfect even if the hammering does work.

 

[shaggyhair]

The touchup paint is the color of the car's paint when it was brand new. If there is ANY oxidation or ANY swirls in the paint, the color will appear faded. If this is the case, the touchup paint will not match. The severity of the oxidation/swirls will determine how noticeable the difference in color will be. Unless the paint is in damn nice shape, I would not attempt the touchup paint. Furthermore, in order to get the touchup paint to be level with the surrounding paint, you'll need to be VERY patient with the process, and delicate wetsanding will be necessary. Proper touchup paint application is no small feat.

Hammering out small dents is also a bad idea for the average person to try. Chances are, you will crack the surrounding paint, and the dent will never be perfect even if the hammering does work.

alright. i figured both ideas were a little to problematic for their own good. thanks.

 

[Mr Detailer]

that's not to say that you have to give up on the idea altogether. If you can restore the paint to (or close to) factory condition, the touchup paint application is a real possibility. The restoration process could be a big job though, depending on the overall condition of the paint.

 

[shaggyhair]

well, i'd actually say the paint looks pretty good. there is a good amount of swirls but i figure if i pick up a polisher and take my time with it, i can make it look pretty good again. i just don't want to do all that work and then it still clearly look touched up.

 

[ThrillRide]

well, i'd actually say the paint looks pretty good. there is a good amount of swirls but i figure if i pick up a polisher and take my time with it, i can make it look pretty good again. i just don't want to do all that work and then it still clearly look touched up.

do you have any pics you can show of the problems? i can give you a better idea that way. however. i am with everyone else on the dings. don't try hammering them out. save some money and have it fixed by a pro. to really know how tuff of a job your are looking at on the touch up paint i will need to see pics. but in general small touch ups are not hard. you just need to know what you are doing. get some pics up and lets have a look.

 

[shaggyhair]

alright, i'll get some up either tonight or tomorrow morning. depends when i'll have some free time with my car.

 

[DeanSweet]

call dent wizard? I believe they do paint repair work too?

 

[Purrfectangel]

For fine/semi heavy scratches and scuffs and oxidation, most times can be rectified with a really good detailing, clay bar, the hole kit and kaboodle. A temperorary fix tho is coloured liquid wax, it's a short lived solution but look a a hell of a lot better than touch up paint.

As for your dings, on my old car I had some around the rear wheel well also as well as a rust spot or too and a huge one on my hatch door, I spent two days grinding, bondoing, fiberglassing, puttying and painting and by the end of the weekend she was good as new.

 

[Mr Detailer]

colored wax is marketing at its best. A coat of wax is what...1-2 mils thick? Do you really think an ultra-thin coating like that is going to display any obvious color?

 

[ThrillRide]

For fine/semi heavy scratches and scuffs and oxidation, most times can be rectified with a really good detailing, clay bar, the hole kit and kaboodle. A temperorary fix tho is coloured liquid wax, it's a short lived solution but look a a hell of a lot better than touch up paint.

As for your dings, on my old car I had some around the rear wheel well also as well as a rust spot or too and a huge one on my hatch door, I spent two days grinding, bondoing, fiberglassing, puttying and painting and by the end of the weekend she was good as new.

colored wax is a waste of money. in no way is colored wax going to look better than a good touch up job. touch up paint, wet sanding, polishing is the best way to fix scratches....aside from a respray.

 

[Purrfectangel]

colored wax is marketing at its best. A coat of wax is what...1-2 mils thick? Do you really think an ultra-thin coating like that is going to display any obvious color?

Answer: NO I don't think it will display any obvious colour, in fact I know it doesn't, been there done that. Didn't happen to see where I said it's a SHORT lived solution(smash)

colored wax is a waste of money. in no way is colored wax going to look better than a good touch up job. touch up paint, wet sanding, polishing is the best way to fix scratches....aside from a respray.

As for a complete waste of money, it would be if you were buying it in mass quantities as a permanant solution, and that would just be plain stupid but one bottle for pinches like a temperary fix at a show after it's been parked and your lovely buffing equipment or local detailer is not around, I find it comes in handy.

good touch up job

There's the money phrase right there, what 1 in every 1000 touch up jobs might look good? Chances of his looking good and not very noticeable=zilch as opposed to blending the scratches out a bit with some coloured wax. I completely agree top end detailing or a respray is really the only way to fix his problem, I in no way ment it as a permanant solution, even stated that, was just throwing ideas out there.

 

[ThrillRide]

There's the money phrase right there, what 1 in every 1000 touch up jobs might look good? Chances of his looking good and not very noticeable=zilch as opposed to blending the scratches out a bit with some coloured wax. I completely agree top end detailing or a respray is really the only way to fix his problem, I in no way ment it as a permanant solution, even stated that, was just throwing ideas out there.

No. I would say about 999 out of 1000 of my touch up jobs look good. Why are the chances of his looking good zilch? He might be good at it.
Ideas are always helpful. But colored wax is a bad idea for this situation.

 

[Mr Detailer]

Touch-up jobs can look good if you take the time to do it right, which means you go through the whole process of touch-up --> sanding --> compounding --> final polishing.

A colored wax may be a good temporary solution, but that has nothing to do with the color of the wax. The wax may contain fillers, which ARE a good temporary solution, but the color of the product has nothing to do with anything. Most OTC waxes and polishes have fillers in them, and they will all perform to some extent.