How To Touch Up Paint Your Car Properly?
The color of your car signifies your taste and aptitude. You want that the color of your car should always look “Fresh from the Showroom” and take all possible care to ensure that not even a scratch or a spot is made on your car. But the inevitable cannot be avoided.
Being exposed to environmental features and driving pattern, some or other disfiguring element will make it happen. Then, you have no other alternative than to put a touch point on the car.
Special Care Selecting Touch Up Paint
The original paint coated on your car is either acrylic lacquer or enamel. The touch-up paint may initially give a new look, matching to the company paint, But due to abrasion or the effect of chemicals, it may wear away after some time, giving the same ‘nasty look’ to the color of your car. Therefore, be extremely choosy and selective about the touch-up paint, about its compatibility.
Test the paint before spraying it on your car. It must match the original color. If the color of the paint is off the clear coat on your cars, you will find it mismatching. Then, you need to wash it off with automotive lacquer thinner. If the condition does not improve, you have to allow it to dry and rub it off with sandpaper.
Practice Makes You Perfect
Photo Credit: https://carpaintscratch.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/how-to-fix-a-scratch-on-your-vehicle-by-touch-up-paint/
Putting the touch point on your car is a delicate and meticulous work. Any act of hurry or digression during touching can trample the whole process. Therefore, take a little time for practicing on a metal can or a glossy sheet of paper.
That will enable you to check the color match. Instead of putting a heavy coat, you can practice with different light coats, while brushing or spraying the paint. Allow the paint to dry sufficiently.
Restrict Using Paint Pens
If the discolored area is larger than a pencil eraser, avoid using the pen point. Also, if the area is larger than a dime, avoid brushing it. As otherwise, the area will have an uneven look. You may also note that when you put the metallic paint with a brush or pen, the metallic flake won’t adhere to the surface; you intend to give a touch.
Take Care of Humidity and Temperature
Avoid spraying in a wet or humid environment or under direct sunlight. You can test the humidity by spraying some clear coat and observe how it dries. If you find whitish haze on drying, be sure that it is too humid and avoid spraying.
Photo Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2aC_oseMe4
As a rule of thumb, the ideal temperature for spraying is 70 degree F and Humidity of 50%. If the temperature is over 80 degrees F, the paint may dry before hitting the affected surface of your car, and you will find the rough surface.
Drying Times
Usually, you have to put a base coat before applying the clear coat. You should ensure that the base coat dries well before putting the clear coat. Polish it, only after the clear coat is perfectly dried. You have to float the clear coat over the base coat.
As a rule of thumb, allow it to dry for at least 20 minutes or even overnight. If the temperature is below 70 degrees F, you will have to allow it to dry for a longer time.
Use Paint Pens on Key Scratches
If you find key scratches on your car, you can make use of the paint pen because you can control the exact quantity of paint for covering the scratch. You need to follow the scratch closest to the base coat.
After applying the clear coat, make use of suitable rubbing compound to smooth the area and make it shining and glowing. Clear coat serves as a solvent. So, if you put any pressure, the base coat will be removed.
Use Primer for Repairing Scratches
If the surface is without any paint, apply primer. It sticks to the unpainted surface and paints are designed to stick firmly on a coat of primer. Moreover, you can use primer for filling small unevenness or imperfections on the surface.
Use Adhesion Promoter
If you intend to paint a flexible surface such as rubberized bumper, you should use SEM Adhesion Promoter. It will ease the primer to adhere to the surfaces. Remember to spray the promoter before putting the layer of primer. You should not use promoter for touch up bottles or paint pens.
Before, spraying the primer, clean the area of all dust, by using a tack rag and allow the primer to dry thoroughly before spraying the final coat. Take care to sand the primed area with a 220 grit sandpaper and then with 600 grit.
Rubbing for a Glossy Finish
Rub the clear coat for a final polishing with light or mild rubbing compound, and not use polishing compound. Aggressive or heavy duty rubbing compound will make your finish dull. In case the sprayed area is large, you should use machine polishing. Use polishing pads with the machine.
Photo Credit: http://northwestautosalon.com/paint-touch-up-rock-chip-repair-seattle/
Powder Coatings Scratch Repair
After wetting the surface, apply some lacquer thinner and give a few rubbings on it, with a damp coat. Clean the area with grease and wax remover and sand the area with 220 grit sand papers, followed by600 grit. If you want to fill the scratches, the primer will do the job. Only after that, apply the base coat.
Self-owned Spray Equipment and Materials
You can buy a 2 oz. Size Spray Gun along with tip size of airbrush of 1 mm. Other materials required are a primer, base coat, mid coat and clear coat. You need thinner too for thinning the paint. But, see to it that it is automotive lacquer thinner and avoid using old thinner.
The proportion for accurate thinning is one part lacquer thinner and one part of either primer, base coat, or mid coat or clear coat.
Tri-Coat Car Paint
Use Tri-coat color paint for getting a perfect finish to your car touch up. After the primer, put the base coat, followed by mid coat and finally, the clear coat. But, always do a practice, before spraying the touch up paint to your car.
Darkening or Lightening the Paint
You can darken or lighten the clear coat of the paint by adjusting the distance of your spray gun and the surface. If you hold the spray gun away, you get a lighter paint and the vice versa. However, you must practice before taking up the car painting.
Spray in Bed Liner
If you intend to paint your car for extended longevity and durability, your best option will be to use the best spray-in bed liner for cars. It gives spray-in polyurethane coatings bed liners and provides protection to bumper, fenders, floorboards and trim. It increases longevity and prevents rusting, scratching and chemical contamination. Moreover, it creates an anti-skid, roughed-up and anti-slip surface.
The best spray-in bed liners provide the following features:
- Excellent resistance to slip
- Utmost resistance to impact and shock
- Tough resistance to corrosion
- Minimizes noise caused due to impact and vibration
- Provides stability and toughness to color
- Creates facility for custom coating
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