I'm in the process of painting my engine compartment and the paint that i have done so far seems to scratch too easily. what i do is sand with 80 then 150 then paint (usually 2 light(er) coats). then the next day if i go to even wipe it with a rag it gets those tiny little scratches in it. the paint is dry for sure. could it be the paint im using? idk the brand off hand but its just some cheapie $3 can that i got from pepboys. it's gloss black btw. thanks for any help!!

Conner

 

quality of the paint makes a difference but so does the rag your using.....no matter what whenever you run something across your paint you put scratches in it.

even with the softest material you will scratch the paint but it shouldn't be as noticeable. if it's fine scratches change the material to something like a microfiber. if it's deep scratches let the paint dry more or use better paint. more thin coats is better then one heavy one.

all else fails use a "tougher" paint like some of the comercial grade that you can get. i believe it's called the professional series and they do have it in gloss black.