Hey gang,

Is there a thread that addresses the *proper* way to tip up scratches and nicks in paint? I saw a show on TV once where the dude used a clay bar on the scratches after he filled them in or something.

Is there a good way to do this without just dabbing the paint on the spot?

If you are talking about that duplicolor touch up paint, there are directions on the bottle.

I think what you are supposed to do is paint the nick with the color paint (not sure if you need to prime it), then brush over it with the clear touch up paint. Then , wetsand the clear down to level with the factory paint using like 1500 grit with water. Finally, you need to buff the area with some 3m compound to get rid of the sanding marks.

All in all, I dont think it is worth it. I had some really big dings on my last car, and I just dabbed the color on and let it dry. It kinda didnt even look good because you could still see the dark metal beneath the color.

I found the best method is to get a syringe to put the paint in. This allows the paint to be applied in the exact location needed. The brushes and dabs allow excess paint to get on undamaged areas and the paint will sit higher than the paint in the chip. If you can creat a nice bubble of paint, it will shrink down to close to original when it dries. At this point, take some 1500 or 2000 grit and wetsand the area in a circular motion. This will blend the edges. When done, polish out with a buffer and polishing compound.