# Touch up paint question



## Fairtony (Mar 12, 2018)

Sorry if this has been posted before, but I used the search and couldn’t find anything. 
I let go of the door and it sprung into the wood fence, and it wedged itself in and when I moved it away, the wood took allll the paint with it. So now, on the edge of the door, I’m down to a beige/yellow colour, so guessing the primer. 
I’ve just ordered some touch up paint. What’s the best way to apply it to a door edge? I’ve also got a couple of bonnet chips and a small scratch on the side of the car that I’ll touch up at the same time. Would it be a different technique? 
I’ve had horrors in the past with bubbles of paint. And I’ve seen YouTube videos where they seem to apply and just wipe it off or something, and it’s magically level!


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

small modelers brush for the door , ****tail stick for the chips

sometimes it needs thinning to flow nicely


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## Fairtony (Mar 12, 2018)

steveo3002 said:


> small modelers brush for the door , ****tail stick for the chips
> 
> sometimes it needs thinning to flow nicely


Hadn't thought of using anything other than the brush in the bottle. Cheers!
I guess put very little on and layer it up too. 
How long do you think between coats?

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## DimitriUK (Jan 18, 2017)

the brush in the bottle is crαp.
15min between coats


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## olliewills (Feb 10, 2017)

I'm currently doing this exact fix to my dark grey Civic. I used a modelling paint brush, think it's a size 000 or 0000, but it's really quite small.

I've never had much luck using the levelling fluids and on the edge of a door it'd be a royal pain anyway. I've put the paint on quite thick so it's plenty proud of the original and I'm letting it dry over a couple of days. When I applied the paint I mixed a few drops of the colour and clear coat together rather than applying it as separate layers. I'm then going to mask it all off tightly, and flatten it back down gently using 2500-3500 grit sandpaper. 

After that I'll polish it back up with either Scholl S30 or M#205. 

I use the same process for stone chips and I find that you get a better finish that just trying to use a levelling fluid like you get in a chips away kit. It takes longer sure, but it's worth it.


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## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

It is worth considering only doing one chip at a time. That way if you make a mistake you can carry the knowledge gained forward to the next and not do it again.
Don't be in too much of a hurry.
Make sure the area is clean, grease free and with no loose material. It will lift as soon as you apply paint if it is not sound.
A cotton bud and some panel wipe prepares a chip quite well. 
I always fill well proud of the chip as touch up always shrinks back much more than expected. Then leave it for a week or so to fully harden before flatting and polishing. If you try and finish too soon the paint will still be soft and shrink as it hardens again leaving an obvious repair.
Once you have done a few you learn how speed the process up but it is a learning process.
When it is done well it can be virtually invisible but correcting mistakes means that it will generally show.
I think Sicskate did a stone chip step by step a while ago on a metallic finish so it might be worth a quick search for that. It may have been a black Ford Focus but my memory is not what it was.


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## Itstony (Jan 19, 2018)

olliewills said:


> When I applied the paint I mixed a few drops of the colour and clear coat together rather than applying it as separate layers


I am very interested in this paint and clear coat method.
I have a Met Black car with small chips and a white car with bumper scratch and done nothing until I find the method.
As I have zero knowledge on paint, I have read of mixing CC with it for touch up.

Can you buy it mixed in small amounts? If so where?
This post and the following has been a step forward for me.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Itstony said:


> I am very interested in this paint and clear coat method.
> I have a Met Black car with small chips and a white car with bumper scratch and done nothing until I find the method.
> As I have zero knowledge on paint, I have read of mixing CC with it for touch up.
> 
> ...


Paints4u sell small pots of touch-up paint pre mixed with lacquer :thumb:


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## Itstony (Jan 19, 2018)

Shiny said:


> Paints4u sell small pots of touch-up paint pre mixed with lacquer :thumb:


Thanks for that, apologies for not reading this earlier.
I posted this question a few times in the Paint and respray section and no response
No I can't work that one out either :lol:


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## Itstony (Jan 19, 2018)

Ring the death knell bell now its moved here.
Should name this "The dead zone" :tumbleweed:


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## blurb (Feb 13, 2008)

In addition to what others have suggested. If you think you need to thin the paint, then first try just warming the tin. 
I usually do this with spray cans to try and get less "splattering". Either leave in the sun while you prepare, or cans can just be stood in warm/hot water.
HTH


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