A question for the pros: Scratch (down to the bare metal) Repair...

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cajunfirehawk

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While we were on this years Hot Rod Power Tour we incurred some road rash on my passenger side rear quarter panel, a scratch and ding about 1/2" long down to the bare metal. I am sure a good PDR pro can push the dent out but how should I repair the scratch? I've seen jobs on here where some pros did some minor paint repair and their work was amazing but unfortunately I am a few states away from them and my other alternatives seem to be: touch up paint :think: and let it go or getting the entire quarter repaired and painted. :nervous2: Any thoughts from the pros? I assume my collector car insurance would pick up the bill for a quarter repaint if I decide to go that route.



PLMK, thanks.
 
an overly simplified version of what to do.... 1 fill in the scratch with the appropriate filler if it's that deep. 2. Paint it using touch up paint matched to your paint. 3. wetsand down and level the paint to a smooth finish. 4. polish out the area to a nice high gloss finish like the scratch was never there in the first place.
 
Here is the pic of the scratch. I read Todd's scratch repair tutorial on the home page here and he references "Paint Scratch" for touch up paint, since these gm cars are base coat clear coat, do I buy the base coat color pen then do the repair as outlined in his tutorial, wet sand, buff, etc. or do I need to apply the clear coat pen too after the base coat pen dries, then do the wet sand, and buff?Either followed by or preempted by the PDR guy smoothing the ding out... :nervous:
 

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Ouch, that looks like a pretty deep gouge.

Typically, IMO, you only need the base coat when repairing a scratch. There are only two situations where I would use a base coat followed by a clearcoat; if the finish is a pearl or metallic with a special clear, or if the scratch is deep enough to be filled in by multiple coats. Yours looks like it falls into the latter, so you should be fine applying a coat or two of base followed by clear.



I've had a couple PMs about the article and I'll add a couple more tips here:

1) pick up an artists brush from a hobby store to use as the brush that comes with the bottle can be too big for most touch ups,

2) its always good to have a bottle of paint with your vehicle to immediately touch up any scratches before rust can begin and,

3) once you see rust on a scratch or chip, there's no simple touchup that will work to correct it as it will continue to rust underneath the paint.
 
I tried Todds method this weekend on my worktruck so it didnt matter if t sucked.



I recommend staying IN the scratch with the paint. I kinda got outside the line thinking it would easily wet sand off and I was wrong.



Also, soes it typically take multiple applications to fill a crack? I just got some touch up paint from the auto store. Is the stuff you suggested thicker?
 
Some sorta-random thoughts follow:



- yeah, it can take multiple applications, especially if the paint is sorta thin

- I usually use more coats of clear than of basecoat

- the touchup paint is almost always a lot more vulnerable to sanding than the surrounding factory clear

- for rusted chips/gouges, some rust converters are real miracle-workers. Dunno what the best stuff is these days, but the discontinued 3M Rust Avenger was just amazing
 
What Accumulator said.



If you are looking for a perfect fix, it may take two or three applications. You always want to lean toward multiple thin coats with little sanding between than a gob of paint and sanding to fix the excess. I prefer paintscratch because it's best to get a factory match to your proper paint code than to pick something close from the auto store. Any pictures of the work, 2007tbss?
 
todd@bsaw said:
If you are looking for a perfect fix, it may take two or three applications. You always want to lean toward multiple thin coats with little sanding between than a gob of paint and sanding to fix the excess...
Click to expand...



Plus, the thinner coats dry/cure faster. Which reminds me, some people have been able to sand/etc. pretty soon after application, but I prefer to wait a few days (or even longer) if I can so things harden up more. I sometimes use a halogen light to heat the area (don't over do it ;) ) to speed things along.



.. I prefer paintscratch because it's best to get a factory match to your proper paint code than to pick something close from the auto store.
Click to expand...



Yeah, I probably buy more touchup paint from them than from anybody else (not that *that* is saying a lot...), but sometimes AutomotiveTouchup's stuff has matched better. Audi's touchup paint has worked OK for me too. But with metallics it seems to be a crap-shoot and IMO all you can do is hope to get lucky.
 
todd@bsaw said:
What Accumulator said.

Any pictures of the work, 2007tbss?
Click to expand...



I'd be glad to post some for your constructive critisizm. When I read the article I thought wow, this will really come in handy! So I was a little dejected when I went down in flames. lol



It was on an odd shaped part of the truck and I guess I didnt take that into account before I started.



Thanks!
 
If you're ever in doubt about fixing a touchup, let the paint dry longer especially if you are working on your personal vehicle. Often when working on customer cars I will spot the touchup first then work on the interior giving the paint longer to dry. Wetsanding around curves can also be much more difficult.
 
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