I give up

NattyBumppo

NattyBumppo

Strange name, ain't it?
Well the wife's Taurus was lookin' mighty spiffy what with two coats of UPP on it and routine Spray and Wipe treatments. We decided we'd keep it another year or two so I put all new Brembo rotors and Performance Friction pads on it, did plugs/wires and had an tranny seal leak fixed. Then I come home yesterday only to find a 4 inch, through the paint scratch on the driver side rear quarter and another 3 inch gash on the same side rear door. :(

Turns out my son was riding his bike, lost his balance and did the deed. I knew almost immediately what it was given the height and look of the scratches. At dinner I asked "what you guys do today? Did you ride your bikes"? My son promptly replied "I did but not Gina". Then I asked where they rode...the street or driveway? He answered the driveway. I asked if he had any problems around mom's car. Right then he knew he was snagged! He stuttered a bit and said no. When I said the only thing that will really make me mad is if I find out he's lying to me and that anything else is an accident. Then he fessed up and told me how he lost his balance, hit mom's car and how sorry he was.

I didn't yell but told him how glad I was that he told dad the truth. Then I said from now on no bike riding in the driveway unless you ask mom or dad to move the car/truck onto the street.

So now the question.....anyone have tips for the worlds worst paint touch up artist?
 
Natty,

That's a shame. However the "lesson" someone learned will be of far greater value someday.

Anyhow, until someone with more expertise comes along, here's what I do. Get a bottle of some touch-up primer, a bottle of the correct color match touch-up paint, and a bottle of clear. Pick up one of those small "sanding pens", and a pack of matches. Carefully sand the scratches. Then rip out a match, and using the "fuzzy" end apply a light touch of primer to the scratch. Let it dry overnight, and then do the same thing with the color match paint, and the clear. Try to apply a light coats and build up the area.

In the end, it won't be perfect, but it's better than rust.

Hope this helps!
 
Natty, sorry to hear that, i can feel your pain as the rocker panel mishap is not a distant memory for me yet..........it really feels badddddddd, when after carefully detailing your car, that everything seems just so and that you're kinda proud, then you find this awfully looking flaw, whether it'd be a scratch, ding........it's just like *i must be tired and imagining things on the pain*, then you take another look and sadly enough, the defect is all too real....bummer !


And yes, to second you Natty, can anyone chime in on how to correctly and flawlessly repair chipped paint and bad scratches ?? I too need bad to learn how to.


Keep you chin up Natty.......don't give up buddy....even though im not always that optimistic, i tend to believe that what doesnt kill us only makes us stronger/smarter.


although this doesnt have anything to do with this post Natty, isnt this smiley hell funny ----> :whine
 
Boss,

Sounds like amuch better plan than my usual which is taking that stupid little touch up bottle and brush and making it look like hell!

Chip...that smiley thing was hilarious! Thanks dude, I needed that. :beer
 
Natty, first off sorry to hear that happened to you. I have been there and know how it feels.

Hats off to you for not yelling, though I do not have kids, I think that is great parenting on your part.
 
You're welcome Natty :p


come to that, i wonder if building up touch-ups so they re flush to the surrounding paint, then applying compound using a DA(being careful of course. very cautious that is) in order to cover a wider/larger area for the touch-up repair to blend in as perfectly as can be......the thing here is i'd like to eliminated as much sanding as possible, as this is trickier than compoundin.


just my .02 :)
 
Natty,
I have to second Boss's matchstick brush. Those one's that come in the bottles make a bigger mess then the scratch itself.
Dupli-Color has a small Touch-up kit that includes the bottle of primer & clear coat along with a prep tool, sand paper & finishing compound. Decent little instruction manual with it too. Pep Boys carries them for 9.99. Here's what the kit has.
Mostly, in the end, it will be a PITA process that will take alot of patience to get an acceptable finish.

I have a kamakazi skateboarder, rollerblader, scooter & bicycle riding 9 year old that makes me cringe every time he says, "Dad, I'm going out riding (one of the wheeled terrors)"

Good luck to ya.
 
There ya go Natty, that's a cool kit!

Excellent link Dad_A_Tude!
 
NattyBumppo said:

When I said the only thing that will really make me mad is if I find out he's lying to me and that anything else is an accident. Then he fessed up and told me how he lost his balance, hit mom's car and how sorry he was.

I didn't yell but told him how glad I was that he told dad the truth.
Click to expand...

Father of the year material!!!!
 
Good job with the boy.

Lets see. Might you have a friend who once had a body shop? Might he have some good input re scratches? :)
 
Natty, every time I find a new scratch it makes me nauseous! I'm sure your stomach turned over!:D

Go to your local hobby shop and buy a couple of really fine paint brushes. You know, the kind that would be used for painting those little chess pieces and characters for those elaborate board games. They really work well.

I have also used a product called Langka. Mothers thought so well of it that they started selling as part of their line. It did not do very well on my silver metallic paint, but it looked like it would work on a smooth paint. Langka also has their own website. Anyone have any experience with this product? http://www.langka.com/
 
I have a story almost to the T like that NATTY.

I took mine to a body shop and the guy was able to touch up it up, if you did not know where its at you can't see it. That would be my suggetion, only because all of the touch up paints factory or not NEVER match the color.
Cost on mine with two other smaller one was 90 bucks and only took one night stay at his shop
 
Yeah, I would at least get an estimate from a competent body shop. Just to make you feel better, I had a neighborhood kid start at the top of our short hill, come screaming down the hill and side-swipe my drivers door with his bike handle. Put an 18 inch or so crease down the side! Kid owned up to it, but the parents wouldn't pay for the repair because no one actually saw him do it. Bike handle matched the mark and he was the only one with black grips (that matched the black marks in the crease!). Go figure. I claimed vandalism and my insurance covered the repairs.
 
The Boy!

Natty,

Sounds like you got a good kid there, so why worry about something like car's paint?

You're a lucky man any way you slice it.
 
Re: The Boy!

biff said:
Natty,

Sounds like you got a good kid there, so why worry about something like car's paint?

You're a lucky man any way you slice it.
Click to expand...

So right biff, thanks :headbang .

Thanks for all the tips and especially those links. Great info there. I think I'm going to try that Dupli-Color kit. I don't want to bother Steve with this little problem. He'll have his hands full for a while.
 
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