How to Touch Up Vehicle Paint Work

If you drive your car regularly, it will accumulate tiny dings, scratches and scrapes from various road hazards. Bouncing pebbles and gravel stones chip the paint on the lower panels of the car, while tree branches, large dogs and vandals with keys may gouge and scratch a vehicle's paint job. Doing bodywork and touching up tiny areas of damaged paint are simple jobs anyone can easily do. The minimal expense and effort will vastly improve a vehicle's appearance.

Instructions

1

Inspect the car thoroughly for any damage to the paint, including chips, scratches and scrapes. Touch up the whole car at once, as most automotive paints have a short shelf life. Note and write down all areas that need to be touched up, so that you don't miss any. Look along the bottom of the car and around the wheel wells for "road rash" paint chips. Run your hands over the vehicle to find damage that may not be immediately noticeable.

2

Locate the paint color code information for your vehicle. Look for a metal tag or label on the firewall or along a door's edge. Provide the paint code along with the year, make and model of your car to a touch-up paint vendor. Check auto supply stores and car dealerships, or do an Internet search for providers of touch-up paint and kits. Buy factory touch-up paint made by the original paint provider for your vehicle to get the best color match.

3

Remove all loose, cracked or poorly adhered paint surrounding the repair area. Precisely sand the blemish using a body shop tool called a nick sander -- it looks like a pen with a sandpaper tip. Use a small sanding block for larger areas. Use super-fine sandpaper of the highest grit number you can find. Sand to bare metal for chips or scratches that go down to the metal. Sand off all rust from the body panel metal.

4

Cover and tape off areas adjacent to the touch-up job. Use automotive-grade masking tape and paper. Wipe down the work area with a clean tack cloth to remove all dust and grit. Apply a coat of rust inhibitor if the vehicle is susceptible to rusting. Use a small artist's detail brush to apply a coat of red oxide primer to the bare metal. Let it dry, then sand it smooth.

5

Brush the touch-up paint onto the affected area with a small artist's brush. Apply two or three coats with smooth, even strokes. Sand lightly with super-fine grade paper between coats. Start at the edge of the repair area and work inward. Keep adding coats of paint until the area is flush with the rest of the paint. Feather the paint out into thin edges to blend it into the original paint for larger touch-ups. Apply the clear topcoat and lightly sand it smooth.