Thoughts on touch up paint -

[tproffitt_79]

I have a black 03 subaru wrx wagon - I do quite a bit of highway travel and as a result have some small rock knicks in my paint which show up white.
After calling Subaru, they recommended that I apply touch up paint to the knicks but I'm afraid it will make my car look spotted - I mean which is worse; a 1/128 inch white knick or a 1/32 inch blot?

Is there a way to apply touch up paint and make it seamless with the rest of the car's paint? Keep in mind that though I am in love with my car I have limited detailing experience.

Any help or advice would be appreciated...

[travisdecpn]

You may want to check your area for someone who specializes in touch-ups. Many of them use a simple air brush to touch up the areas and blend the repairs with the rest of the panel. Sometimes PDR specialists also do touchups, may be worht looking into if you have a number of chips to repair.

[Brenton]

I haven't found the perfect solution, but black is easier to work with. The key is not to apply to much. I use a toothpick or a match stick which I sharpen with a razor blade--never a brush. Even in big holes, I don't use a brush, but the match stick and allow the paint to fill the hole.
I apply 2-4 times, and wait 24 hours. If you have the paint with clear on it, wait for it to be completely dry and apply clear. Then you can wet sand using 2000 grit paper and soapy water, keeping the area really wet, using a m/f to check your work. There are threads on here about wetsanding, but check your work frequently, always sand in one direction (with the body line, so front to back except the trunk and bumpers, which is side to side). You are just trying to even it out. You may see what looks like leapard skin. That's fine, but stop there.
Then buff it back using an abrasive polish and an abrasive pad, then moving to lighter polish and lighter pad, and follow with the whole panel. Wait about a month, and then you can apply a sealant or wax.

Or, you can take it to a pro and have her do all this.

The air brush option is okay, but can cause strange colour differences later since you usually have base-clear original plus an enamal+activator (usually urethane) air brushing and blending. I'm not a fan, and whenever I go to a new dealer, they ask, "you're not the touch up guy are you?"

[Picus]

I'm in the process of writing a little tutorial thing about wetsanding, because after a recent post at autopia I got a lot of questions about it. In general, everything PEI detail said was 100% accurate in my experience. Although I would recommend 3000 unigrit, just because it works in the same amount of time, but is much easier to polish out afterwards. If you're worried about messing up it's worth having someone do it for you - if you're only talking 5 or so touchups it shouldn't cost too much (depends on where you live), and you should have the car back within 48 hours.

You might consider a clear bra installation after you have them touched up.

[tproffitt_79]

Thanks for the quick replies - an idea how much it might cost ballpark?

could you post a link to that tutorial when you get it up?

[Picus]

What it costs depends on where you are and how many touchups there are, their size, etc... Just get a couple quotes and for something like this make sure you've seen some of their other work.

As for the tutorial/follow along thing - I am waiting on some products to arrive before I can finish. I hope to have it ready to go in a couple of weeks.

[Hawaiianelement]

I know you guys are posting the best and right way to do touch-ups but I've found a cheap and fast way just to get by. If the chips are really bugging you , a black Sharpie pen will work temporarily . Just dot and done.

A clear bra would be great or even a leather / vinyl bra . Balck on black might not look too crazy..