How to Touch Up Paint on a Scratched Car

Little scratches from shopping carts and roadside shrubs and so on are the most common way for cars to get damaged. It’s not always worth either the time or money it takes to have a garage clean them up – a garage can take days to paint a car, because of the drying time.

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When you’ve got a noticeable scratch you want to fix, you have the option of learning how to touch up paint on a car. That way, you don’t have to do without your car for any time, and you save money.

The process sounds intimidating, but in many cases it’s something anyone can do. You just have to follow the instructions carefully and take your time with the paint.

Is it a DIY Job?

Now, there is such a thing as a scrape that’s damaging enough that you might not want to tackle it yourself. Not all scratches are created equal, and the amount of damage you’re looking at will determine what you need to do,

Shallow Scratches

These are superficial scrapes that only affect the clear coat or top layer of the paint. They may look like faint lines or discolored areas on the surface of the car.

These are the kinds of scrapes this article is talking about. They can usually be remedied with a simple touch-up paint application.

Deep Scratches

Deeper scratches have penetrated through the clear coat and into the underlying paint layer. These will look more pronounced and may even expose the car’s primer or underlying metal. For these, you’ll need to fill in the scratch before applying the touch-up paint.

Dents and Dings

In addition to scratches, your car may also have sustained dents or dings from minor collisions or impacts. Unless you know how to hammer these out yourself, it might be worth taking them to a garage. But you can still do the touch up painting yourself once the garage finishes its work.

How to Touch Up Car Paint

Supplies You’ll Need

1. Touch up paint. (For very small scratches, a touch up paint pen may be all you need. For bigger jobs, you’ll need spray paint or a can of paint.
2. Applicator (this may come with your paint)
3. Wax removal wipes (only if the car has been waxed since the scratch occurred)
4. Mild cutting compound.

Instructions

1. Match the paint color as best you can to the color and finish of your car. Know the manufacturer’s name for your car’s color before you shop. Hint: you may be able to do some research online to find a matching color.

2. For small scratches, the paint need not be exact to disguise the scratch. For larger scrapes, it will need to be pretty close.

3. Put a tiny bit of paint on a hidden area to test the color. Be sure to shine a light on it from several angles to see if it matches in different lighting.

4. Skip this step if you’ve got a superficial scratch. But if you’re dealing with a deeper scratch that has exposed the underlying paint or primer, you’ll need to lightly sand the area to create a smooth, even surface for the touch-up paint to adhere to. Start with a fine-grit sandpaper (around 600-800 grit) and gently buff out the scratch, being careful not to remove too much of the surrounding paint.

5. Wash the area you’re going to paint and let it dry completely. If the car has been waxed since the scratch appeared, you will need to remove the wax using wax removal wipes.

6. Dip the applicator into the paint. Wipe off any excess on the inner rim of the container. This is very important, to avoid getting blobs of paint on the finish.

7. Apply the paint by dabbing a tiny bit onto the scratch at a time. You want to use the least paint you can to make the scratch blend in. Multiple thin coats are always better than a thick coat.

8. If you do end up with some blobs of paint (almost inevitable on big scratches), let the paint dry thoroughly, then carefully scrape off the excess with a straight razor blade.

9. Wipe with a mild cutting polish to blend the scratch in.

The scratch should become virtually invisible. At the very least, it will be hard to see unless someone’s looking really closely.

Drying

It will take about 24-48 hours for the paint to be completely dry. Keep the car dry during this time by putting it in a garage, under a shelter, or by covering it.