It’s daylight robbery. Anyone who has ever had to fork out for a huge repair bill after even a tiny scratch in their car’s paint will know how empowering it would be to be able to fix up paint damage on your car. The team at elitepaints.co.uk has understood from many years of helping their customers that one of the best experiences you can have is fixing up a scratch or abrasion yourself with a handy tool like a car paint touch-up pen.
You may have never considered yourself much of a DIY expert, or anything like a mechanic, but the truth is that touching up your car’s paint is absolutely something you can place firmly within your wheelhouse.
Step 1: Get a Car Paint Touch-Up Pen Kit
Visit elitepaints.co.uk and choose from their selection of car paint touch-up pen kits. These have everything you need to get started in your repairs. These kits typically include a pen for primer, basecoat and clearcoat all in one. The pens work a lot like traditional micro-brushes that the pros may use, but they’re much easier to hold steady and control because you can grip them like you would a pen.
Step 2: Wash and Sand Down the Affected Area
No matter how minor the damage you are fixing, you need to have a totally clean and contaminant-free zone in which to apply the touch-up paint. Wash the surface, being especially careful to clean away remnant paint chips, wax, sealants and other substances that are in the area. Any and all of these things will affect the binding process, and to get the proper connection between primer, basecoat and clearcoat, you need a clean surface.
Use wet 800- to 1200-grit sandpaper on the surface to help smooth it right down to the metal surface. This is the fastest and most effective method for preparing that surface for paint application.
Step 3: Primer and Basecoat – But Practice First
Even the pros will take a moment to practice applying the paint before they actually move to the car’s surface. If you’ve never used the car paint touch-up pen before, then this step is especially important. Use an old tin can or other spare metal surface and try out the pen to make sure you can control the thickness and quantity of paint evenly. You’ll be glad you did that practice when you’re able to get it onto your car evenly the first time, and don’t have sand down and start again!
Apply primer and basecoat in thin, even layers, waiting 20-30 minutes between the coatings as the product you are using demands. Be patient and don’t think it’s “pro” to speed up the heating with a hairdryer or other artificial heat source. The only result you’ll get is blistering, and that’s hardly what a professional finish would look like.
Step 4: Sanding to Even
This is where you get the really professional touch. Using more wet sandpaper, even out the paint you’ve just applied so that you can rub your finger across the area and not feel any difference between the new paint and the original. The amateur DIY touch-up painter thinks that he has to make do with a lumpy spot that’s just the right colour. The professional knows he can even it out with the right kind of sandpaper and enough know-how.
Step 5: Clearcoat
Similar to primer and basecoat, apply the clearcoat at the end of the process to round off your work. This will give a lovely sheen and protective coating to help keep that fine paint work you just applied in place. There will a gap of 10-20 minutes between coatings of clearcoat as you wait for it to dry.
Look to elitepaints.co.uk for a great selection of car paint touch-up pens to start your own repairs. Reap the benefits of DIY touch-up paint work, and grow your personal automotive skill set at the same time.
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