Scratches - touch up paint

Hi guys

Well today I misjudged a wall and the end result was a few scratches on my front bumper :( I was in Ossie Park so headed over to a few panel paint shops who told me the entire bumper would need to be resprayed. Prices ranging from $400-$750..not quite what I had in mind. Im confident I will get away with some touch up paint? - see pics attached.

Im thinking of purchasing the paint from Mazda Dealership or am I better off getting a paint shop to prepare a matched can of paint?

Not too sure on the prep work either when applying the paint ie. do I need to sand, prime (whatever that means), polish etc..

Im banking on using a thin brush also which I assume is the right way to go. Any suggestions would be appreciated guys. Cheers

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Originally Posted by ashtro

Hi guys

Well today I misjudged a wall and the end result was a few scratches on my front bumper :( I was in Ossie Park so headed over to a few panel paint shops who told me the entire bumper would need to be resprayed. Prices ranging from $400-$750..not quite what I had in mind. Im confident I will get away with some touch up paint? - see pics attached.

Im thinking of purchasing the paint from Mazda Dealership or am I better off getting a paint shop to prepare a matched can of paint?

Not too sure on the prep work either when applying the paint ie. do I need to sand, prime (whatever that means), polish etc..

Im banking on using a thin brush also which I assume is the right way to go. Any suggestions would be appreciated guys. Cheers

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I've had both, toutch up guys and respray, toutch up guys and paint pens etc look pretty dodgy u can tell straight away.
yours doesn't look that bad.

Ahh the joys of silver paint.
Get a pro to do it. Even most pro's cringe at silver.
Don't try and touch it up, will only make it look worse. Especially if your asking the questions you are.

But to give you a guide on why it will cost up to $750 for a proper job:
Remove bumper (maybe)
Sand the scratches away
Clean bumper
Apply plastic prep
Apply adhesion aid
Prime
Sand back primer until smooth (light sand on surrounding area)
Clean bumper
Paint bumper blending (fading the paint) into the old paint so you cant see the edge.
Clear coat the bumper
Replace bumper
Polish bumper.

Plus things like mixing the paint, colour matching, masking up the car (if the bumper isn't removed)

Dan has recommended Dr Colorchip to me - not tried it yet though have it at home.
Dr.ColorChip Custom Automotive Touch-Up Paint Kit - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems

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Originally Posted by Jmac

Dan has recommended Dr Colorchip to me - not tried it yet though have it at home.
Dr.ColorChip Custom Automotive Touch-Up Paint Kit - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems

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IMO might be a bit too much for Dr. Colour chip. It will definelty cover it, but will probably still be noticeable


Peter "SLIXX"

You could probably get away with touch up paint because it is at the bottom of the bumper so it wont be noticeable.
If you use a brush make sure you only get the paint within the scratch and don't go outside of it.

Just give it a good wash (soap and warm water)
Use some prepsol on it before you touch up
let it completely dry
touch it up with touch up paint (use thin light strokes and wait for it to completely dry if you need to add extra coats)
Make sure you use nice smooth strokes so that it's a smooth good finish

After you finish touching it up you could WET sand it flat with the rest of the surface by using very light sandpaper (2000grit or so). But you have to be careful that you don't sand too much or you can end up damaging the clear coat and paint around the scratches - this is bad as it will leave you with a bigger damaged area than the scratches. After you sand, polish it up.
If you don't want to risk it, just avoid sanding it and make sure that you don't over apply paint when you touch it up.

Get them to paint match your colour from a paint shop. They'll generally ask you for a sample - ask you to take off your petrol cap or something for them to match.
This is better than getting the paint from a dealer because the paint from the dealer is the colour when the car was brand new - surely after a few years of use your car colour would have faded a bit from wear and tear. So the dealer paint may not match up well.
I guess the paint matching is the most important part. This will determine how noticeable the repair will be.

Post up pics when you're done!
Good luck!

thanks heaps for the feedback guys!

6mps, I think I'll try your method given the ain scratch is at the bottom of the bumper. I've already sourced a 15ml bottle of paint from Mazda Dealer so I plan to start on the tinniest scratch at the bottom to test the paint match and see how I go. Not confident enough to sand back some of the rough edges so I think I'll leave that :P

Any suggestions as to how long I should wait to get a good indication on the true colour of the paint once its been applied or is it simply a case of once its dry then thats the colour it is?

Thanks again

Because there will be no primer underneath or clear coat on top, that touch up colour will pretty much be what the colour is once it dries.

If you're really game, you could lightly sand the scratches down flat before you touch up paint on top. As i'm sure the scratches will be jaggered from whatever you hit.
But then again you might damage the surrounding areas.

Good luck!

Cheers mate, will let you know how I go!