Touch-ups, Rust, Repairs, and Maintenance

Sometimes the full expense of applying new car coats to your vehicle is just not worth it. You may have recently been in a "fender bender" that caused some minor damage to an otherwise excellent paint job or perhaps you came out of the shopping mall to find that some careless driver had opened their car door too forcefully and left and nasty gash in the side of your car. In cases like these, touch-up for your vehicle may be all that is required in order to restore its beauty.

Repairing the damage

If your car has been subject to rust spots, or other physical damage the first thing to do before painting is to repair the damage before applying any new car coats or touch-ups. For rust, you will want to use a metal sander to grind down the rust to the metal beneath while trying to maintain a smooth link with the undamaged metal next to it. From there you will turn to hand sanding to finish smoothing out the metal. If your car was damaged by a dent or ding you will want to use one of various techniques to remove the dent first by popping it out or to level out the metal (possibly by sanding) in the area. A good paint job can cover a shallow or wide dent as long as it's not too obvious.

Primer

Once the damage is repaired you will apply a primer to the area in several thin coats rather than one thick coat, taking care to allow at least 10 minutes between each application to allow the primer to dry. This method allows for maximum strength in the primer because it gets stronger the more coats you apply. Once you have applied at least three or four thin coats of primer, let your vehicle sit at least overnight before applying the paint in order to allow the primer to cure.

Painting

Apply your paint to your car coat just like you did the primer - in thin layers. Three to four coats of paint should be sufficient, again allowing time between each coat to dry sufficiently. Once the last coat has been allowed to dry you will want to wait awhile longer before applying a clear coat on top of it to finish sealing off the work you have done. This will help to protect your touch up job and bring its color more in line with the rest of your car's coat.