About 2 weeks ago some mother****** took a key to my truck. I managed to wax out most of the scratch, but some of it is just too deep, down to metal or the primer at least. I've bought some touch up paint (UA Black) form the dealer. Can anyone give me a basic break down of how to apply the touch up paint? Do I wet sand the immediate area next to the scratch? Or do I just go ahead and put the touch up right on the scratch?

 

defacto,


If I could see a picture I'd be able to give much more specific advise. It depends on how deep and long it is as well as the location. If it's a panel you could have the entire panel repainted if you want it to diapear completely but if it's the bed then that's just way too big. Wouldn't care to pay for such a big job.

***Wet sanding***
If you do it right, this looks great and the scrape will only show up as a shadow from certain agles. You have got to be careful when sanding though. These are not custom paint jobs so the paint and clearcoat are very,very thin and you'll go right down to the primer.

Last summer I watched my father run his boat trailer down my tailgate when he was hitching to my bumper. Just ran it into the tailgate and dropped it down. 8" scratch to the metal.

If you are going to have to sand it, go out to an automotive paint store and get some #1500 & #2000 Grade wet sand paper as well as some 3M flexable tape. Tape off the area along the edge of the scratch but not so close that it's perfectly even with it. You need to let the touch-up paint heat up enough to run. (Leave it in the sun for a bit) When the paint is warm enough, shake it very well and use as little as possible at a time. To do this right it may take hours even for a scratch a few inches long. You want to fill in the scratch a little bit at a time and build up even layers of paint. When the scratch is fill and level with the original paint job you'll need to let it dry overnight. (It'll look like awful with the tape on your truck but that day of self-concious driving will be rewarded:o)

***Now for the sand paper*** (Remember that the tape is still there and will be for at least a few more hours.)
For it to do it's job it'll need to be very soft. Let it soak in water for at least 24 hours before using it. Take a pencil and round off the eraser. Next, cut off very tiny pieces of the sand paper and glue one to the eraser (Start with the #1500 but use very light presure). Using the eraser ensures that you don't sand too broad of an area. If you prefer, you can also just cut a small strip of sand paper and fold it over your finger. Keep a glass of water next to you and use plenty of it to keep the friction down. Depending on how even you applied the paint, it should level off very nicely. When it's even you'll need to let it dry again before appliying the clearcoat. Give freshly sanded paint a few hours to dry before applying the clearcoat. When the paint is dry you can apply a thin layer of clearcoat to make it shine. Let the clearcoat dry for a least a few hours and remove the tape.

If you were able to keep the level of the paint even with the rest
of the truck all you'll need to do is polish it now but odds are that the touched-up area is slightly higher than the rest of your truck's paint. If it is risen, you'll need the #2000 sandpaper and the eraser. Rub very lightly along the edges until everything is even.

If everything goes well, there will be at the most, only the apearance of a shadow at eye level but nothing that stands out.

It takes a bit of practice so you may want to try it ona small sratch 1st but once you learn how to do this you can take care of your trucks paint for years.

Best of luck,
Adam

I could also give you a run down of evolution in action if you'd like

 

AjRagno:

THANK YOU! Holy cow, your fingers must have been sore after that post eh? I once wet sanded the gel coat on my boat, and the process sounds similar (minus the tape and pencil and eraser) When I get the time, I'm gonna follow what you've written here. BTW, I have a 2-3 inch scratch in the same spot of the tailgate, and I did it the same way your dad did: I was in a hurry, the boat was on an angle, and I lifted, and it went bang then dropped. So now I have a reverse nipple dead center of the tailgate, with a lovely looking scratch right below it. Man, by the time I get all these scratches out, I'm gonna open my own body shop! Know anything about dents? :o

Oh yeah, and I waswondering, now that you mention it, how exactly does natural selection work again? ha ha...lol..

 

since you polished/waxed the area, it's very important you remove the wax from the scratch. The paint won't stick if there is any wax residue in the scratch.

 

You may want to give serious consideration to at least consulting with a reputable body shop. I had two scratches on my truck when I bought it. Thought I could fix them myself. The short version of the story: It's at the body shop fixing my "fixes".

My respect and appreciation for body work went way up.

It is much, more difficult to do than I expected.

Get a professional opinion at least first. I hope you don't repeat my experience. It's very frustrating........

Not trying to scare you out of doing the work yourself, but do be careful.

 

Hunt4Fun makes an important point. If it's not done right, you will end up at a body shop. I hesitated to respond in such detail because the job is so involved and I dont want to encourage anyone to damage their beautiful truck.It is however very possible if you take your time.

I personally have A LOT of time and patience as well as experience with paint work. If you're not sure, take it to a shop but if you have the time and are willing to work at it this can be done. In fact, you can make it look as good as any professioal shop could.

 

Ok, Here's what I ended up doing after all.
Since I can't afford a body shop right now (or a new tailgate ) I decided to live with the dent. So I look like a dumb yuppie that can't back up without hitting something, who cares? (don't answer that) As for the scratches, all I did really was 'mask' them for the time being by using the touch-up paint and its handy little brush applicator. I cleaned the area and put the touch up paint very lightly across the deep areas of the scratch only. This is really just to prevent rust. Actually, it doesn't even look that bad; I mean, it could look a hell of a lot better, but now I can only see it really on certain angles. This'll have to do until there are enough scratches and dents to warrant spending the dough. Then I'll consider having it professionally buffed, and I'll put a TON of wax on the sucker! Thanks for all of the responses, I think I'll leave it to the pros. on this one (and this one ONLY)

 

defacto,

Good decision. Trust me, you saved yourself a lot of headaches.

I was just sick after trying to repair mine myself. Then my lovely bride walked out and said "Go ahead and schedule it to get it fixed. I know how much you want it to look nice."

She's great!

Hunt4Fun