Need tips on touch-up painting

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

I just got myself a sexeh new Black 1997 RS to replace the one I totaled. It's just like the last one minus 20,000 miles, t-tops, and automatic seats.

The car is pretty dirty and paint also has a few probs that I'm going to fix. I got some touch-up paint from a chevy dealer but I want to be sure I apply it in the best way.

What's better... the pen or the brush? I"ll tape around the scratches I want to fix to keep it from being messy. Also, how long to dry? (It's probably on the bottle but just wanted your advice)

Tell me if my (perhaps a bit over-the-top) plan sounds good:

1) Wash entire car with dawn
2) Wash entire car with dawn again
3) Clay bar car with Mother's Clay Bar Kit
4) Rinse car off and dry with 100% cotton towel
5) Touch up paint (Should I use clearcoat?... If so how long after I paint it?... doesn't that take forever to dry?...)
6) Let paint dry
7) Wash Car with Z2
8) Zaino Z5 swirl removal stuff
9) Polish off Z5
10) Apply Z7 shine/sealant stuff
11) Polish off Z7
12) Post sexy pics on Camarov6.com

Here it is right after I bought it :D:

[Highline Highlife]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

dont use dawn dishwash soap on your paint

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

dont use dawn dishwash soap on your paint

I really would appreciate some reasoning behind why, because I've seen other users on here (namely, MustangEater) who uses dawn as part of his zaino procedure.

I need something that's going to get the tar off and dawn should do it, so I really need a reason as to why it's bad to use it, because I'm a heck of a lot more inclined to use it than I am to not use it.

EDIT: Based on this thread, I'm going to use it. Just a couple of drops.

[HokieBird]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

It's not good for the clear coat. I use it before I clay my car to strip the wax, but if you are using it often it can really mess up your finish.

[loser]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

some people say it can damage the clear coat after a while, but i dont see how 2-3 drops of it in a bucket of water can do much. but personally i use actuall car-wash soap. but id use dawn if i had to, just dont go nuts putting it in. ALOT of people use dawn, id use the regular one with no specail things in it though.

[Deoxyribonucleicvitriol]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

I really need info on the touch-up painting too :-\.

It's not good for the clear coat. I use it before I clay my car to strip the wax, but if you are using it often it can really mess up your finish.

Yeah. This car hasn't been washed for who knows how long and I'm only using it to strip it before I claybar it and touch it up. It was pretty dirty after a 500 mile drive home.

[Highline Highlife]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

I may have shortstepped myself earlier, forgive me for that.

In my opinion, what to use on your finish depends greatly on what you are trying to achieve.

If you are going to do a heck of detail and want to strip everything off the paint. Then Prepsol or a properly diluted APC would be best.

If you just want to clean up the paint and remove residual oils before applying a sealant to ensure maximum bonding. In my opinion, any good car soap is fine but if you want to use Blue Dawn go ahead. Just understand Dawn's use is only part of a program and shouldn't be used without understanding of why it's being recommended.

There are products made for automotive use for this reason. Even though Zaino does approve of this method, I do not simply because you never know the condition and quality of clearcoat that is on a used car. My .02 cents, not looking for a detailing war.

[Niko97RS]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

i wash my car with palmolive every single time...but i also wax it right after with Zymol every single time...about 2 years later...paint look better than ever

[Everglades W68]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

I have pewter paint - the most forgiving, problem-hiding car color ever. :D

BTW - interesting background. Please post more pics!

[Rob Bell]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

Because dish soap is designed to strip oils and grease from dishes, it also gradually strips the oils out of your paint, causing it to wear out faster. You know when cars get old and the paint gets little crackles in it? That's because the oils have evaporated off over years in the sun. The paint dries and shrinks, just like mud that dries out and gets cracks in it. Washing it with dish soap accelerates the process. That's why you should not use dish soap consistently to wash your car. However, using it every so often to remove tar and stuff probably won't hurt it. Using dish soap probably takes years of washings to do anything detrimental, anyway.

[matt3989]

Re: Need tips on touch-up painting

well let me start by saying I worked full time this summer as a professional detailler.

start by washing your entirely

then concentrate on the spots you plan on fixing, use a wax remover on them

to touch up chipped paint, use a "nik sander" (looks like a pen but has fine grit sand paper on the end) to sand the chip smooth, then tape the surrounding area so you can only see the paintless spot, use the brush on your touch up paint to aply multiple layers off paint, build it up so it is well above the surface of the rest of your car. Allow it 24 to 48 hours to dry and cure then remove the tape and color sand it down so it is even with thesurrounding paint, now you just need to buff it with a heavy compound, followed by a light cut or a glaze, then finish by putting a wax on the entire car. Oh yeah shake your paint up until your arms give out first.

for minor scratches heavy compound and a rotary buffy will probably take them out, a random orbit buffer probably wont be strong enough (they are more for waxing. Your buffer should be rotating between 1500-2200rpms, anything higher could heat the paint too much and cause damage.

most of your other imperfections can be color sanded and buffed as well

I hope that helps, if you have any other questions just ask