High quality Touch up paint recommendations

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bmwstephen

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Hi all-

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to get high quality touch up paint?

It appears most touch paint out there in the market is lacquered based (including those from the dealer) and in my experience they are never durable even after you apply a clear coat. I.e. I notice that it shrinks or cracks over time.

Dr color chip is the only application that is a flexible enamel based but there is no clear coat application. I also had a body shop mix up urethane paint and clear for me but the paint never cures correctly because they do not mix hardener or catalyst.


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I am bored, so I will just assume it is for a BMW haha.

IMO BMW makes one of the best OEM touch up paint kits available. Simply because the color is separated from the clear. There are 2 other companies I use: Dr. ColorChip and Applied Colors. I own a black 335 and I have used the BMW kit numerous times, but if you use the BMW kit discard the clear, as it will mess up the color.

However, I don't think the problem is with the paint. I think it may be with the application. Lacquer based paints are sold in a touch up kit for a couple reasons. 1) high gloss. 2) durability.

To achieve the best results there needs to be steps performed before and after the paint coats are applied. You cannot just wash the car and apply color. Chemicals like soap, wax, sealants are poor at bonding paint to paint. They are much too slippery. Similarly applying touch up to clear is bad. Clear is very smooth, although it does have pores these pores are small and dont allow paint to flow into them and bond. To properly apply touch up paint, these steps are a near must:

Washed
Clayed
Cleaned with alcohol, to remove any surface chemicals
Sanded around to give the paint a rough surface to bond too
Multiple layers of paint need to go on in thin even coats so the each layer completely dries
Sanded down to be level with the surrounding paint
Compound
Polish
Waxed/sealed.

Also other things matter like paint temp, exterior temp, humidity. Ideally around 60F, low humidiy is preferred for ideal drying conditions. I personally apply touch up at night.
Hope I helped out a little bit. There are numerous threads on touch up, also AMMO NYC on YouTube has a few good videos.
 
North26 said:
IMO BMW makes one of the best OEM touch up paint kits available. but if you use the BMW kit discard the clear, as it will mess up the color.




Are you not contradicting yourself? On one hand you say BMW makes the best touch up paint kits and on the other, you say to throw away the clear as it will mess up the color
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Rsurfer said:
North26 said:
IMO BMW makes one of the best OEM touch up paint kits available. but if you use the BMW kit discard the clear, as it will mess up the color.



Are you not contradicting yourself? On one hand you say BMW makes the best touch up paint kits and on the other, you say to throw away the clear as it will mess up the color
Click to expand...

Under the assumption that Stevens car is a BMW. I said BMW makes one of the best, along with Applied Colors and Dr. Colorchip. Collectively, IMO, those are the best available for this car. I know this because I have own(ed) several BMW's.

Dr. Colorchip is great at small stone chips on bumpers. Where as BMW and Applied Colors are best at larger imperfections because they leave it up the detailer to choose the amount of clear added to the color coat.

I personally pour out some color into a dixie cup and apply the paint via some small pic. After I applied several layers on the car. I then decide if any clear should be added to the color for the remaining layers.

I refuse to use most touch-up paint kits because I dislike that they choose for me the amount of clear that needs to be added. Touch up paint manufacturers sell brand new car colored paint. Well paint changes over time. Climate, UV exposure, heat all over time change the paint slightly from its original color. Body shop's don't just take OEM paint and apply it to a 10 year old car, they adjust their paint to match the rest of the car.

I realize that me applying touch up is not the same as a body shop doing a re-paint but I feel that my clients should receive my best attempt to replicate a body shop-like end result. Maybe I am overly picky but I would rather put in 100% effort and get the best result I can achieve, then put in 50% effort and be satisfied.
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Thanks for the input guys. Yes my car is a bmw and the bmw touchup kit is lacquered base. My issue is not that the paint comes off but the fact that it is not as durable. After a month in the sun, i noticed cracks developing in the paint even though there is clear coat over it. For a color like silver, it even yellows over time. I think the issue with lacquer is that it requires a lot of maintenance. The touch up area needs constant coverage and hydration in my experience to minimize wear.

When i had dr colorchip i did not encounter this issue bbecause it was enamel based but because it doesn't have a clear it would tend to be dull


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Paintscratch.com

They mix PPG's DBC line, which is one of the best refinishing systems there is. You can get primer, base, and clear in pens, brush top bottles, rattle cans, all the way up to full gallons.

There's a color match guarantee, and their prices are good.
 
Appears to be lacquer based


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Patrick Boyle said:
Paintscratch.com

They mix PPG's DBC line, which is one of the best refinishing systems there is. You can get primer, base, and clear in pens, brush top bottles, rattle cans, all the way up to full gallons.

There's a color match guarantee, and their prices are good.
Click to expand...

i too use their stuff. i used to get my crap mixed by a local shop and would store it in Testors .5 oz bottles, but it's a pain sometimes to get things lined up over there for various reasons so i just ended up going paintscratch. i did have a total miss on one of the colors but they sent me a new one and it was good. i liked the local shop thing a bit more because you could play with variations....paintscratch goes by the main chip. but for chips and small stuff, it's a-ok.
 
bmwstephen said:
Appears to be lacquer based


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It doesn't matter what the chemistry of it is, it's good paint. Prep the surface properly, apply it in thin layers. Let it dry over night then apply a couple of clear coats. If you do it right, you'll have no problems.
 
In the case of deep chips, is it better to apply touch up in thin layers via artist brushes or blob a thick layer via the brush that comes with touch up paint. What are the pros and cons of each?

I feel that if you build thin layers by layers, the more imperfections in between which will affect the final layer

. A blob will naturally settle to a flat thick layer if left alone. Am i understanding it corrrectly?


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I've heard (haven't tried yet myself) many recommend using the tip of a toothpick or the head of a match--depending on the size of the damage--to apply the paint into the chip. I've experienced brushes leaving large globs and that doesn't look good.

Maybe check out Larry's (from AMMONYC) vid on youtube about paint touch-up tricks.
 
I have seen Larrys work on touch up work Ammo nyc, but I cant help but feel that his advice is contradictory sometimes. For example, he would mix base and clear on his touch up when his car was a single stage paint. he would recommend sanding on touch up paint after being on in 5 mins and in another segment he touched up a bumper right before a clear bra was going to be put on shortly after. All these things will prevent the touch up paint from actually curing. And when the results do not come up as nice, he justifies saying that the point of touch up is corrosion protection.
 
bmwstephen said:
I have seen Larrys work on touch up work Ammo nyc, but I cant help but feel that his advice is contradictory sometimes. For example, he would mix base and clear on his touch up when his car was a single stage paint. he would recommend sanding on touch up paint after being on in 5 mins and in another segment he touched up a bumper right before a clear bra was going to be put on shortly after. All these things will prevent the touch up paint from actually curing. And when the results do not come up as nice, he justifies saying that the point of touch up is corrosion protection.
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How is any of that contradictory?
 
Correct word should have been counterintuitive. This is a guy that preaches patience and care but does not practice it per say at least when it comes to touchup
 
bmwstephen said:
IFor example, he would mix base and clear on his touch up when his car was a single stage paint.
Click to expand...

I can't speak to the other stuff, but aren't single stage paints combined base/clearcoat?
 
Their base is one in the same. Clear is just paint without pigment, i just dont see any reason to mix more clear into the base when it is single stage. You will just end up with more glossy pigment no?
 
I figured the base Larry is mixing might be a "pure" base coat, but I could definitely be incorrect.
 
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