scratch repair on matador red
 

I am visiting my parents for the holiday's and saw someone keyed the door of my mother's ES350. It's Matador Red.

It's gone through clearcoat, into the colour, but not into the primer.

Does anyone think this can be filled in by one of the chip repair specialists?

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5045/...ea7d34ae_b.jpg

Ouch, im sure a good scratch and dent guy could make it better, usually the dealer can refer a good on to you.

Don't you wonder why??
Too bad they got away with it.

It really hacks me off. My mom's 64 and she's a good driver. Whoever did this really needs some disciplining. If I had seen that, I would have hired a private prosecutor to make sure that guy did not get off lightly, and I would have gone out of my way to tell that person's employer.

What i did recently was, when i bring my car in for service at Lexus, I ask my service advisor to get the person that does repairs for the dealership trade-ins cars do my car at a discount/dealership rate.

We're taking in both the cars for service tomorrow so I will ask.

Also found a very high-end detailer who may be able to do it.

did you get this done? how'd it turn out? hope it turns out well :thumbup:

Bummer. Hopefully the fix turns out well.

On a similar note, I just noticed a couple deep car door dings on the passenger side of my Matador Red RX 450h. It's not as bad as yours, and I think touch-up paint with a dab of clear coat will work.

Has anybody tried the products from paintscratch.com?

I just ordered the Tri-Coat paint pen from Paintscratch. However, just wondering if it can be used for subsequent repairs over time, or does the pen tip dry out (or clog up), when stored?

i had one of those pens years ago and they do dry out quickly. you should get the bottles if they have it, i got one here from www.touchuppaintonline.com that's about 1 year old and it's still fine. just have to shake it before use

The dealer is either going to offer to send it to the bodyshop or have a touch up specialist do it,as mentioned.You can pay someone to do it for you or DIY.If you pay someone they will do it one of two ways. He'll either touch it up using various systems out there nowadays or he'll fill it,prime it,seal it(maybe) basecoat and clear it.If he paints it,there will always be an edge,always. There's no way he'll be clearing the whole panel on site,unless he's a bodyshop or has a downdraft tent.If he touches it up you're going to pay for something you could do yourself and probably do as well as or better becasue you have something he doesn't,time. Personally,a scratch that size,I'd touch it up and I paint them for a living. If you send it to the bodyshop or maybe if you use the touchup guy,the repair might end up on a Carfax report that might not go into detail about whether it was a two inch scratch or 2 foot dent. You feel me?
And lastly, remember there's nothing like a factory finish.

Look on the inside of your door jamb and get your paint code,off the top of my head I think matador red is 3R1.Look for something that looks like this C/TR 3R1 on the jamb plate.

Clean the scratch and surrounding area with some soap and water. Wipe it all down with some clean water,then wipe it down with a solvent based cleaner or a waterbased cleaner designed to clean a surface for painting. Use a small hard bristle brush and clean all the wax and crap completely out of that scratch.I mean don't make more scratches,just act like ya know. If there is one particle of wax or dirt in your scratch your repair will fail eventually.

Get the color and the clear from the dealer. Don't get the pen,get the screw on touch up tube that comes with a brush,don't use that bigass brush that comes with it. it's worthless. Now go to an Aaron Brothers Art Supply or something similar and find a fine brush with a horsehair bristle that's as long as you can get and as fine as possible,that's for your color. Now get one just as fine,but about a quarter inch long,that's for clear. Dip that brush in your paint and run a bead starting from one end to the other. Close the bottle up and let the first run dry about 10 minutes. Do it again,but don't fill the scratch completely,leave a space of about two-three pages of notebook paper thick,this is for your clear. Then,oh,I forgot to tell you to go to a Pep Boys and pick up a qt of lacquer thinner and a pint of road and tar remover. You'll also have to pick up one each of these:

http://www.tcpglobal.com/DetailSuppl...emNo=MIR+K1500

in 1500,2000 and 3000 grit. Also,while at Pep Boys,pick up some rubbing compound designed for clear coat,preferrably Meguiars or Mothers and a good quality polish and wax,Meguiars or Mothers;notice that polish and wax are not the same. Polish shines,wax protects,go as aggressive as you can with the compound.

Okay where was I? Oh yeah,so you've laid down two or three coats of color.If you really want to get the best effect,find a bodyshop supply house and see if you can buy a pint of midtemp basecoat reducer and add that to the touch up tube,carefully,not too much.CAREFULLY. Try and get the paint the consistency a little thicker than cream,not the thick syrupy way that it comes.So that it flows.You can use the lacquer thinner if you're hard up,but i wouldn't recommend it.If you get some MEK,that could work. Just use midtemp basecoat reducer.

Okay,you've laid your paint,carefully in the scratch.If you have any spillover,find a hard,2-3in x 2-3in block and wrap a smooth paper towel around it about three times.Don't use a paper towel with the little pillows or whatever in it,smooth like cheap toilet paper.
Now,spill a little of the road and tar remover on the paper towel and then rub the outside of your scratch to get the spillover.Make sure it's not too wet and don't rub too hard. Also,the paint has got to be DRY. DRY like 20-30minutes dry before you do this.The object of the game here is to keep the color in the scratch,all the color. Let everything dry and then wipe it with a clean smooth rag. Preferrably see if you can get a "tack rag" from Pep Boys or that bodyshop supply house.

Okay,so your scratch is nice and tight..Keep your greazy fingers away from the scratch.Buy some anal exam gloves and wear those while your doing the job,just keep the powder they come in out of your job. Okay,paint's inside and only inside the scratch and we're ready for the clear.
Now the clear might be a little tricky. You've cleaned your brush with your lacquer thinner and now you're going to use your shorter but still very fine brush or if you want to really be the man,use a toothpick. The object here is to get enough of the clear on your brush or toothpick to be able to start at one end of the scratch,preferrablydownhill and apply the clear so that it flows and fills the scratch.If you didn't make sure your paint's dry you might be screwed. Give the paint at least 20-30 minutes to dry before applying the clear.

Okay,get one coat down.Let that dry about 5,maybe 10 minutes and do another one.Build the clear until you're about 1/32,about four to five notebook pages high. Don't worry about spillover,be artistic and neat in your endeavor,however.

Let the car sit,preferrably in a garage. Oh yeah,do this in a temp that's at least 70 degrees,I forgot this is the internet.I'm in Cali. An old paint trick,the 70 degree rule. When you buy a can of something at gthe store and it says it'll dry in a half an hour,that's at 70 degrees. For every 10 degrees either side of 70 for that 30 minutes,double the dry time,slower or faster.

Now,wait,24hrs at least,maybe a little longer. Oh and throw your color sanding blocks in some water overnight to get them saturated. Start out with the 1500 and knock down the clear to almost flush.EASY,do not press. let the block do the work. Use the 2000 to get it flush and the 3000 to get it nice and smooth. The reason I had you get the 3000 is becasue it'll make it easier for you to hand rub the repair. if you have a wheel,hit it and polish then wax. You're done and it'll last the life of the car.

Now if you've learned to read directions properly,you'll know that often the most important things are at the end. Find yourself a piece of painted material. Hell,go to a junkyard and take gaslid off a car with a Phillips or a 10mm socket,they vary. Scratch it the way your mom's car's scratched and practice on it.Get good before you do your mom's car. We're talking about your mom here,it's gotta be perfect. Good luck. Oh and while you're there toothpick her little road rashes and chips on the hood or front bumper.Red touches up very well. Good luck.

Oh I just realized something. Since I haven't used a touchup tube in awhile,make sure and find out if they've gone to waterbase. If they have,you'll have to up your drytimes on the color and if possible use a hairdryer set on cool to dry it.I'm almost positive they're still solvent based,but just in case. If it is waterbase you have to make very sure it's dry. You shouldn't have to thin it and eveything else applies as far as the clear,etc.

^ Thanks. This is an outstanding step-by-step.

No problem,pal. And if you do it like I described,I guarantee it'll last the life of the car with little or no extra maintenance. Unlike a spotblend repair and even a bodyshop job if it isn't done by an elite bodyshop.
Add the fact that you're doing something for your mom with your own two hands and everything is right in the universe.

ytee...holy sh$#. You were detailed in your notes...awesome.

ytee, could really use your expertise. I have an area that I got overzealous with my buffing. I was dealing with some etching caused by acidic water that dripped on the car while in the sun. Seemed to get under the clearcoat. Anyways, in rubbing it out, there are a few spots that look a little different from the rest of the virgin body...not so much when you look directly at it, only off angle.

I assume I am starting to get throught the clear coat? Is there a way to correct this? My plan right now is to keep it waxed, but will I have trouble (clear coat failure, peeling) down the road? I keep my cars for 10 years.

Your guidance would be great.

Batman, sorry for the hijack. I would love to see your results.

I would guess you've done as you suspect,worn through the clear by buffing too aggressively or whatever spilled on the paint,undermined the clear and you just rubbed away the corrupted clear. Did you burn it with a wheel? If you did it by hand then it was vapor thin to begin with.

That reminds me that lots of guys advertise that they'll get your scratches out without painting the car,which is true,but they don't mention the consequence. When you color sand your paint job,all your doing is removing the clear down to the depth level of the scratch. Buffing then takes a little more of the clear and you have a shiny new spot with no more scratch,but a thinner coat of clear protecting your basecoat color.Which is now more susceptible to chips and scratches and more importantly allows more UV rays through which migrate through the OEM coating to the metal and bounce back and undermine the clear. Causing it to oxidize(whiten) and fail. I always like to explain things to my people,that's how I'd want it.

I digress. So basically,you've burned the clear and the variance you're seeing is that now,the basecoat color of your car is exposed. While it may be shiny,it doesn't match the rest of the car,that's what you're seeing for the angles. As time progresses,the clear edge around the burn spots will start failing and the color will start fading,too.
Your only real fix is to have the panel painted.There is absolutely nothing out there that will fix this problem so please don't waste your money. I mean you could smear some clear over it,but that would look worse than the damage.Keep a high quality polish and wax on it and you'll slow the process.

You could have a body shop or mobile guy try to spot them,but even with 37 years of experience,I'd be tentative about spotting a hood trunk or roof,especially if it's a light metallic. And i don't know that the cost would be that much different. I've done them,but they wre very labor intensive and tons of finesse.I guarantee everything for the life of the car,so if you have someone "spot" it,make sure you walk away with a little security.Personally,I'd have the panel shot.

If you'd like,I could tell you how you could put a little effort into it yourself and cut your costs immensely. I've already gone on too long,but I really feel a need to help people fix their car problems.Unfortunately,there are some crazy things going on around in the exterior interior repair biz nowadays.these freaking gypsies in parking lots and things like that. going door to door are just rapoing people out here in SoCal. Especially the elderly,which really pisses me off. I've done more free jobs,fixing these guys horrible repairs than not. Elderly widows that are too afraid to say anything. Onec guy vactually made her drive him to a Pep boys to buys some silver spray cans and chared her THREE HUNDRED BUCKS.Man I'm mad writing it.

then I had another little old lady come to see me with her 2010 Jag. She'd gotten a quote for 1.5K to fix her bumper and small little scrape near the rt rear quarter by a body shop,that's worng and greedy. I don't care about overhead,etcd. Charge 800 and you're still making 780 bucks for a repair like that. I fixed it for a buck seventy five and my repair will be there when that car gets crushed. If you need me I'm here pal.Just not right away,i'm not really a computer guy