No matter who buys the touch up paint or does the repair, the damaged area still won't look finished. Any deep scratches, dent repair, or gouges require the services of a professional body repair shop. I have to say that I feel sorry for you Art that these clowns damaged your car but somebody would pay for it and if it was my car it wouldn't be me...

 

Photos? Depending on the damages, it could be an easy fix and not worth the hassle like you said. I bought a Caviar touch up paint from the Lexus dealership about 4 years ago for around 19$ CAD to patch small rock chips damages on the sides and front of the car (used it last month).

 

Agreed, bc6152. I'm actually going through this right now. Some kids dinged the crap out of my door in a parking lot - down to bare metal. Touch up paint leaves a scar, and I didn't even entertain the idea of going that route. It's at a body shop right now getting the proper fix.

 

Local dealer does not stock but ordered it…take a few days, about $12. They do not nor can they get clear coat. I will have to go aftermarket for that. What is best brand for that?

 

Check out how this guy touches up paint. I don't have the dexterity or patience to do what he does, but would like to find someone in my area who can do this. Seems like a better solution than having the whole bumper repainted.

 

I agree. A paint job looks good for a while before it fades differently. No way I am giving my car to a body shop unless I have serious damage. It would come home with more problems than I have now. Been there, done that.

 

I agree that when they repaint, it never really looks the same.

But have you ever tried to apply touch up paint to a car? I have and I can tell you that's it's not easy to get it right.

 

Yes, many times. I am an old guy who buys new cars and keeps them 15-20 years. I use the same technique shown in the video except I tape off. You just have to be patient. It takes multiple thin coats of color, than same for clear. You lose so much volume to evaporation that you want to apply a thick coat to expedite. No, just take your time. If you have a steady hand you can skip wet sanding and go right to compound. All depends on where the repair is located.

 

This is not necessarily true. A good body shop can match existing paint very precisely where one couldn't tell of the repaint. Been there, done that... Right here in Bucks County. I've never seen touch up paint that matched on a repair.

 

Please post before and after pictures.

 

I had some damage to the rear quarter panel of my 2004 ES in the first year of ownership. I had it fixed in a top shop in Northeast Ohio. It looked OK, but if you looked closely, you could see that it was repainted. And if I had asked for it to be redone, there's no guaranteed that it wouldn't have looked worse.

Also, after about 6 or 7 years, it started to rust. There was no other rust on the car after 15 years except for where it was repainted.

Did you watch the video I posted? Looked very good to me.

 

OP post a pic of the damage.

 

I'd look for a better body shop... No rust if done competently...

 

Like I said, it was a top rated shop in NE Ohio. In other words, I did "look for a better shop."

The repair looked very good. You generally couldn't see that it was repaired unless you looked very closely. That's typical for state-of-the-art repairs.

You make it sound so simple. Oh yeah, "good as new." It just doesn't work that way. Not in my experience.

 

Not in my experience either. Like trying to find a contractor who performs like the ones on TOH.