Understanding Automotive Paint Products

How To Touch Up Car Paint Before Rust Forms

29 August 2017

Stanley Garcia

If you take a close look at your car, you will probably notice quite a few small paint chips. Most small paint chips are only noticeable when you are really looking for them, but this does not mean that you should neglect them. Over time, if you fail to reseal small paint chips, you could have rust problems. This article explains how to seal your car paint to prevent rusting.

Finding and Testing the Touch Up Paint

The quicker you fix blemishes in your auto paint, the easier the job is. Before you begin anything, you want to find and test auto body touch up paint. The touch up paint cans that you get directly from dealership are the most reliable. That is, they are most likely to perfectly match your existing paint. But, even if you have a like-for-like replacement paint, you should test it out before going any further.

If your paint color had significantly faded, the touch up paint will not match, and it might even end up being more noticeable than the original blemish. Your best bet is to simply by the closest match and tested somewhere discreet on your car. Paint one spot and then wait for it to dry completely before moving forward.

Painting Your Blemishes and Chips

Many small paint blemishes can simply be painted over with the touch up paint. However, if there is a sizable dent or rust formation, you will definitely want to prep the area beforehand. You don't necessarily need to use auto body filler, but you might need some auto sandpaper it too lightly buff out the rust before painting over it. When you do this, you shouldn't actually alter the texture of the paint so much that it is visible. You basically just use your fingertip to lightly scratch away the rust in the damaged area.

Applying the paint is easy if you just use the included brush. Just try to spread the paint onto the damaged area without overlapping too much onto the good paint. As the paint dries, the color should start to match the existing car paint.

The great thing about using touch up auto body paint is that it seals your existing finish and prevents further chipping of the paint or rusting of the car body. It will save you some money when you consider how expensive body repair can be on larger holes in your car surface. 

For more information, contact an auto body shop.

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