So I had a few scratches on my 2014 Corolla S, as well as some stone chips that were driving me nuts. I found a pretty good method for using touch-up paint and having it come out well. This is what I did.
1. If the paint is peeling at the chip (likely) or the scratch, very quickly go over the area with 320 grit. You just want 6 circular strokes and very light pressure, nothing more.
2. Use a clay bar around the affected area. You want everything to be absolutely spotless with no contamination.
3. Wipe the affected area dry, at this point, it should be obvious if you need a filler or not. If the depression is obvious, use a filler, otherwise, the touch-up paint will help fill in if there is no depression.
4. Use touch-up paint (I got the touch-up paint from the Toyota dealership). Make sure it is at room temperature, shake it up for a minute, unscrew the cap, and brush off excess paint on the side of the bottle.
5. Use the tip of the brush to dab the affected area, then very quickly use the entire length of the brush to paint around the affected area, using continuous strokes and never going over the same area twice.
6. Repeat as needed so that the touch-up paint is slightly above the original paint. 30 minutes in-between coats.
7. After about 8 hours of dry time, use 1500 grit to carefully get rid of the high spots on your touch-up paint. If you hit the clearcoat of the original paint during this process, that is fine. That will get fixed later. Get rid of the high spots and try to match the height of the touch-up paint closely to the clearcoat of the car.
AVOID using 1500 grit excessively on the original paint. You will take the paint down to primer very easily (as I found out the hard way, requiring more touch-up work).
8. Once you get close to level, wet sand with 2000 grit and stroke across the area with your finger to ensure that the area is smooth.
9. Wet sand with 3000 grit for about 10-20 seconds to really polish things up.
10. Dry the affected area, then tape off anything surrounding the affected area. Get a can of clearcoat (I recomment Krylon Fusion clearcoat, since it will not crack on plastic). Apply a light coat, wait a minute, apply another light coat, wait a minute, then apply a moderate final coat.
11. Allow 24 hours for the paint to cure.
12. When you remove the tape, you'll see lines in the clearcoat. Wait a couple weeks for the clearcoat to fully cure, then use a polishing compound on the clearcoat to blend it in with the factory clearcoat. Dry, apply wax, and you are set!
Note:
If the touch-up paint seems off color ... ignore it ... when the touch-up paint and clearcoat fully cure, the color will be damn close to original.
Sorry, I don't have any before pics, but I will post some after pics when I use polishing compound on the clear coat. As it stands now, the clear coat dried with a slightly noticeable texture, but it is a huge improvement over a big black blemish on a white car (and the polishing compound will get rid of this).
1. If the paint is peeling at the chip (likely) or the scratch, very quickly go over the area with 320 grit. You just want 6 circular strokes and very light pressure, nothing more.
2. Use a clay bar around the affected area. You want everything to be absolutely spotless with no contamination.
3. Wipe the affected area dry, at this point, it should be obvious if you need a filler or not. If the depression is obvious, use a filler, otherwise, the touch-up paint will help fill in if there is no depression.
4. Use touch-up paint (I got the touch-up paint from the Toyota dealership). Make sure it is at room temperature, shake it up for a minute, unscrew the cap, and brush off excess paint on the side of the bottle.
5. Use the tip of the brush to dab the affected area, then very quickly use the entire length of the brush to paint around the affected area, using continuous strokes and never going over the same area twice.
6. Repeat as needed so that the touch-up paint is slightly above the original paint. 30 minutes in-between coats.
7. After about 8 hours of dry time, use 1500 grit to carefully get rid of the high spots on your touch-up paint. If you hit the clearcoat of the original paint during this process, that is fine. That will get fixed later. Get rid of the high spots and try to match the height of the touch-up paint closely to the clearcoat of the car.
AVOID using 1500 grit excessively on the original paint. You will take the paint down to primer very easily (as I found out the hard way, requiring more touch-up work).
8. Once you get close to level, wet sand with 2000 grit and stroke across the area with your finger to ensure that the area is smooth.
9. Wet sand with 3000 grit for about 10-20 seconds to really polish things up.
10. Dry the affected area, then tape off anything surrounding the affected area. Get a can of clearcoat (I recomment Krylon Fusion clearcoat, since it will not crack on plastic). Apply a light coat, wait a minute, apply another light coat, wait a minute, then apply a moderate final coat.
11. Allow 24 hours for the paint to cure.
12. When you remove the tape, you'll see lines in the clearcoat. Wait a couple weeks for the clearcoat to fully cure, then use a polishing compound on the clearcoat to blend it in with the factory clearcoat. Dry, apply wax, and you are set!
Note:
If the touch-up paint seems off color ... ignore it ... when the touch-up paint and clearcoat fully cure, the color will be damn close to original.
Sorry, I don't have any before pics, but I will post some after pics when I use polishing compound on the clear coat. As it stands now, the clear coat dried with a slightly noticeable texture, but it is a huge improvement over a big black blemish on a white car (and the polishing compound will get rid of this).
