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TouchUpDirect’s 4th Mailbag!
We’re back with more of your pressing touch up questions! Our mailbag is positively overflowing so let’s not delay. Here are five more answers to your queries!
Can I Apply Touch Up Paint in Cold Weather?
Winter is perhaps not the best time for a touch up but we understand that sometimes a scratch simply has to be dealt with. Painting in cold weather is more difficult for several reasons. The cold temperature has an effect on the bonding between the paint and the surface of the car. Painting at a temperature of under 50°F could lead to paint issues later on. Paint in the cold also takes much longer to dry. You definitely don’t want to be out freezing in the cold with your car longer than you have to be.
So what should you do? First of all, we do not recommend that you paint outside during winter. Find a nice heated garage to do your touch up. If the garage doesn’t have heating, a portable heater can help to create a warm environment for your touch up. You’ll also want your paint to be at a good temperature before you paint. Before you begin your touch up, keep your paint and touch up tools inside and let them warm.
Can I Touch Up Chips or Is Touch Up Paint Just for Scratches?
You can absolutely touch up chips with touch up paint. It all depends on the applicator! For TouchUpDirect products, we have several applicators that each serve a different type or level of damage. Aerosol is for larger damage and repainting large panels or even the whole car if you have enough cans. The Brush is for damage up to the size of a quarter. But for paint chips? You want the Pen. Occasionally, a chip’s area of damage might be big enough to warrant the Brush but it’s usually the Pen that works best. For chips and really small nicks, you won’t even need Primer! The Pen’s tip allows you to dab on paint with utter precision, which is great when you’re working with such a small area. We recommend the Pen for damage smaller than a pencil eraser.
What Happens if I Apply Touch Up Paint on a Dirty Surface?
There’s a reason we recommend a good wipedown before you start your touch up. We even sell several different kinds of wipes that each serve a different function. They take out everything from dust to dirt to wax and grease. Your car gathers a lot of stuff on its coat while it’s out in the world. You’ll want to rid the surface of your car of contaminants before you begin painting. Why?
First, a dirty surface will make the ensuing paint job look bad. Sometimes scratches have residual debris from when the damage initially occurred. If it’s another car that created the scratch, you’re even dealing with paint transfer. If you paint over this, you’ll end up with a bumpy, ugly paint job. Painting over these contaminants could also mess up the bond between the paint and your car. Bad adhesion could come back to bite you later on with peeling and flaking paint. Wax & grease in particular, does not blend well with the paint and can be disastrous for the paint job in general. So while cleaning may not seem like a vital step, the health of your paint job depends on it.
Does Touch Up Paint Expire?
Yes. Because TouchUpDirect touch up paint is made to order, our paint has a shelf life of about a year from the order date. You can help increase longevity if you store your paint properly. It’s best if you store the paint indoors in a location that is not exposed to extreme temperatures (either hot or cold). If you keep it outside in direct sunlight with the cap unscrewed, it will not last as long. While the Professional Sizes Colorcoat and Primer have the same shelf life as the paint in our other applicators, things are a little more complicated for our Professional Sizes Clearcoat. Because the Clearcoat must be mixed with a catalyst, the Professional Sizes have a much more limited pot life. You only have about three to five hours to use the paint after it has been opened and mixed.
Can I Fix a Bad Touch Up Job Without Repainting the Whole Car?
Of course! There’s steps you can take to remove the touch up error and start over. Methods differ depending on whether or not Clearcoat has been applied. If there’s no Clearcoat, all you have to do is wipe off the waterborne paint with water and a rag. Clearcoat exists to protect the paint, so removing a Clearcoated error will be a little more difficult. You will require paint thinner or acetone. Dip a q-tip in your paint thinner or acetone and rub it on the target area. This method will also work with urethane paint. Once you’ve removed your old touch up job, the original scratch should be visible and ready for a re-do.
