Touchup paint?

[bratboy]

Well a 2 part question concerning my new used 2008 baby.

I noticed today when I had the car out of the garage on the hood there is a very small spot, about the size of a round headed pin, where the paint is missing. At first I thought it was just dirt but on closer examination I saw that it was a chip out of the paint. Almost like a small rock or something flew up from the road and nicked it. Anyway my 2 questions are:

1. Where is the best place to get touch-up paint to fix this one small spot as well as a couple minor scratches I didn't notice at the dealership
&
2. How do I know exactly what color paint I need. My car has the original factory Red sparkle paint coat if that helps any.

I suppose I could just ignore it but now that I know its there its sort of like having a bum tooth and it nags at me, hehe

[CREWZIN]

Maybe this link will help figure out what color your have. The paint code itself is printed on the sticker on the drivers door edge. It will say PNT:xxx The xxx is the paint code.

2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser Colors Available

You can order paint touch-up from the dealer, also most auto stores have touch-ups but they might not have the 2008 colors. They usually have them for older cars, but you can try.

[Candyman]

Hey their bratboy,

I am going to say the color should be Color Code RH for Inferno Red Crystal. Here is another Link with all interior, and exterior colors from 01 - 09 with the codes for the paint shop. You should be able to locate the code to confirm on the sticker on the inside of the drivers side door. Look at the bottom of the sticker for the code.

All PT Cruiser Exterior Colors form 2001 - 2009 Plus Paint Codes

Honestly most over the counter ready mixed touch up paint will be pretty off from the color of your paint. Its way easier to touch up a neutral color like silver, white, or black, but richer more vibrant colors like Blues, and Reds are really hard to match up using regular touch up paint. Even professional Body Shops rarely will get a 100% perfect match on paint color. As a result, most Body Shops actually have to paint a lot larger section and blend the paint to the existing color over a wide area to trick the eye into not noticing the color difference. A good example of this is, I had a couple of small scratches in the center of my rear bumper. Due to my ride being a custom mix of House of Kolor Candy Tangerine Pearl, I, and because I show my car is mostly used as a full time show car, I had to shoot the entire bumper, and then blend the paint up about 5" into the trunk, and around the rear quarter panels so as not to tell that the paint has been repaired. The two primary reasons for this are:

1. The Chrysler Plant in Toluca Lake MX, as with many Manufacturers are well known for not being 100% accurate in color consistency. For example, one day they might add a bit more gold to the base color when mixing up the Red paint, and the following day they might add a bit less. Same thing goes when they mix touch up paint and 99.0% of the time it winds up being way off.

2. Once the paint on your car rolled out of the Paint Booth, your paint has started to fade, and deteriorate due to normal day to day exposure to the sun, weather, and other related conditions. Even if you , meticulously maintained the paint by polishing, glazing, and waxing, or using a synthetic Paint Sealant to help preserve the paint every 15 - 30 days, your paint is still going to be a couple of shades lighter within a mater of a couple of months at most. If your car is black, it would be within a matter of weeks due to higher heat concentration brought on by sunlight exposure. Because of this problem as well, you will find that the touch up paint will be either lighter, or darker by several shades, and may even look to be a totally different color most of the time.

Honestly for what it is worth, I would try to locate a Body Shop Supply Store in your area. They can look at your car in person and better match up the paint to your specific PT based on color, and paint condition. It is basically the same price, and you will have a much better final result. Also while you are their, if you want to do a good job on the touch up, you can pick up some wet/dry sandpaper for color sanding, and maybe a bottle of compound, glaze, and wax to smooth out the surface, buff, and bring back the finish to where it will look like a professional job.

If you would like me to do a write up walking you through how to touch up your paint to make it look pretty decent please let me know and I would be more than happy to help if you would like.

Or as an alternative depending on if you might have other scratches around the car, you can opt to have the repair work done the same way the large Automotive Dealerships do. Their are usually guys with mobile vans that offer air brushing services to Car Dealerships to clean up lot damage from moving cars around, or defects from delivery off the trucks, and so on. They come to your home, or work and air brush out all the scratches on the entire car to the point where you cannot tell where the repar was made. The cost of this is around $100.00 to $150.00 for the entire car which is expensive, but its the whole car, and its professionally done but at a fraction of the price.

That is my advice anyways. Again, if you would like me to walk you throught the process, please let me know and I will do a good write up for you.

Go easy.

Candyman

[Travis2k7]

Originally Posted by Candyman

Or as an alternative depending on if you might have other scratches around the car, you can opt to have the repair work done the same way the large Automotive Dealerships do. Their are usually guys with mobile vans that offer air brushing services to Car Dealerships to clean up lot damage from moving cars around, or defects from delivery off the trucks, and so on. They come to your home, or work and air brush out all the scratches on the entire car to the point where you cannot tell where the repar was made. The cost of this is around $100.00 to $150.00 for the entire car which is expensive, but its the whole car, and its professionally done but at a fraction of the price.

Go easy.

Candyman

Wow... So THAT'S what dealerships do? Definitely something I will consider further on down the road.

In the meantime I picked up some touchup paint from the nearest surviving Chrysler dealer. Matching my color was pretty easy.

My PT has a few chips, mostly on the front, but nothing that is driving me up the wall as of yet... Can't see them unless your nose is touching the bumper...

[brightlight07]

Originally Posted by Candyman

Even professional Body Shops rarely will get a 100% perfect match on paint color. As a result, most Body Shops actually have to paint a lot larger section and blend the paint to the existing color over a wide area to trick the eye into not noticing the color difference.

hell candyman even the factory doesnt get paint 100% matched!!!
i was cleaning my pt the other day and ive got some pretty good sized chip in my drivers front fender and bumper but luckily ive still got some of the paint we painted it with so i should be able to match 'er up pretty good!

[PT_Cuda]

Originally Posted by brightlight07

hell candyman even the factory doesnt get paint 100% matched!!!
i was cleaning my pt the other day and ive got some pretty good sized chip in my drivers front fender and bumper but luckily ive still got some of the paint we painted it with so i should be able to match 'er up pretty good!

Nope, what they do is fade the new paint over the old to trick your eye into not seeing the fix. If they do it right and match the old paints undertones you will never pick it out. They keep watering down the new paint with clear and spreading the area out so you never see it. Soft, softer, softest fade and you never know it was there.. Which is how it should be.

Touch up paint is best used for rock chips scratches, since you can't sand the old paint down you get hard line so you still see the chip edges its just less of a target for the eye since its blue like the rest of the car instead of white as an example. Then when you crash the car or take it down for a major face lift they get fixed anyways..

[soonercruiser]

Any good color match touch-up paint...like automotivetouchup.com...
Then smooth out the blob with the Langka Blob Remover!

[Candyman]

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to touch base here and give you guys a couple of examples of the Mobile Services that most Automotive Dealerships use to remove any and all scratches, door dings, scuff marks, and so on before a used car is put on a Lot, or in the case of damage caused during transporting the vehicle from the Manufacturer, or what Dealers refer to as "Lot Damage" where a Lot Porter who is responsible for parking, moving, cleaning, and Detailing of all cars on the lot, unless they hire an outside source, might accidentally brush up along side another vehicle, or object while working around tight corners. Like I was saying, these Mobile Services come to your home, or work, usually take around 1 hour to fix anything you need, and will usually charge between $100 - $150 depending on how bad the damage is. They computer color match your paint no matter if it is slightly faded, or may be off in color from the Manufacturer, or any other normal situation, to your exact color, then properly prep, and repair the surface, paint it with real PPG or Dupont Automotive Grade Paint, Clear Coat, and then Buff, Glaze and Wax to where you cannot see where the damage was, or where the repair was done in 99% of the cases. These services are available most everywhere their is a Car Dealer. These Services are usually extremely fast, professional, usually do great work, and are not nearly as expensive over a Full Service Body Shop where they need to cover a lot of overhead to break even! In most circumstances, especially if you have other small dings in the doors, or scratches in the paint, this is by far the quickest, best, and most cost effective way of fixing any damage like this without a doubt! By the time you buy the paint, primer, sand paper, sanding block, body filler, cutting material, glaze, and wax, you will easily be close if not over the cost of having it done professionally, and in most circumstances you will never get close to the quality of repair as you can from these types of Services hands down.

Here are a couple of sample websites from people I used to work with in San Diego both directly with Dealerships, and in my Detail Shop.

San Diego / North County Mobile Auto Bumper Repair - Car Paint Key Scratch Repair

And one of my personal favorites in the Industry "Colors on Parade" in one of the best services out their! If you have a show car, high end exotic, or other specialty car that is getting touched up, odds are high that these guys are doing the work!

Colors on Parade, auto dent repair, scratch repair, paintless dent repair

And they are now available in 26 States. Here is a Repair Service Locator.

Colors on Parade

That is the easiest, best way to remove any type of small defects, or mishaps hands down. If you have any more questions, or would like me to try to locate a Service near you, please either post here, or send me over a PM and I will be more than happy to help out any way I can.

Go easy, and I will catch you all later.

Candyman