I got swiped on the driver side corner of my Sonata(hit and run while parked). It looked really bad at first but I was able to get 90% of the scratches off, but a chunk of paint was stripped of the size of a quarter and that part is sticking out just a little bit now as well. Also the chrome trim on the rear driver side is snapped in the middle, I checked with the dealership and its like $56 to order it, I passed cause its not that bad, you cant really notice it. I took it to the dealer yesterday(getting routine maintenance done) of course the dealer said, take it to their body shop for an estimate, and they were talking the touch up paint pens down($10 revenue vs. probably $600 to professionally fix it). Anyways I'm just going to either live with it or use touchup paint. Before I start and paint it I wanted some insight or special techniques or instructions. I've heard that it can take many coats etc etc etc. I used touchup paint once before that was in a nail polish like bottle and I did a terrible job the texture was really ugly, all it did was color in the spot, so I really want to take my time and do as good of a job as possible. I know I'm probably going to get search checked by some of you guys, I did search but I wasn't finding anything except what paint to use. I decided the dealership pen is the most convenient route. My question is what is the best way to apply this thing? Wash the area, paint then wax the area? some detailed instructions would be really appreciated! thanks.

Did you read the instructions on the pen itself (IMG:style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif)

Also is it like the nail polish type or a pen type end,first off i would take a piece of card board and use the pen on there to make sure it matches the paint,I say this becuase i used a pen

on my door when i first got my sonata and its came out darker so i ended up scratching it again and taking it over to my buddy at the body shop and he was able to match my paint

right up.In my opinion i would go to different body shops and get different estimates and go that way.I gave up using dealer touch up paint it never matches right.

But if you go the touch up pen way then makes sure you wash the area,i would use a alcohol swap or on a q tip to clean the area.Then apply your touch up paint,DO NOT GO CRAZY

WITH IT use it very lightly and if you see you need more after then apply.Let it sit and dry in the sun for the amount of time it says,Mine if i remember was 6 to 8 hours to fully dry(of

course it dries quicker then that) then after you can wax the area.This is why i was saying use then pen on a cardboard first to get the hang of how much comes out or what it looks like

and what not,any how good luck post results after.

This post has been edited by V6 Sonata: Oct 22 2009, 02:58 PM

In my 3.5 Years as a Sonata Owner, they have sent coupons for 2 FREE Touch up Pens. Placed the Coupon in the Trash, along with

the one I bought. They are that bad! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif)

On a side note, I wiped out my Black Subaru and used Honda nail polish type paint, and covered up a giant patch. When I traded it in, the

Dealer didn't even notice it. I did the painting in the middle of the night and covered an area the size of a softball!

+1 Usually it ends up looking worse than the scratch.

I'd email these guys first with a picture of your oops and ask them if their product would work. I wish I would have bought this B4 I used touch up on my black Mustang. Thank the guy above for Turtle Wax Black Wax.

http://drcolorchip.com/

I'd bet it will look better than a touch-up pen or a bottle of nail polish from a refinishing place. Forget the clear coat add if you buy from a refinishing place. Only you will notice the difference. Trust me on this one. Save the $$.

This post has been edited by craigbrooks: Oct 22 2009, 09:13 PM

the only pen the dealership had, has a big sticker on it (the ordering sticker) so you cannot see the directions lol.

I've heard about this site, I thought it was a scam at first but, I'll give it a try.

Touch up pan works... The only thing is you have to be willing to sand and polish. Another thing is realize that the touch up pen is only a color coat. Modern cars are painted with 2K system of color coat and clear coat. If you just apply the color, it is not going to match. Well it's not going to match in any case, but you can make it so that it is pratically unnoticeable.

What you need to do if you want to do this yourself is:

1. clean the area with soap water and wax remover. If you jsut use soap, use dish washing type of soap cuz the car wash type will not remove wax.
2. if the spot is not smooth, i.e. maybe the damage caused indentation in the plastic itself, you might need to use a little bit of glazing putty or something and sand it smooth to make sure you are painting a smooth surface. If you do this, you should be able to sand it smooth with 400 grit paper.
3. Then take the pen, apply a thin coat in the area. Wait for the paint to flash, and then apply another layer. Do 2 to 3 layers. If the paint is not smooth (just eyeball it cuz the spot is small), use 1000 grit sand paper and WET sand the paint smooth. Do this after any non-smooth coat.
4. Now you should also apply touch clear coat over that. Not sure where you can buy that in touch bottle but it is available. Same thing, apply a few layers. Wait for the paint to flash in between the coats. Sand inbetween coats if needed. Also after you do this, the spot should be higher in paint than the surrounding. AFterwards the last coat, when the paint is dry and sandable, use 1000 grit or higher sand paper to smooth the area. Don't worry if you sand into the surrounding area a little. That's normal. When the paint is smooth, you can remove the sanding scartches by a little bit of polishing with rubbing compound. You can do this by hand with terry cloth.

I know this is a pain in the ****, but if you take the time to do this right, the post polishing result would be undistinguishable from the rest. Clear coat does a GREAT job masking slight color mismatches.

Thanks for the instructions, a few questions, by flash you mean dry right? Also on the pen I believe the other side of the pen is the clear coat side, should I use that clear coat or go with that in touch stuff your talking about? Last, the sandpaper wont scratch off the paint right? or do you have to go really slow and soft?

This post has been edited by sean1k2: Oct 28 2009, 01:15 PM

Planning on trying the sandpaper and touch up paint pen this weekend, I'll post pics when I am done. Does anyone have any ideas for that dent, no paint damage and its on the bumper. Take a look at the pics in original post again for reference. Thanks