I recently got a pretty bad scratch on my rear fender. A bunch of small scratches making up one. I decided to try and fix it myself and try to save money since I already have about a half gallon of paint. I did my best to fill in the scratches with a bit or twine from a broom so I could be detailed about it. The work I did in my opinion looks decent, but it by no means looks like a professional did it. They only time I notice it is when there's a glare or I stare directly at it the spot I worked on. It sill stands out a little bit because there's no clear coat. Does anyone know a way that you can apply clear coat yourself and do a decent job of it? I am able to live with it as is , but I'm just curious.

 

http://www.autotrucktoys.com/ram/Mop...0481C3373.aspx

one electric blue and then one clear coat bottle

 

I will be the first to admit I do not know a lot about paint but I had a jeep one time that had body work done. When I got it back it didn't look right and the dealership told me they had to wetsand it. You may want to look around and see if this is something you can do. Again I do not know a lot about paint and the whole wetsand thing might be for paint that is already clear coated, I do not know. I am just trying to give you an area that you might not have thought of. Good luck

 

SilverBullet08 I actually already have a bottle of that same touch of paint in my glovebox. I wish I had remembered I had it, I could have used the little brush...crap. Thanks for the link though.The whole reason I started this thread was becasue I was told that it would be a bad idea to try and apply touch up clear coat yourself and that it would look bad, not blend well, and you would be able to see right where you applied it. Does anyone have any insight on that?

 

oh ok how big is the scratch?? i think it should be find. just apply the clear evenly and let it dry. then maybe wax it and it should blend it in. not sure though im no paint expert...

 

It was a bunch of small scratches that make up one. I'll say it's about 1/4 inch X 8 or 10 inches.

 

Touching up anything that large is not what touch up paint is for. They are for rock chips and very small marks. Ading clearcoat over the top will just make it look worse. the light will refract off of it and show it off much more. I don't own a detail shop for nothing. generally, any scratch that will catch a finger nail is too deep for repair. Touch up paint should only be used if your down to metal, otherwise leave it be. You can spray some tire shine on a rag and wipe it across scratches. This will make themnearly invisible(good trick to do before you go to the dealership for trade-in..hehe)

 

Yeah I know. Looking back now I should have never even tried. At least it doesn't look horrible I guess and the metal isn't exposed to the elements. That tire shine idea is pretty good thinking by the way.