I have two scratches that are past the clear coat and can be felt by a finger nail. I have tried to use Scratch Doctor with no luck but now I need to fix it up right so I got some touch up paint from the dealer and some Duplicolor clear coat touch up paint. Are there and tips or trick from anybody that has had to do this before? Thanks

 

ive never used it but have always wanted to because i have a few deep scratches. Ive seen instructions for the touch up pen before, what did you get?

 

it will be tough to get a smooth finish that matches your existing paint if you have the touch up pen. that being said, it is probably still the easiest solution. other than the pen the only options that i can think of are

1. use a more abrasive polish, like rubbing compound to buff out the scratch, but this will also remove clear coat in the surrounding area.

2. air brush new clear coat over the scratch. This would be the "better" fix as it would provide a nice even and uniform finish, but would be more expensive.

just my 2c.

nateroach

 

You could also lightly wetsand the area of the touch up to make it smooth.
The touch up pen isn't the same paint as what's on the truck so it will never match perfect but you could get it close enough only you would know.

 

And just a heads up to anyone out there who wants to remove minor scratches that are in the clear coat, don't use Meguiar's Scratch Remover. That stuff is snake oil if there ever has been. I used it on multiple scratches on my truck, even tiny ones you couldn't tell were there and it didn't make a difference. Followed directions and rubbed it in 4 or 5 times and nothing. I've got plenty left in the bottle if someone would like to buy it.

 

fill the deep scratches with the touchup color, but keep the touchup below the the rest of the paint... then cover with clear. take a sanding block and some fine grit paper, wetsand until the clearcoat is even with the rest of the paint (this is why you dont want the touchup color above the rest of the paint, if it was, you would sand past the clear you just put on)
get some good cut buffing compound and buff till the sanding marks are gone, get some polishing compound and buff out the swirls you made with the cut. add some wax. if you did it right (and the touchup was anywhere near a match) it should look like new.

this is how i covered up some pretty nasty scratches in my hood... it still need some more buffing but it looks a lot better than it did!

 

If your fingernail gets caught in the scrathes then they are too deep the wetsand out. If you wetsand them out, you will just remove and thin the surrounding clear coat. Not a good idea.

You could use a pen painter. I would stay away from putting any clear over the pen paint because the clear will accent and bring out the imperfections especially when light is shined upon it. I have always touched up with the paint and that's it. You want duller touch up paint than the actual paint itslelf. Making it brighter or shinier makes it most noticeable. Using the pen paint and clear and then sanding like Cheapbeater said is just asking for trouble IMO.
The only way it will go away is with a repaint, so stick it with the paint pen and call it a day.