How to Fix a Car

Your vehicle is a precious investment. It takes you places, it says something about who you are and what you value, and it’s an investment that can retain or lose value in direct response to how you treat it. One of the simplest ways to keep up the value of your car is to make sure you use a paint touch up kit to keep corrosion and peeling at bay while keeping your car looking its best.

• What kind of vehicle touch up paint should I get? There are lots of choices available. You can get something specific to the make and model of your car, such as Honda Accord touch up paint, or you can get a more generic automotive touch up kit. If you’ve got a car in a non-neutral color, you almost always want to go with touch up paint that will exactly match the manufacturer’s original paint job. If you have a car in a neutral color, however, you can probably get away with a generic vehicle touch up paint kid. The automobile industry calls black, white, grey, and silver neutral colors. White has been America’s most common color choice since 2006, according to the color marketing specialist Nancy Lockhart.
• Make sure you have done all the right initial preparation. If you’re going with a brand-specific color, make sure you’ve matched the paint code number (located on the firewall of your car) with the vehicle touch up paint you’ve acquired. Then you’ll need to make sure you remove any rust that you see on the scratch. If it’s a deep scratch, use some rust arrestor before applying any paint. You’ll also want to sand the area to make sure that the primer bonds correctly, and of course you’ll need to completely wash the area. You don’t want any rust or rust arrestor, but you also don’t want any dust, wax, or pollen. Let the whole area completely dry before you do anything else.
• Apply primer before you use vehicle touch up paint. Be sure to add the primer and let it dry completely before you apply any paint. Try not to get any primer on un-scratched areas of original paint. Use a matchstick or a cotton bud to apply the primer, and wipe it off quickly if it gets on anything.
• Apply vehicle touch up paint carefully and correctly. Make sure you’ve mixed the paint up very thoroughly before you try applying it to anything. As you apply, make sure you work inwards from the edges of the scratch or scrape and completely cover the surface of the spot. Then be sure to wait a few days so that everything can completely dry.
• Before you buy any vehicle touch up paint, know your limits. Unless you’re a professional car detailer with access to certain tools, there are going to be some scratches that are too big or too deep for your to effectively fix. Deep scratches can cost from $300 to $3,000 to fix, depending on damage. However, there are times when this cost is worth it to restore your vehicle to like-new condition.

You depend on your car, and it’s a valuable investment. Don’t let that investment suffer by failing to take care of it when it needs help. If you’ve got a scratch or scrape, don’t wait to get it fixed. Protect your car’s value by getting a good car touch up paint kit as soon as possible.