Our cars are valuable assets that we take lots of pride in. cars are not cheap and many people try their best to keep the car looking new for as long as possible. If you’re a car owner, one of your most important responsibilities is car paint repair to try and keep your ride aesthetically pleasing.
Best Car Paint
Unless you park your car unused in a bubble, it will over time age. Engine components will eventually tear and wear from everyday use, even when they are perfectly maintained.
Unfortunately, the car’s exterior takes the biggest brunt of the damage. Dings, dents, and scratches can happen because of misfortune or carelessness and the paint surface will without a doubt lose its luster over time.
Although it’s not entirely possible to predict or prevent every potential threat your car gets exposed to, what you can do is take immediate action to take control of the situation and ultimately prevent any further deterioration.
Where car paint is an issue, immediate response will be the best remedy. If it takes you more time to know about the problem and address it, then it will get more difficult to deal with the issue at hand.
Individuals who restore old cars often do the painting work themselves and spray paint is specially designed to help DIY enthusiasts.
As experts will tell you, the best car spray paint in a bottle is challenging to choose because the paints usually come with different attributes and finishes.
In this car paint repair guide, we’ll discuss how you can restore faded car paint. Also, we’ll delve into reasons why you should never leave your car paint unrestored. You’ll also learn how to repair car paint and at what point it will be best to address the situation.
What Causes The Car Paint To Fade?
Most cars spend lots of time outdoors. The paint job is exposed to different external elements unless you have the car parked in the garage idle forever.
Today, most automotive coatings are usually reinforced with other additives. Technically, these components improve overall durability and extend lifespan. Also, they can inhibit corrosion and make it more resistant to extreme temperatures.
Furthermore, additives help withstand external elements and daily wear. Unfortunately, they can’t make your car invincible.
If you own an old car, it might not have the benefits of the additive-enhanced coating.
Here are some of the factors that speed up or provoke car paints fading:
- Acid rain and other intense weather conditions
- Air pollution and other external contaminants
- Exposure to UV
- Natural paint oxidation
Let’s take a closer look at these factors:
UV Light
Ever suffered from horrible sunburn? If so, then you know how lethal UV rays can be. Cars can also get sun damaged.
Direct exposure to sunlight can easily destroy different chemical bonds in the automotive coatings, which can strip them of color and shine. Restoring the shine on your car’s exterior is still possible, but it’s important to ensure you prevent stripping of your perfect shine.
Contaminants And Pollution
If you live in an area where there’s massive air pollution, it can lead to atmospheric corrosion. Nitrogen dioxide and sulfur are often responsible for such.
These kinds of pollutants can stick to the paint and over time wear it down. However, a standard wash might not be adequate to remove these, and the longer these stay on, the stronger this bond becomes.
Non-chemical contaminants are also not safe. Tree sap, pollen, and bird poop can have dire corrosion effects if not cleaned.
Natural Oxidation
Oxidation is when a chemical or material reacts with natural oxygen. Oxygen breaks down the car’s paint.
This does not happen instantaneously, it might take a few years. Moreover, the most important thing you should know is that your car starts to oxidize immediately after its release from the factory.
Extreme Weather Conditions
Sweltering temperatures and heavy humidity are tough on the car’s exterior. The same thing happens with acid rain, which occurs at any point in time if you live in a polluted area.
Any kind of precipitation, from snow and hail to dust and fog, can have acid deposits.
Common Car Paint Issues
- Over sanding is a huge issue. Keep in mind that we are only trying to fix a single spot and not the entire car.
- Try using the touch-up paint to fix rust and other issues that could be asking for more trouble.
- Overcommitting is the easiest mistake one can make. If you aren’t sure about the car paint repair job, then you should take your car to an expert.
Car Paint Safety
Car paint can be perilous stuff, so you must be able to properly handle it throughout the paint touch-up process.
Here are some of the things you should do for improved safety:
- Work in a properly ventilated area – Although the car paint might be odorless, it could emit harmful fumes, which can harm your lungs.
- Don’t just throw away the extra paint – You will have to call the local authority to find out whether there’s a disposal unit in your area. The town hall should be in a position to direct you to the right facility.
- Keep the paint away from pets and children – It could be toxic, not just when swallowed, but also when it gets exposed on ears, eyes, or skin.
- If you are only doing light touch up, then you won’t need a paint suit and mask, but you should wear your gloves.
Things You’ll Need For Car Paint Repair
Perhaps you already know that you’ll need a few supplies to touch up car paint. Here are some of the items you must have:
Car repair tools list
- Clean microfiber cloths
- Sandpaper
- Paintbrush
- Plastic sheeting
- Painters tape
- Drop cloth
- Gloves
Parts list
- Polish solution
- Primer
- Touch up paint
Organizing your gear and tools to ensure everything is reachable would save you lots of time and effort waiting for someone else to bring you the blowtorch or sandpaper.
Also, you’ll need a flat workspace like a street parking, driveway, or garage floor that’s properly ventilated. You should also check the local laws to ensure you aren’t violating any codes.
How To Touch Up Car Paint
One of the most important things that you must do before you start painting your car is to ensure you have got the right paint for your car. The best way you can do is to go to a dealer and order the right touches-up color. The manager will check out the right color, either using your car’s VIN or using the year, model, and make of the car.
Once that’s done, then you can get started!
Preparing To Paint Your Car
The touch paint will not help you if the area is severely damaged or rusted. Touching up the vehicle’s paint works the best on medium scratches and other types of damage, not when the car paint is entirely ruined on a larger surface. Ensure the spot you are trying to fix is clear of debris and rust.
You can use sandpaper to rough up your paint and prepare the surface for a primer. Also, you do not have to sand the huge swath of paint. You should do enough to clear the way for primer and paint. Remember to start with the heavier grit and then move to less grit sandpaper.
After you have finished with the lesser grit sandpaper, it’s now time to clean the area. Ensure you wash away any road dirt, old paint, and rust residue.
Finally, allow the area to dry completely.
Priming & Painting the Car
The most important thing is to ensure your hand is steady enough to apply even the smallest amounts of paint or primer. Keep in mind that you can add more paint, but removing the paint can be a painful process.
You can use a toothpick, small brush, or any stick-like object for applying a small amount of primer to the area you want to touch up. You can then allow the primer to dry. This usually takes around 60 minutes, depending on how big the area is.
Ensure your touch-up paint is properly mixed by shaking the paint bottle and stirring.
You can then use a small brush to apply the touch-up paint evenly in the affected area. Remember not to apply your paint in a thick coat, which can result in bubbling or running.
Do not treat or sand the area you’ve just painted for some days. After the touch-up car paint has completely dried up, thoroughly wash the car and then polish it. This will help smooth out all imperfections in this touch-up paint and might also help blend the car paint with your car’s current paint color.
Best Car Paint Buying Guide
Not sure the type of car paint that’s best for your budget and requirements? Check out this buying guide to help you make the right decision.
Factors To Consider When Buying Car Paint
Re-Spray Vs. Touch Up
When picking the best car paint you need to consider if you just want the paint to touch up a small area on the paintwork – probably caused by a patch of rust or chip of you just want to re-spray the entire car. This will definitely affect the amount and type of paint you buy. For instance, for the touch-ups, a small read to use paint would be enough. For this reason, you need to learn more about how to spray car paint.
Finish
When picking the base coat, you need to consider the finish and color of your paint. Do you want something that perfectly matches your existing paintwork? Or are you looking for a pearlescent, metallic, or matte finish?
Durability
Paints durability is pretty important – some paints usually come with additional UV-resistant or anti-rust properties that help protect the surface of your car and prolong the life of your car paint.
Types Of Car Paints
Basecoat
A base coat is the ‘primary’ paint that changes the appearance and color of your automobile. The base coat can be water-based or solvent-based, and you can choose the best one from pearlescent, metallic, or solid finishes. The paint can be quickly pre-thinned and even ready to spray, or it might require a thinner first.
Acrylic lacquer
Acrylic paints are locally available as either lacquer or enamel, with enamel being the most common kind of base coat. The acrylic lacquer paint might be used in the place of the clear coat/base coat combination to generate the best high-shine finish, but it won’t be as durable and will need more maintenance for the best looks.
Clear coat
A clear coat may be applied on top of the base coat in order to protect the color paint and give it a glow finish. The clear coat helps prevent blemish in the paintwork that can result in rust formation and also provide enough protection from the UV rays, which can make the paint fade.
How To Protect Your Car Paint
Preventative measures usually go a long way. Restoration is not something you want to do now and then. Therefore, car paint prevention is the best way to do it.
Use Protective Products
Any person who doesn’t mind repeating applications can opt to regularly wax their car. Else, you can buy the car paint sealant to protect car paint for months.
Essentially, there are many car paint protection products for you to buy, so you should not have any shortage with regard to the available options.
Buy The Best Car Cover
If you regularly park your car outside, you should consider buying the best car cover. The few minutes it takes to remove the car cover will eventually reduce the risks of oxidation.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve read through this car paint review, then congratulations. You definitely know more than what an average car owner should know about car paint repair. We also suggest that you check out the best car wax to keep your ride shinning.
Overall the best car paints for cars is usually determined by individual preferences and budget. These car paints usually come in different finishes and colors. Also, they have different features such as no primer needed.
Always ensure that the car paint you choose for your vehicle has a rust protectant or inhibitor because rust is a big car problem.
Car Paint FAQs
How much does it cost to repair a car?
Painting your car can be much cheaper than taking it to a big-name company or professional paint shop. Nevertheless, the quality of the car paint should be a priority if you’ve invested lots of money or time into the process. Having said that, it will cost less to paint the car yourself, but you might also be in a position to get a better finish from paying a professional.
How much paint do I need for my vehicle?
It largely depends on the size of your car and what kind of paint you are using. Cars small than a typical 4-door sedan will need between 2 and 3 gallons of paint and one gallon of primer.
What other painting tools do I need?
Choosing the painting color is pretty easy. Ensuring you have all you need to paint your car is an important part of the job. Some of the things you need to include on your shopping list include a lined trash can, a paint respirator, paint strainers, tarps, gloves, disposable coveralls, stirring paint cups, and more. A scratch paper and timer will help determine the drying time and the coats applied.
Can I paint over the existing paint?
It’s definitely possible to paint over the cars existing paint. Nevertheless, if you want to paint over the finish, we recommend that you sand it down and also use a primer to make sure the new surface bonds with the surface. This helps prevent peeling and results in a better finish.
How long with the new car paint last?
The correct answer to this question depends on different factors including the number of coats you apply, how you prepare for the painting job, the type of car paint you use, and how you maintain the new car paint. Also, you can extend the lifecycle of the paint by making sure you perfectly prime the surface.
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