Retouch Your Car's Paint

It's spring time and your car needs touching up around the edges.

All the pebbles that spat up from the road during the winter months have left too many tracks and pits on your bumpers.

This does not have to be an expensive project. Think twice about running to the body repair shop. Chose a time when you will not have to drive the car much (or at all) for a couple of days. The pits and scrapes were all on the underside of my car's bumper so I decided to do the touch up myself. Ladies do not have to always wear white gloves, I told myself.

I went to my auto dealer and purchased the right touch up paint for my car. Depending on the number and size of the areas that need to be treated, you may need to purchase more than one tube of paint. The gentleman at the service counter will advise you.

Wash the areas needing attention with whatever you use to wash your car and dry the area thoroughly. You can also use any glass cleaner. It is important that the surface be clean and smooth.

Shake the canister of paint according to the directions. The paint needs to be completely mixed so that it flows onto the surface flawlessly. Now the fun begins!! Make yourself comfortable and start painting. Smooth, even strokes. Look from different angles to check for spots that may have been missed. The light shining from different directions will highlight areas that still need painting. The paint will need to thoroughly dry before proceeding to the next step. It is best to allow about 24 hours. This will help ensure that the paint is completely adhered to the surface. You want to avoid redoing the project!!

The next day you will polish and buff. Use any high quality wax and buffing compound and have a couple of terry cloth rags ready and a soft smooth cloth (old flannel pj's work well). Again make your self comfortable and begin polishing. First dampen one of the terry cloths and scoop some wax onto it. Spread the wax evenly over the area. Allow the wax to dry and then polish it off. I first use a terry rag to remove most to the film and then finish with the softer flannel cloth. I have needed to repeat this process two or three times. When finished, I could barely see where all the pits and scrapes had been!! Pleased with my work and proud of myself, I happily put on my white gloves and headed out for lunch with friends.