Touch up paint

E92GRL · 01-02-2013, 08:09 PM

My bmw is space gray, and it has a few minor scratches that I'd love to touch up, anyone know of a good touch up paint or even how to do it... I was looking at the BMW touch up paint sticks.

AddictedToBavarian · 01-02-2013, 08:11 PM

Touch up paint is a huge fail no matter how careful you are it looks like crap. It's ok for little chips, but anything bigger isn't worth it. Dr. Colorchip looks like it works well on commercials, but I heard that looks terrible too.

thenewrick · 01-02-2013, 08:31 PM

I've had good results from Dr. Colorchip. I smeared it on the front of my hood where there were a few dozen rock chips and it filled them in and blended well. It's not perfect by any means but better than touch up paint.

Dark_Knight_335 · 01-02-2013, 08:43 PM

I have a space gray touch up paint pen- it might still be good. I can ship it to you if you want unless you are local to the tri-state area. I have a BSM 335 now

E92GRL · 01-02-2013, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thenewrick

I've had good results from Dr. Colorchip. I smeared it on the front of my hood where there were a few dozen rock chips and it filled them in and blended well. It's not perfect by any means but better than touch up paint.

Is the product you used more like a paint or a filler? The one from BMW i'd hope would match exactly since it's from the maker, but I'm not looking to cover any obvious places, there are two chips under the passenger side door that drive me crazy.

thenewrick · 01-02-2013, 08:50 PM

It's both I guess, I dunno

cuiter23 · 01-02-2013, 10:08 PM

I've used touch up paint from BMW, no where near perfect. Maybe I am not a professional at it but it will never look exactly like before the damage. However, from a distance, it will be hard to tell that it is touched up, only up close you will be able to see the imperfections.

ctuna · 01-02-2013, 10:15 PM

Dr color chip is better than the OEM paint.
Its the best I have found for chips.
Its more liquid and doesn't blob as much.
If you have a light surface scratch you may be
better off trying to rub it out.
A lightly applied spray might hide it more easily
in the case of a long scratch .

trippy · 01-02-2013, 10:56 PM

Touchup paint is only good for very small chips, else it is a waste of time.

GChase · 01-03-2013, 12:54 AM

I tried using touch up paint on my front bumper and it looked like absolute shit. The guy who had my car before me did some serious mileage on some crap highways. I ended up just getting it repainted for like $500 (yeah it was that bad)... At least she looks beautiful now

Here's the before pic:

I don't have an after pic of when I did the touch up paint though... Too embarrassed lol

Auto Pilot · 01-03-2013, 01:36 AM

Using touch up on plastic surfaces doesn't really work, or least that's my experience

E92GRL · 01-03-2013, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Auto Pilot

Using touch up on plastic surfaces doesn't really work, or least that's my experience

Agreed. To repair scratches, dents, or chips in plastic you would need a totally different method. Luckily it's not plastic that I'm attempting to fix. Thank you for your help

RoundelM3 · 01-03-2013, 09:07 AM

I've used Dr. Colorchip on my Sparkling Graphite and my wife's Space Gray, plus an older dark-blue metallic on an 05 325i. It's about as good as you can get without taking it to a body shop. Getting an exact match, especially on pearls and metallics, is a crapshoot at best, as the particles tend to "stand up" a certain way and there are always very subtle variances in the exact shade.

abhishriv · 01-08-2013, 06:35 PM

ive filled in a couple chips with touch up paint. but its a tedious process. i used a very fine painters brush to build up the touch up paint in the chip almost to the level of the paint around it.. then after its dried put a couple layers of the clear until its just slightly higher than the rest of the paint... wet sanded (3000 grit) the area gently to smooth it out and bend the paint chip in.. then used my buffer to bring it back to a shine. Like i said, its a very tedious process but can be done so its almost perfectly blended in, but i'm thinking about getting my front bumper painted over too since theres hundreds of tiny chips from years of highway driving an salt on roads in winter

E92GRL · 01-09-2013, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhishriv

ive filled in a couple chips with touch up paint. but its a tedious process. i used a very fine painters brush to build up the touch up paint in the chip almost to the level of the paint around it.. then after its dried put a couple layers of the clear until its just slightly higher than the rest of the paint... wet sanded (3000 grit) the area gently to smooth it out and bend the paint chip in.. then used my buffer to bring it back to a shine. Like i said, its a very tedious process but can be done so its almost perfectly blended in, but i'm thinking about getting my front bumper painted over too since theres hundreds of tiny chips from years of highway driving an salt on roads in winter

do you have any photos before and after???
or even just after...?

fibonacci · 01-09-2013, 02:17 PM

I've used the OEM touch-up paint on my alpine white 335i, to some success. It looks better - matches better - if you use without the clear coat (included). It's good to protect the metal from rust, but not a 100% fix by any means. I'm pretty confident than any touch-up will be more or less a variant of that.

But it's good "for the meantime..."

01-02-2013, 08:09 PM	#1
E92GRL @E92GRL 114 Rep 322 Posts Drives: E30 // E92 // E39-sold Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: NorCal iTrader: (0)	Touch up paint My bmw is space gray, and it has a few minor scratches that I'd love to touch up, anyone know of a good touch up paint or even how to do it... I was looking at the BMW touch up paint sticks. __________________
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01-02-2013, 08:11 PM	#2
AddictedToBavarian My other ride is a Bianchi Infinito 100 Rep 2,767 Posts Drives: Miss my E92 but love my E46 M3 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: North Jersey iTrader: (2)	Touch up paint is a huge fail no matter how careful you are it looks like crap. It's ok for little chips, but anything bigger isn't worth it. Dr. Colorchip looks like it works well on commercials, but I heard that looks terrible too.
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01-02-2013, 08:31 PM	#3
thenewrick Captain 27 Rep 606 Posts Drives: 2007 E93 335i Black Sapphire Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: USA iTrader: (2)	I've had good results from Dr. Colorchip. I smeared it on the front of my hood where there were a few dozen rock chips and it filled them in and blended well. It's not perfect by any means but better than touch up paint.
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01-02-2013, 08:43 PM	#4
Dark_Knight_335 Came to the N55 Darkside 1140 Rep 12,740 Posts Drives: 2011 335 E93 M-Sport Join Date: May 2010 Location: NY/NJ iTrader: (28)	I have a space gray touch up paint pen- it might still be good. I can ship it to you if you want unless you are local to the tri-state area. I have a BSM 335 now
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01-02-2013, 08:50 PM	#6
thenewrick Captain 27 Rep 606 Posts Drives: 2007 E93 335i Black Sapphire Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: USA iTrader: (2)	It's both I guess, I dunno
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01-02-2013, 10:08 PM	#7
cuiter23 Major 82 Rep 1,094 Posts Drives: 2023 G87 M2 6Spd Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Canada iTrader: (1) Garage List 2007 BMW 328i [6.00]	I've used touch up paint from BMW, no where near perfect. Maybe I am not a professional at it but it will never look exactly like before the damage. However, from a distance, it will be hard to tell that it is touched up, only up close you will be able to see the imperfections. __________________ [SOLD] 2007 E90 328i - Titanium Metallic l 19" VMR V710 l H&R Trak+ Spacers l M-Sport Rear Bumper l Mtech Rear Lip Spoiler l Hamann Front Lip l Eibach Sportline l AA N52 Signature Exhaust l OEM Blacklines l MTEC V3 AE l 6000K HID l Nokya 7000K Fogs l MTEC License Plate LED l Interior LED l 15% Tint l BlackVue DR380G-HD + PMP 2023 G87 M2 6Spd - HEA Package \| OEM M Performance Carbon Wing
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01-02-2013, 10:15 PM	#8
ctuna Lieutenant General 2102 Rep 13,471 Posts Drives: 325xi 06 wagon MT Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Santa Cruz, Ca iTrader: (0)	Dr color chip is better than the OEM paint. Dr color chip is better than the OEM paint. Its the best I have found for chips. Its more liquid and doesn't blob as much. If you have a light surface scratch you may be better off trying to rub it out. A lightly applied spray might hide it more easily in the case of a long scratch .
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01-02-2013, 10:56 PM	#9
trippy Private First Class 8 Rep 100 Posts Drives: NIL Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Barbados iTrader: (0)	Touchup paint is only good for very small chips, else it is a waste of time.
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01-03-2013, 12:54 AM	#10
GChase Captain 40 Rep 701 Posts Drives: 2009 E90 328i Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Louisville, KY iTrader: (0)	I tried using touch up paint on my front bumper and it looked like absolute shit. The guy who had my car before me did some serious mileage on some crap highways. I ended up just getting it repainted for like $500 (yeah it was that bad)... At least she looks beautiful now Here's the before pic: I don't have an after pic of when I did the touch up paint though... Too embarrassed lol
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01-03-2013, 01:36 AM	#11
Auto Pilot First Lieutenant 10 Rep 303 Posts Drives: 2011 SG CR 335xi e92, M-Sport Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: GTA, Ontario iTrader: (0)	Using touch up on plastic surfaces doesn't really work, or least that's my experience
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01-03-2013, 09:07 AM	#13
RoundelM3 Major General 1952 Rep 7,069 Posts Drives: 15 F80 M3, 22 G01 X3 30i Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Clayton, NC iTrader: (2) Garage List 2015 BMW M3 [8.25] 2022 BMW X3 [9.87]	I've used Dr. Colorchip on my Sparkling Graphite and my wife's Space Gray, plus an older dark-blue metallic on an 05 325i. It's about as good as you can get without taking it to a body shop. Getting an exact match, especially on pearls and metallics, is a crapshoot at best, as the particles tend to "stand up" a certain way and there are always very subtle variances in the exact shade. __________________ 2015 F80 ///M3 Sedan 7DCT Tanzanite, 2022 X3 sDrive30i 8AT Brooklyn Grey
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01-08-2013, 06:35 PM	#14
abhishriv Major 103 Rep 1,384 Posts Drives: 2007 335i Coupe (Space grey) Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0)	ive filled in a couple chips with touch up paint. but its a tedious process. i used a very fine painters brush to build up the touch up paint in the chip almost to the level of the paint around it.. then after its dried put a couple layers of the clear until its just slightly higher than the rest of the paint... wet sanded (3000 grit) the area gently to smooth it out and bend the paint chip in.. then used my buffer to bring it back to a shine. Like i said, its a very tedious process but can be done so its almost perfectly blended in, but i'm thinking about getting my front bumper painted over too since theres hundreds of tiny chips from years of highway driving an salt on roads in winter
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01-09-2013, 02:17 PM	#16
fibonacci Fancy Member 8 Rep 67 Posts Drives: 2007 335i Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: NY iTrader: (1)	I've used the OEM touch-up paint on my alpine white 335i, to some success. It looks better - matches better - if you use without the clear coat (included). It's good to protect the metal from rust, but not a 100% fix by any means. I'm pretty confident than any touch-up will be more or less a variant of that. But it's good "for the meantime..."
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