Auto paint scratches and chips - repair?

have not done this before. ..


any suggestions on quick fix i can do by myself?





is there anything out there i can buy at autozone, kragen or even walmart :) that i can rub on, rub off...what brand?





what about a ';buffing'; tool? any cheap ones? do i need one?





any website for dummies that can show me easy steps on how to do the whole process the fastest...Auto paint scratches and chips - repair?
You can do several things to help clean up your car. Heres a few just off the top of my head.





For the chips -





You can go to a dealership, or pretty much any major automotive store and get touch up paint. If you have a metallic color car, I will just warn you now that it probably won't match very well since there is a huge difference between a spray gun and a brush on paint job. Those brushes that they give you are pretty much garbage as well, I use a very tiny paint brush that I went out and bought (something little kids use lol)





As for the scratches -





As long as they are not very deep scratches you could most likely get them out with some ';rubbing compound'; or ';buffing compound';. You can use a soft cotton rag as well. I personally like 3M, although there are many other alternatives to it since it is a little bit pricey. All you have to do is either use a buffer (there are many makes of them, if you want to get one it's up to you) or just use a soft towel. If you have a black car, you may leave some swirl marks if you don't know how to do it correctly. Also, you don't NEED a buffer to do this, it just makes it a whole lot easier and I think it turns out better in the end.





If you have a few deep scratches and still want to get them out, you can try using the compound on it, however if you see ANY color on your rag, stop doing it, this means it's deep enough that it went through the clear coat on your ride. If you feel really confident with yourself you can try wet-sanding with 1500-2500 grit sandpaper over the scratches to make them less noticeable or in some cases get them out. Just be aware that you are removing clear coat and don't want to go too deep.





After you use rubbing compound on the spots, you want to use some type of polish/glaze on it to shine it back up. Again there are many many different kinds of polishes so take your pick.





Afterwards, give it a nice coat of wax or two and it should be noticeably better!





If you want some more tips, hit me up on AIM under IAMAHOMEY, I paint cars for a living so I'll help ya out :)Auto paint scratches and chips - repair?
if youre tryin to do it yourself, visit paintscratch.com. they sell factory matched paint in different quantities... even comes in a spray can... just type in your paint code and VIN and go from there... good luck