Vehicle touch up paint help needed.

[DMF13]

All, I'm looking for advice on how to fix a small problem on the wife's car.

Neither of us noticed that someone had scraped the car, and the damage was small, but some of it (1.5" x .5" ) was down to bare metal. By the time we found it rust had already developed on the bare metal spot.

The car is over 7 years old, and we plan to "drive it until the wheels fall off." So aesthetics are a low priority. If I can make it so the damage/touch up isn't glaringly obvious from 15 feet away, and I can keep it from rusting, I'm good.

The question is, what's the best way to touch it up?

I was thinking I would hit the rust with a wire brush, then use naval jelly to get the last bits of rust. However, I'm open to better ideas.

After that I obviously need to prime, paint, seal. I have some factory touch up paint, but have no idea what brush on primer, or sealer to get, and the steps to take with all that.

Is there a brush on epoxy primer available? I'm assuming self etching primer isn't a good idea because the solvents could damage the surrounding paint, but again I'm not sure.

Do I put the color touch paint directly on the primer, or do I need to do any other prep? What, if any sealer, do I need to put over the color touch up paint?

When it comes to interior/exterior painting of a house I'm good go, but I'm ignorant of what needs to be done on a vehicle. So advice from those of you who know this stuff would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[RJ]

Paging @JM Campbell

[JM Campbell]

I don’t do much paint work, but I have had success with this process;

Tape off scratched area, sand down with wet sand paper @ 1000grit to remove rusting and prep area.
Clean with alcohol/denatured or 90% iso.
Replace tape around scratches area, apply factory touch up paint with thin paint brush (like what we use to paint our front sights).
Let dry/cure overnight.
Gently wet sand with 2000grit when dry/cure. Your trying to knock down/cut the applied paint to not have such a bulge above the original painted surface.
Remove tape, buff with a very mild polish to remove wet sand marks from touch up painted surface.

**I am not a painter but have used this method a few times with OK results, definitely not show room quality repair but it does hide/seal the damaged area without being a complete eyesore.

**Most factory touch up paint purchased at a dealer is mixed with a clear coat in the formulation (not a separate coat to apply) it works but is not a blended paint repair.


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[DMF13]

Thanks! So no need to prime the bare steel after removing the rust?

[JM Campbell]

Thanks! So no need to prime the bare steel after removing the rust?

Not in my experience with factory touch up paint, it wouldn’t hurt to get a little can of automotive paint primer in a spray can. Spray it sparingly after the cleaning step and the surface is dry (you will want a light dusting coat with no chance of drips) you will need to back mask the area and surrounding panels with plastic trash bags cut open and tape to make larger surface so you don’t have an overspray problem.

*most factory touch up paint has rust inhibitors in the formulation but I can not speak for all manufacturers.


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[DMF13]

Again, thank you for the help. The touch up paint is the factory touch up from Toyota if that makes a difference.