Sometimes we find ourselves in need of auto body repair whether our fault or at the hand of another. It so happens we found ourselves the victim of an unskilled parking lot bandit that creased the quarter panel on my wife’s Chrysler 300 SRT8. Our damaged quarter panel was a repaired by a friend who is a skilled body man. While waiting for a convenient time to schedule paint-work we traveled with an unsightly primer finish. Recently hearing of Automotivetouchup a leading provider of specialty color matched paints available in quarts, pints, aerosol, touch-up bottles, pens and all supporting products needed. They utilize a “precision driven process for the formulation of 60,000 original OEM colors. Automotivetouchup modifies each color by using only the highest quality auto paint from the most credible names in the business”. This results in high quality factory color matched paint at reasonable pricing for consumers and businesses alike.
We decided to give Automotivetouchup a test on our 2007 Chrysler 300 SRT8. I proceeded to remove oxidation from the rest of the vehicle with rubbing compound and finishing with a polish. Automotivetouchup has a tool to find available paint codes for your make and model vehicle which you can confirm by finding the paint code on your vehicle tag. Our color happened to be a brilliant black pearl with multiple colors visible under bright lights. Our initial thought was to test the aerosol spray on the car’s faded rear spoiler. After reviewing Automotivetouchup information and videos we decided to paint the quarter panel for the ultimate test. The thought of using an aerosol left me a little uneasy but I decided to trust the company’s reputation.
We started by cleaning and masking the panel area including rolled back tape at door and panel lines to help blend paint line. Automotivetouchup offers Prep Solvent a wax and grease remover to prep the surface of contaminants. With the help of my business partner Robert Placencia we proceeded to wet and color sand to primer and clear coat of the masked panel area using ATU’s sandpaper and block. We utilized their Paint Prep Wipes to maintain a clean surface. We then proceeded to apply the pearl black base color in thin layer in crossed patterns to avoid modeling of the pearl (same technique as metallics). The aerosol cans have a wide fan spray tip allowing smooth evenly distributed application without buildup. Each layer of basecoat dried 5 minutes before the next coat was applied until we applied five coats of even color and random pearl spread under bright lights. After 30 minutes of dry time we began applying the ATU clear coat. Each coat fanned nicely with the final heavy spray allowing clear not flatten out without sagging. As the final layer began to dry it flattened into a smooth glossy finish. Robert having experience as a previous painter for a bus and limo company painting various colors and metallics was very impressed with the results. He stated the paint applied nicely giving great results that look gun finished not knowing it was achieved with aerosol cans.
After allowing clear coat to thoroughly dry we used rubbing compound from Automotivetouchup to bring out the final sheen to match the factory finish and finished with hand glaze and sealer. The final finish was remarkable, the color match and the sparkle of colors in the black pearl were an exact match. Everything from Automotivetouchup was top notch quality and very affordable pricing for anyone. I can highly recommend to anybody from beginner to professional with online videos at ATU to help the novices. I have spray gun ready paint from ATU that will be applied to our Ford Raptor fiberglass fenders in the near future after some fabrication work is completed.
Automotivetouchup offers all the paint and body supplies necessary from body filler, paint, solvents, accessories and safety products. Employing over 300,000 custom mixed formulas and pharmaceutical grade scales calibrated to precise tolerances, Automotive Touchup can match your vehicle needs. Visit Automotivetouchup