Does anyone know the best touchup paint to get for a "super white" 2009 Camry hybrid, I have some paint scratched off from my bumper and the bumper plastic appears to be black so the scratch is quite noticeable.

 

Order touch up paint from the dealer. I have a mag grey and going to an auto store to buy touchup paint will not match. even just getting a basic color such as white or black wont match your color even though its a standard color. Different manufacturers have a different color pigment for white/black. The touchup paint from dealer comes in a little container that can be used with brush...kind of like nailpolish/whiteout or used as a pen.

The touchup paint costs $8-12

 

The dealers sell little half-ounce touch ups with a brush like fingernail polish.
If you need a little more than that, or just want a spray can, you can get 12oz cans from http://www.repaintsupply.com/
Just enter your paint code in the 'Product search' area.

My car is Barcelona Red, not white, so I can't vouch for the color match on the white.
But they got the 3Q3 Barcelona Red spot-on.

 

I got my super white paint from here.

http://automotivetouchup.com/

 

Frank, how close did the color match? Did you use the pen, brush-in-cap bottle or the spray paint?

Would I get better results with the spray than the brush?

 

Also, my bumper scratches are down to the black bumper. Do I need to start with a primer? Do I need to finish with a clear coat?

 

You probably don't need primer. Make sure the spot is clean clean clean before painting. I'd top it with clear coat for extra protection. I just did this to my bumper, followed by wet sanding. The good thing about bumpers are they cannot rust!

 

What grit sandpaper did you use for the wet sanding? Won't wet sanding remove the clear coat from the surrounding regions of the scratch?

 

(Note: I'm not a pro. So...)

I used 3M 1500 grit automotive wet/dry sandpaper (gray). I also have 2000 grit of the same. The key is the wet part. I usually soak it for 5 - 10 minutes and then as I am sanding I keep it very well "lubricated" and rinse frequently. (I do not know if this is the "proper" way but it worked for me.)

You should sand after you have put a color layer of paint and two layers of clear coat. If the color layer did not go one smooth (which is what usually happens to me), you can sand the color layer to smooth it out a little to prevent the clear coat layer from being extremely raised.

If you can use the pen part of the touch up paint containers you will probably be able to: apply paint layer, apply clear coat layer, sand, buff.

As posted in the washing your car thread, it is suggested you use a heavy rubbing compound such as Meguir's 105 for a heavy compound or 3M Ultra cut. Then a good polish and finally some wax.

Concerning the removal of clear coat, you should not need to sand down that far. The idea is you have (to a degree) repainted the scratched area and it is now at or above the level of the original paint. You want to lightly sand. Don't press too hard. That said, you are removing a thin layer of clear coat when you sand.

Just take your time. Do a little bit then polish. If you are happy enough with the result you're done. If not, sand (you wasted a little extra time by doing the first polish) and polish again. Also, it took me awhile to do the polishing step. This is probably because I was doing it by hand and because I was using a crappy heaving rubbing compound (Turtle Wax).

In the end, the sanded area (which was quite large) looks just like the rest of the surrounding area to my eyes. (I still have a deeper scratch in that same location to get rid of in the spring.) Over all, it was an improvement and I was pleased with the results of my "experiment."

[Don't be scared by what follows - it was merely my thought process because I was not confident in my ability]

I figured, worse case, I'd try to mask off the surrounding area and use automotive spray paint to repaint and try the polish again or as an absolute last resort, have the bumper painted for about $250.

[/End need to not be scared.]

Good luck! You can do it!

Mike

 

So here are the steps:
1) touch up
2) light wet sand (possibly)
3) clear coat
4) light wet sand
5) buff
6) polish
7) wax

That procedure is perhaps a little out of my comfort zone as I could probably do more harm than good during the sanding and buffing steps. If I use a rubbing compound, I am also risking further damage to my paint.

But then again, if I never try I will never learn and I will never feel comfortable trying. I will have to think about it.

Thanks for all your help.