How can you tell when touchup paint is dry enough to use the Langka Blob Eliminator? I just touched up several chips and a scrape on my bonnet (used a bit of primer where it was down to metal) with paint from automotivetouchup. I waited about 10 minutes after the primer, and although I tried to do thin coats, the combination of toothpick, paint consistency, and impatience ended up with me getting above the OEM paint in one go.
On the Langka website it said that if you get paint on the internet and not the manufacturer it won't dry as quickly or be as hard and could take several days to dry. How can I tell when I'm ready to de-blob? I was thinking of just waiting 24 hours. And then another week before I wash and Hydro. Is that pretty safe do you think? thanks.

 

I usually give it 24 hours

I think you may have rushed things on the primer too....

automotivetouchup - application instructions from their web site:

Thoroughly shake the touch up paint basecoat color before applying. Apply as many coats necessary to cover the area leaving 5-10 minutes minimum between light coats. Do not wet sand or use prep solvent in between coats of touch up paint or clearcoat.
Please allow 30 minutes after the last layer of base coat color application to apply touch up clearcoat. Apply 2-3 coats of clearcoat using a light dabbing motion waiting 10-20 minutes in between each coat. Be gentle with the brush because you do not want to disturb the undercoats.
Clearcoat should be dry to the touch in 1-2 hours, but will completely dry overnight. Use Rubbing Compound once fully dry to bring out and optimum level of gloss. Do not wax the fresh paint for one month.

 

The Langka instructions say 2 to 4 hours, the MINI touch up paint says 30 minutes. I've had good results waiting an hour, on a warm day.

The first time I tried it, I waited 24 hours, and the paint had dried so well that the Langka de-blobber barely touched it, the air temperature was in the 80s so maybe that dried the paint harder. It sure took a lot of elbow grease to get it knocked down to the level of the factory paint! nothing like the 20 to thirty seconds that they said it would take, in the instructions.

The Micro brush supplied with the Langka kit, sure helps get just the right amount of paint on the chip. I've been able to clean my micro brushes with acetone and reuse them.

Dave

 

yikes! where did you get your paint from? Do you think that would make a difference? I didn't use any clearcoat which appears to take longer to dry. maybe I should try the Langka tonight...

thanks for the input.

 

if has been at least 6 hours I'd say you are safe

using LANGKA on anything other than a very small chip takes a bit of practice because it is easy to pull all the new paint out of the 'hole'. the softer the paint is, the easier this is to do. And the larger the hole, the easier this is to do.

and - wrt using a match stick or the brushes from Lan' .... go to Michael's, Joann's or your local art supply and head to the art brush section and buy a decent 000 (or finer) brush. NOW you have control over the paint but you should consider thinning the paint if it comes from the average touchup bottle....

Use the bottle brush to transfer paint to a file card ... add a drop of thinner and then go to work with your 000 (or finer) brush.

If your t/u paint is base coat remember you don't get gloss unless you top it with clear - but most folks don't notice the lost gloss on the chips (ALL modern auto paint IS base/clear)

6 to 12 hours later get out the LAN' - or any good extra fine rubbing compound if you were careful.....

 

I went back out to check on the car, and it turns out the chips weren't completely filled in, so I've done another coat and will try the Langka in the morning. The chips range in size from 1/32"-3/16" or so and the scratch is about 1/2" long. I'll get the brush and method you suggest Capt BJ for the rest of the car - I was just doing a first attempt with the bonnet, but have a lot more to go! And perhaps a redo of the bonnet if my Langka attempt tomorrow doesn't go well. thanks for your help.
Oh, and I'm not too worried about the gloss since the Epic and Hydro I have give the car an amazing shine.

 

Update: So I tried the Lankga stuff after 14 hours and the paint came off immediately! Most of the paint in the chips stayed in place, but I decided to redo them anyway. The paint looks glossier before de-blobbing. So I bought a 5/0 brush and went through all the panels. I actually found dabbing to work better for me than actual brushing. And the paint on the card dries really quickly. I preferred to dip the brush in the bottle. For the bumpers I used the brush from the bottle since the damage was extensive. I was more patient this time and managed to control myself enough to wait between layers! That was all yesterday and I think I will wait until tomorrow evening before trying the Langka again. If you're not looking for paint problems, the car now looks great (well, MUCH better at any rate). Hopefully even better after I'm all done.