Hi,

Can anyone recommend a touch up paint kit or online vendor to purchase from? I have the tiniest mark on my hood that I am obsessing over and would like to fix it. I found several websites to order from but would like to hear from other mini owners about their experiences. I drive a 2011 country man in light white.

Ta,
MomMini

 

Get some factory touchup and apply it with a fine artist paint brush or a microbrush. There are many ways to apply paint touchup, they are all different variations on addressing the paint blob that results from the repair.

Paint pens can be used to flow the paint into the chips. Some people love them, but to me they don't flow at all angles or flow too much when I need just a tiny drop. The microbrushes gives me more control.

Systems like Dr. Color Chip and Langka let you smooth a blob of paint down with a solvent so they are less visible but require technique, so it's not always easy to get the results you want. Often you will inadvertently mar/scuff the area around the blob as you try to rub it down.

This is probably more info than you were asking for, but there is no better matching paint than the factory paint and while it may cost more than the aftermarket ones, you only need one tube and it will last the life of your MINI.

http://www.showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=167&bc=no

Richard

 

Thanks for the info. The scratch is really small and I think buying the paint and use a brush would be the best way to go. I do not mind spending more to get the best color match. I take my mini in to the dealership every week for a wash. While I am there I will see if they sell the paint.

 

If you are picky about the paint, have the time and place..... IMHO get the stuff to do your own car washes. That way you can keep track of every inch of the exterior and you are in charge of what happens to it. White is an easy color to take care of too.

 

Where is the factory paint touch -up available online?

 

online source for factory t/u paint kit
http://ecommerce.mossmotors.com/p/ne...Search%3Dpaint

recommended alternate source

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/

the paint you get here is freshly mixed while the 'factory' paint has possibly been in the bottles for years

Comment one: any paint company can duplicate the factory color once they have the color code .... the factory may change their paint supplier many times in a production run .... buying paint from the dealer does NOT assure "better" paint.

the secret to t/up work is application and here's a product that can help

http://www.langka.com/

an alternate is

http://drcolorchip.com/?gclid=CM_o3Y...FQcFnQodc1imjg

but here's my two cents and probably not worth that to most . . .

if you plan to try and chase every little rock chip you will end up

a) very busy most weekends

b) very experienced with your product of choice

c) owner of a car that looks like it has measles

Comment two - factory paint is the 'modern' base/clear system - a base coat of color and a top coat of clear. The factory t/up paint comes as a kit - one bottle of color and another of clear. If you use an alternate source you want to do the same thing and order base and clear .... unless they say they are selling a one step alternate (base and clear mixed ....)

OOPPS almost forgot the MOST important suggestion

NEVER and I mean NEVER EVER apply t/up paint with the brush in the bottle (or a pen). Go to an art store like Micheals or JoAnns and buy a very fine artist brush (000 is a good start), A little thinner or some mineral spirits is a good thing to have around.

 

Can anyone recommend a touch up paint kit or online vendor to purchase from? I have the tiniest mark on my hood that I am obsessing over and would like to fix it.

 

hmmmm

I thought that was covered in the earlier posts right here

dr color chip

langka

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/

 

I'd recommend Dr Colorchip. I think their system works pretty well, and have used it on both my Mini and my Miata before.

http://drcolorchip.com/

Good luck,

 

But the question would be who's used both head to head since I think LAN' is the cat's whiskers . . . .

 

I have had great results from Langka blob remover and a small touch up bottle from the dealer. Rock chips on the hood seem to be very common. I just installed an Invisible Mask on mine a week ago and hope to minimize the chips at least on the front where they are the most common. I have a small chip towards the back of the hood that I will use the langka kit as soon as I get some touch up paint.

 

Absolutely, without fail get the factory touchup paint. You should even be able to get it from your dealership's parts dept.
My baby has a big spot on the driver's side door where her previous owners used something that was clearly not the right paint: it's a black with greenish undertones whereas Astro black clearly has a blue undertone. I'm slowly working on that and making it better (nobody else notices it but me).

I agree about not using the brush that comes with the stuff, found that out the hard way.

I'll have to try a blob remover when I get more brave. :D

 

Newbie R56er. So, Capt bj (et al), I'm looking at Dr.ColorChip and Automotive Touch Up and their systems of application are very different. I'm used to using a delicate brush to hand paint dings (2 Honda Preludes years ago; the 2002 Toyota Celica I just sold) and am interested in learning how close the Dr.ColorChip comes to yielding the same results. Sure looks less time consuming w/decreased dry time and zero need for precision. Does it seal as well? Thanks in advance, anyone that responds.