How to get great results from metallic touch-up pens

1. Clean and prepare

As with any colour paint finish, before attempting any repair or touch work on a metallic car, you need to prepare the area correctly.

Even the most eagle eyed enthusiast can miss some of the things that can affect the results of a paint touch-up job.

These might include grease, fingerprints, dust, dirt, oil, wax, tar or any other contaminants, even microscopic ones.

Prepare the area with panel wipe, applied with a degreasing cloth, to ensure a clean surface enabling better paint adhesion and finish.

2. Apply paint touch-up pen

The important thing to remember is that no matter how much you need to build up the base coat, only apply paint within the chip or scratch.

Any paint applied with a vehicle touch-up pen to existing undamaged paintwork will make the area appear darker.

And this is especially true for cars with metallic paint, so take extra care when using yours.

A good tip is to warm the area first - you can do this with a normal hairdryer - this will help the paint adhere better to the prepared surface.
Apply a light coat into the chip or scratch, then leave to dry for around 15-20 minutes before applying the next coat.

Patience is key, as a rushed job of built up paint applied too quickly will definitely appear darker.

Continue to do this the required number of times until the paint has been built up to the same depth as the surrounding paint.

3. Apply clear lacquer

Any scratch or chip paint repairs will need to be finished with a clear lacquer layer.

This provides extra protection for the new paint and helps prevent any future damage in the same area.

Clear lacquering is especially important for metallic paint, as it also provides a more uniform finished appearance.

The main difference between metallic/pearlescent and solid colours is that the direction of the flecks within the paint creates the effect.

So shaking well and using back-and-forth strokes are important to achieve this when applying paint, prior to the uniform lacquer.

And that’s it really, three processes - but each with their own steps and extra details to pay attention to.

By allowing the time to prepare properly for each one, the final result will definitely reflect the care taken.