Remove Touch Up Paint?

[Jonj1]

Hi,

New user looking for some advice.

Have recently bought a new car, well 13 years old so never going to be showroom condition. The paint is metallic silver, however someone has just used a generic silver to touch up the body work in places and quite frankly it looks awful.

What would be the best way to tackle this? I have the correct colour touch up paint, would it be best to just go over it or is there a way to remove the old touch up paint and start again?

Thanks

[paintman]

Your touch up may have the correct code & colour name but it's very unlikely that it will be the same shade - which will depend on which batch of paint was in use when your car was built.
Method of application will also affect the appearance. Don't slather too much on in one go - esp with silver & pale metallics - or the metallic particles will sink & the appearance will be dark & stripey.

I'd suggest you try putting a bit on an inconspicuous part of the car & see just how good it is before you start taking the old off.

'Clutch & brake cleaner' will often remove touch-up paint.
If it doesn't then thinners should, but be careful that doesn't damage the rest of the paint.

[Jonj1]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Yes I appreciate over the years that the shades maybe different but anything is better than the ridiculous silver thats on there now, think of a nice bright metallic silver then think of a dark grey silver, thats what the used to touch it up with!

Ok I was never going to spend a fortune on it, its just to make these bits a bit better, I could just go over whats there and see what its like or remove the best I can and start again.

Thanks for the advice

[Squiggs]

What you describe has probably been done with the correct silver - but touching in a silver won't look silver.

Paints are designed to be sprayed and when sprayed the paint hits the surface as a very thin layer …… in this thin layer the metallic/pearl particles in the paint all 'sit' correctly acting as tiny mirrors, reflecting light, thus giving the appearance of silver.
When you touch-in, no matter how careful you are, you apply the paint thicker than if it were sprayed …… in this thick paint the metallic/pearl particles 'sink', they don't sit properly, they can't act like little mirrors can't reflect the light and the paint appears dull/murky/darker.

Because of this, and even if you used the exact same batch of paint that your car was painted in, I'm afraid anything you do will end up with the same result.

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

Cellulose thinners would probably shift it