Most drivers have experienced this unfortunate scenario at least once. You’re driving down the highway, minding your own business, when suddenly you find yourself behind a dump truck. Normally, this wouldn’t be a cause for concern, but this truck has just left the quarry and is filled to the brim with gravel. As it rumbles down the road, bits of gravel begin to pelt your car at 70 mph. You can hear the tiny stones bouncing off your paintwork.
You can’t see the damage yet, but you can hear it. And you might even find yourself using the kind of language Gordon Ramsay reserves for an undercooked piece of chicken as the front of your car is being sand-blasted by rocks.
The good news is that your windshield survived, and none of the paint chips are really all that bad (once you have a moment to check your car). But you can’t get your car resprayed every time you get stuck behind a truck. Thankfully, there is another option that can get your car looking almost as good as new again.
- Type
-
Liquid
- Finish Type
-
High-Gloss
Voraliq’s White touch up paint for cars is engineered with high-grade formulation and innovative technology. Its rich consistency ensures smooth application and a glossy, factory-matched finish.
The $30 paint fix
Keeping our faithful VW Alltrack fresh on a real-world budget
A touch-up paint pen is inexpensive, easy to use, and can help seal and protect your car from further damage. My wife and I share a 2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack for daily errands. Taking the dogs to the vet, trips to the mall, grocery store runs, and so on. That is what our little Alltrack gets to do.
The VW does a great job helping us with those chores, but it also tends to get a bit beat up in the process. And we aren’t going to spend big money on paint protection film or getting the car repainted when the car itself is worth maybe $15,000 on a good day.
At the same time, I do care how my cars look, and I don’t want our faithful VW to have a hood that looks like the surface of the moon. So, I ordered the Volkswagen Touch-Up Paint Pen directly from VW. It cost about 30 bucks and came in Pure White to match the color of the car.
The touch-up pen from VW is actually two pens. One is a color paint pen, and the other is a clearcoat pen. Keep in mind that some manufacturers will use a single pen. For example, when I had my Ford Mustang GT, I ordered a touch-up pen from Ford, and it came as a single pen with both the basecoat and topcoat options combined. But regardless of the pen type, the concept is basically the same.
How to apply touch-up paint in 4 easy steps
An easy way to stop rust in its tracks without a body shop
Gently clean the area you plan to repair, removing any loose debris or dirt. Using a bit of rubbing alcohol is best. Give the pen a good shake to mix, and then apply a dab of paint to the damaged area. Give it about half an hour to dry. You can then apply a second coat of paint if required. Or apply the topcoat in the same manner that you applied the paint.
I will readily admit that I am terrible at this. There is a reason I am not a brain surgeon or a fine artist. I don’t have the steadiest hand. I am also not the most patient person in the world. So, I tend to rush to get things done. But I have to say that I get excellent results with touch-up pens. I would be willing to bet that you would do even better.
Not only does your car look better after you touch it up, but it is also protected from further damage. Some of the paint chips that I have filled in were down to the bare metal. Those sections quickly begin to rust. Once the touch-up paint and topcoat were applied, I no longer had to worry about rust spots developing.
If touch-up paint is not available from the manufacturer, you still have other options. Dr. ColorChip sells various paint touch-up kits that will repair chips and small scratches for almost any car. Their kits work a bit differently from a touch-up pen solution, but they are just as easy to use for beginners. And even their most expensive kit is well under $100 per car.
- Type
-
Metallic
- What’s Included
-
1-ounce Squirt Applicator OEM Matched Paint, 4-ounce of SealAct blending solution, 1 Microfiber Towel
Dr. ColorChip’s proprietary three-step paint chip repair process is the easiest and most effective way to touch-up minor automotive paint chips and road rash.
The goal is preservation, not a concours trophy
No, a touch-up paint pen is not going to magically turn your daily driver into a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance winner. If you stare closely enough, you will probably still spot the repaired chip.
But that is not really the point. The point is preserving your car, protecting the paint from rust and further deterioration, and making those annoying chips far less noticeable every time you walk up to your vehicle. Best of all, you do not need to be a professional detailer or body shop technician to get satisfying results. If I can do it with shaky hands and questionable patience, almost anyone can.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
