Touch up paint

[stephenmarklay]

My new Salsa Mountain bike is getting a few chips and scratches. I wondered if there is a good source for color matching. I would love to just have a paint pen to dab to keep rust at bay etc.

[AngryScientist]

first choice would be to go to the auto parts store and see if any of the duplicolor touch up paint sticks will match your bike close enough to make you happy. they include a pen on top and a nail polish style brush insude the tube.. any auto parts store will have a wide selection of these. IMO

http://duplicolor.com/assets/img/product-detail/allin1.png

[stephenmarklay]

first choice would be to go to the auto parts store and see if any of the duplicolor touch up paint sticks will match your bike close enough to make you happy. they include a pen on top and a nail polish style brush insude the tube.. any auto parts store will have a wide selection of these. IMO

http://duplicolor.com/assets/img/product-detail/allin1.png

Thanks. I will check them out. The bike is light blue - may or may not be hard to match close enough.

[Ken Robb]

Go to a hobby shop that has a big selection of Testor's paint for model planes/cars. I have found excellent matches for several bikes, the little bottles have brushes built into the caps, and the paint is designed to be painted on by brush. This usually works better than using some of the original paint used by the builder because that paint was formulated to be sprayed on.

[Lewis Moon]

Nail polish. Cheap, easy to obtain and comes in a huge number of colors.

[CampyorBust]

Go to a hobby shop that has a big selection of Testor's paint for model planes/cars. I have found excellent matches for several bikes, the little bottles have brushes built into the caps, and the paint is designed to be painted on by brush. This usually works better than using some of the original paint used by the builder because that paint was formulated to be sprayed on.

Best thing about Testors is you can mix em to get closer to what you need. A perfect match can be near impossible if the original paint has metal flake, pearls etc. Sometimes you find one thats just right. Beware that if you paint it indoor conditions it may look great, only to go outside for a ride the next day and it's a whole different color in sunlight. Also some paint/colors have a tendency to dry darker or lighter than when wet. So test it out under different lighting and let dry before committing.

[icepick_trotsky]

+1 for nail polish. Take the bike to Walgreens and have the make-up counter employee help you out. They're really good at matching it.

[11.4]

I've found that Testor's may look decent but doesn't last well. The chip or scratch shows up again as the paint degrades or wears off -- it's basically pretty fragile. I used some yellow Testor's on some tied and soldered wheels to emulate the old Masi factory wheels, just for grins, and the paint was completely gone in a season.

The paint pens mentioned above work well, and they are color matched to the stuff that the body shop sprays but are formulated for brush on use, so they do a pretty good job.

However, once you have a scratch or chip, painting to match often gives a more visible result than simply filling the mark with clear nail polish. Sally Hanson's Hard As Nails.

With any of these, it's important to paint the scratch or chip the right way. You don't want paint on top of the gouge, on the adjoining surfaces. You want the scratch or chip cleaned out, then paint from the inside with a much finer detail brush than you'd ever think you'd use (like a 000 or 0000 sable brush from an oil-painting supplies vendor). Several coats, never letting the paint get on top of the undamaged surfaces. If you get too far, just wipe it off and start over.

[AngryScientist]

a much finer detail brush than you'd ever think you'd use (like a 000 or 0000 sable brush from an oil-painting supplies vendor). Several coats, never letting the paint get on top of the undamaged surfaces. If you get too far, just wipe it off and start over.

a toothpick works good using capillary action to fill small chips or scratches.

[stephenmarklay]

Thanks you guys this had been a great help.