mbc280

Some low-life has scratched my bumper (paint is scrapped) and I'm wondering if it's possible to do a good touch up, by myself. Where do I find the metallic color? I live in Canada (vancouver) so please suggest Canadian stores if you know of any... By the way where exactly do I find the code for the car color? I've heard it's written somewhere on the body. Would the owner's manual help?

Also, I have spotted some very minor rust around the door panel. How do I keep it from spreading? Is there a way to get rid of it completely?

Any words of wisdom are appreciated.

picus

If your car is relatively new (last 4 MY's or so), head to the dealership; they will take your VIN and give you the right touchup. Your paint code is *usually* in a door jamb, however every manufacturer is different. This may help:

http://www.mbzponton.org/ponton3/colorcht/colorcht.htm

Regarding the rust; there are a couple things you can do. If you want to DIY you can go to Canadian Tire and buy two things. The first is a rust pen, it's a pen with a glass tip that you use to sand the rust in the effected area down. The second is a rust converter; this will turn any remaining rust into primer. Now, this doesn't always completely eliminate rust, but it will slow it down considerably.

Alternatively you can cut out the effected area, but I don't think you want to go that route. I use rust converter a lot and find it's very effective. It's in the automotive paint aisle at CT.

When you're done with the rust pen and converter remember to primer and touchup the effected area to prevent further rust.

mbc280

thanks very much for the help. i'll certainly check them out... my car is a 10 year old c-class.

picus

You may not be able to get touchup for that car from the dealer; but I would call and check anyway. If not, find the code and get a bodyshop to match it for you, or see if you can find the appropriate touchup at Napa or CT.

TOGWT

Automotivetouchup.com dedicates itself to touch up paint, aerosol spray paint, and auto or car paint backed by a strong exact colour match guarantee for your basecoat/clear coat original finish. They offer touch up paint packaged in aerosol spray paint cans and touch up bottles with a brush in cap applicator as well as auto paint packaged in pints and quarts cans. They guarantee your touch up paint or spray paint to match the original factory finish on all vehicles.

All orders are custom matched to your vehicle using your original factory paint code and the highest computer technologies available. Not only is their touch up paint the exact colour; the size of metallic and pearl colour is the same in your paint.

Rust Decontamination:
Corrosion (rust) destroys metal by an electro-chemical reaction with water as the catalyst (water + ozone (an oxidizer) moisture + oxygen). Detailer’s clay will remove the ferrous metal brake dust that acts as a conduit for moisture to penetrate the paint down to the base metal. (See also Reactivity)

A three step neutralization and wash system formulated to remove industrial fallout, rail dust, hard water deposits, acid rain residue, salt and other forms of pollutants. This system (Auto Internationals A, B, & C System) comprises; (a) Acid Neutralizer (b) Alkaline Neutralizer and (c) a pH 7.0 Surface Conditioner, which safely removes both surface and subsurface contamination (i.e. rust) that collects on a painted finish which includes, industrial fallout (IFO), rail dust, acid rain, hard water spots, road tar, bird excrement, waxes/silicones, oxidation, adhesive residue, road grime and rust stains introduced via road salt, ferrous metal deposits. Use this system after going over the paint film surface with detailer’s clay - http://www.autoint.com/