Well to start, I have a 94 Pearl White Sc300. Due to the age, there are several areas of the car where either the paint is chipping, the clear-coat is peeling off.... or both. I also recently had a tire blowout on the highway. The metal in the tire "pimp-slapped" my quarter panel and left about 20 very small paint chips. These chips are now 20 very small rust spots. I'm currently on a fairly limited budget, so a nice new paint job is out.

I guess my question is; does inexpensive OEM touch-up paint work? Obviously the color will be somewhat off, but this doesn't bother me on spots that are smaller than a pebble. I also see spray can clear-coating for sale... is this stuff good? Has anyone ever used a Toyota touch-up pen? It dispenses OEM paint from one end, and clear coat from the other (or so the seller claims).

I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that using touch-up paint, and spraying clear-coat on my paint problem areas will not come out good. Seems to easy!

Any thoughts at all on this issue would be helpful. I want to prevent the peeling, cracking, and small rust spots from getting any worse. The car is still pretty clean all around.

Thanks!

 

rust can obviously be your worse nightmare especially if you plan on keeping the car for a long time...touch up paint and spray can clear will look horrible...those touch up pens are made for inconspicuous areas i.e. small nicks on the corner of the door, bottom of front bumper and nicks here and there...it's not made to touch up 20+ nicks on one panel.

best thing to do is take it to a paint shop, have them take the rust ALL the way down...the only way to do that is to pretty much take it down to the metal...then spray primer on your quarter panel NOT spray can primer but a 2-part primer...shoot color on top of that and don't blend the door since you are on a budget...depending where exactly the damage is, you may not need to blend anyways...it is by no means as cheap as the way you want to go but in the long run, you will be much happier...

 

How about some pics? If these areas aren't too bad, you could sand the rusted areas and use some Langka or touch-up & wetsand method. But, this method, like Dennis said, is usually for small nics and chips.

 

Thanks guys! I will go take some pics in a few minutes and update the thread.

Dennis could you take a shot at the price on having a decent shop do this?

Pics soon

 

Cell phone pics All of these spots are filled with pure rust (hard to see in the pic)

Large paint / rust area. This piece was bent so far back it, that it took about 100 hits to get it where it is now, but I was careful to keep the paint as intact as possible. The quarter panel body extension is from another car, and newly installed ... as mine is somewhere on I-95.


Shot at 2007-07-25

Pic of the main "paint chips" above the left rear tire after the blowout


Shot at 2007-07-25

I am also having a problem with a large spot of clearcoat peeling abo ve the right rear tire, on the outside top of the trunk, and on the pillar the connect to the roof.

Hope these help!

 

That's a little more than a "touchup" job. You may want to consider taking it into a body shop and do a paint job just on that area. I've seen it done on Unique Whips (the TV show) and it doesn't look too expensive. Just make sure its done at a reputable shop.
Good luck! Keep us updated.

 

umm...as far as price...our shop would prolly charge ~$375 w/o blend...and in your case, you wouldn't need to blend the door...just blend up towards the rear glass

$50/hr. (it's actually $44 but for easy math)

3 hrs to paint.
2 hrs for JUST feather out edges...partial R&I bumper...R&I L. tailight...
___
$250

and 2.5 x half of total hrs for paint and materials

$250
$125
_____

$375.

The labor rate varies depending on where you live...in San Fran, i heard it was $65/hr.

If you lived in hawaii I would do it for $250

 

that rust isn't bad...it's only surface rust but get it taken care of ASAP...at least sand it down and shoot some etching primer on top...