Touch up PENS ? - Anyone used them? any good?

[Thassos]

Would be interested to know if anyone has used touch up pens for repairing small chips?, the volvo touch up kits with the small brush ive found in the past you can easily apply too much paint if not careful, pens seem like a good idea, some links to some info i found:

http://www.mm-4x4.com/touch-up-paint-pens-3175-p.asp

http://www.mediaturbo.com/media/autovisuals/av0902.html

[Ninja59]

tbh any form of touch up if done badly is bad

personally i would go to paints 4 u

[subaqua]

I used the halfords 3 stage kit to touch in some scrapes on a bumper on a silver jeep. I used mercedes silver as it would have been mercedes paint and it wasn't too bad as there was a needle tip so you could put a precision application on. on a big panel it would have been noticeable but on a bumper it was OK.

[lovejoy633]

Complete rubbish !!!!!!!

If T-cut does not work (ie the scratch is down to the bare metal) - then

1. Leave it alone - a poor cover up looks much worse than the original scratch

2. If you think the car warrents it - pay for a professional touch up.

[AcidicDavey]

TBH, some 'professional' touch ups can look awful, you should see the job someone has done on the rear quarter of my 480 'touching up' a scratch. Looks like someone applied too much paint and then just tried to rub it off! Total mess!

For chips I think the touch up kits with a small brush are best if your careful.

[Bill_56]

I have had very good results with the Volvo touch up kits, though I tend to ignore the instructions. The main problem to avoid is making the damaged area bigger with each failed repair attempt.

For example, when getting rid of the peppering of tiny chips on the bonnet, forget the brush... set aside a whole afternoon, and use a toothpick to deposit a tiny blob of paint in each and every blemish. Always use less paint than the chip demands, as an underfilled repair is infinitely preferable to one that enlarges the damage.

I have also succesfully renderred almost invisible a deep scratch, through to the metal, using the Volvo paint kit. The technique here was to apply strips of masking tape a hair's breadth apart either side of the scratch, then build up layers of paint until it was proud. Then, while the new paint was still soft, and the masking tape in place, I rubbed down with fine grade paper. A final polish with aggresive polish (T-cut scratch remover), then Autoglym SRP, then decent wax, and you'd be hard pushed to see the repair ( dark blue pearlescent).