Td5 D2 bodywork - Vandal Scratches (2)

So I ordered up some 'scratch repair' paints off E-bay. The seller 'motoristcentre' has a good 99.9% rating and seems to specialise in the provision of touch-up paints. I bought 5ml of Alverston Red 696 and 5ml of clear lacquer. They arrived within two days and are in what looks like small nail varnish bottles complete with integral applicator brushes.

They both have that characteristic acetone cellulose vapour smell when open, but their exact composition is not known.

paint, lacquer, brushes and chisel scalpel.

FURTHER PREPARATION.

I then sat around wondering and planning the next stage. Brushes, a seat and even a 'french-stick' that sign painters use to steady their hand was sourced. I read about applying the paint with a toothpick or a plastic scribe, something that is non-absorbent. The area to fill is really thin and narrow so finesse is needed, along with good eyesight and a very steady hand.

I will be working outdoors so a dry and calm day must be used. Ideally, soft overcast diffused lighting is best. Direct sunlight is to be avoided as it is just too contrasty and stark to work under. Also if in direct sun, the panel will warm up surprisingly quickly.

The scratched areas were cleaned up and wiped clear with Meths. I took some photos before starting to help gauge any progress.

FIRST APPLICATION.

Straight away the problems started. The paint is thick and viscous, it initially goes on well, but it's cellulose base quickly becomes unworkable. My hopes of being able to work the paint for some time proved impossible as within seconds the touch-up paint began to harden and become unworkable. I had brushed a dab of paint on a piece of plastic and was loading the brush from there, so I could see its consistency change right in front of my eyes.

Thankfully, I had the foresight to replace the top of the paint bottle otherwise I guess the whole paint would begin to harden. I clearly won't have the time available to work the paint that I hoped I would gain by using Touch-up paint as opposed to the aerosol alternative. (spraying paint into a pool and dipping the brush in it). I guess cellulose based paint will always start evaporating and curing in contact with the air. After all, that is what the acetone smell is.

After a break and an assessment, I continued to spot-out as before, loading only the tip of the brush directly from the bottle before applying the paint to the scratch. Only got about ten seconds max of workability each time. I then wiped the residue from the brush tip before repeating.

I was tempted to load up the brush and 'fill' the scratch then quickly wipe off the excess. My initial idea of spotting out seems unworkable and it's very hard to see any progress being made. It looks like I am replacing a clean scratch with a red lumpy scratch! I left the paint to dry overnight. 

I was working on the rear panel scratch only, taking photos when I finished to try to compare with the ones taken earlier. There is a noticeable difference in the photos but I cannot say I am happy with the result so far...

          cleaned scratch prior to painting.

         After the first application of paint.

On a positive note, even if it was a perfect tonal match to the surrounding paint, it would not match the surrounding panel till the lacquer was applied.

Next day, I took a chisel scalpel blade and 'shaved' or rather 'knifed' off the excess paint that could be felt to be above the surface of the scratched area. This seemed to work well and raised the option of overfilling the scratch and knifing it back when dry.

OTHER OPTIONS.

Still thinking about overfilling the scratch with paint and quickly wiping the excess away or just knifing back when dry..? Dabbing away with the brush trying to get 'just enough' paint seems to promote an uneven finish. The workability of the paint dictates the need for fast confident strokes..

Figure I may as well try using the remains of the last can of '696' by spraying one spot at a time onto a 'pallet' to allow the brush to be dipped into it. Any variation in tone may well help things somehow.

If all goes horribly wrong there is always the prospect of respraying a much larger area around the scratch. 

Thinking back to when I was talking to the paint-shop guy and discussing the rear door scratch, his advice was to respray the whole shoulder area of the rear passenger door and not attempt to fill the scratch like I seem to be set on doing.

SECOND APPLICATION. 

Decided to try a different approach. 

I will apply the paint straight from the bottle using the brush attached to its screw top. This ensures that the paint is at its most workable coming straight from the bottle onto the panel surface.

Some tape was attached close to each side of the scratch to catch any excess paint smears. I was then planning to load the paint onto the scratch and to  quickly wipe the excess away, but when I applied it, I settled for just brushing it on.

The workability or 'flow' of the paint remained short, but it was enough to get a better more even coverage quicker then before.

After ten or so minutes, I removed the pieces of tape from both sides of the scratch and noticed how that caused the paint layer to detach slightly so I guess adhesion is going to be an issue. Still, the results visually are encouraging...

Still need to knife this area back but even now it can be seen to be a better finish. The straight horizontal lines are the ridges catching the light after removal of the tape.

THIRD APPLICATION.

More 'Bish-Bash-Bong' in approach then anything like the above. I took a small chisel brush and loaded it straight from the bottle and applied it to the scratch area figuring to let the paint layer build up in the scratch. 

When dry it was again knifed back. The scratch can be felt to be filling up and is now level with the surrounding panel in some areas.

I still have to apply the lacquer layer, but am still unhappy with the tonal match. I still would like to try the remains of the spray can from the wing re-spray before committing to the lacquer. 

UPDATE : FEBRUARY 2018

All the above work was done to the scratch on the left rear quarter panel and nothing has progressed any further. I am now of the opinion that the scratched area needs a respray which will give me the opportunity to fill in the scratch area with filler in order to disguise it better.

HX suffered another vandal attack this month when a slab of rock was thrown at it whilst parked up on the driveway at night. Reckon the window was the target but the contact point was the left-hand rear passenger door shoulder just above the other scratch.

The slab of rock thrown at Hx can be seen on the floor in the above photo.

In addition to the scuffing the panel has a slight dent that will now need a repair. 

... tbc ...