rmtt

So I have a 2005 Metallic Silver C6. There are a few places on the front bumper and at the back fender-well area that need touched up. They are very small and you probably wouldn't see most unless I pointed them out to someone. Paint code is 67U or WA994.

I have tried 3 different kits (Dr. Colorchip, Scratch Wizard, and Automotivetouchup). Used both pens and bottles with small brushes.

Every touch up kit is noticeably darker even after setting a couple of days.

I know the car being 13 years old has some bearing on it, but it's been in a garage it's entire life when not being driven.

Is there any tricks you guys have used or seen that allows you to "lighten" the touch up paint at all? It's like if it were a couple of shades lighter, it would be a perfect match. I can live with seeing it if I'm looking for it, but this is noticble from 4+ feet.

Whether mixing the paint With something before applying, or some type of glaze or compound that could be used later after the base paint has been applied to tone it down......I'm appreciative of any suggestions.

Aside from those small rock chips, the rest of the car still looks perfect in my eyes.

Thanks!

Gold Dragon

DUB

Buying more paint will not matter at this point. But do as you wish.

IT is VERY HARD to touch up SILVER and not have it be darker. It has EVRYTHING to due to how thin it is and how much you apply at a time.

The brushed that come with normal touch up kits are really too big adn you really need to use something a lit smaller.

The reason I am writing this is because I know about this stuff an it is the inherent nature of a metallic paint that when applied with a brush to be darker DUE TO the paint was applied with a paint gun and the paint was atomized and went on very thin and thus...the metalics could lay out and make the color lighter and brighter.

So to get it to work..you have to try to put it on in very small amounts and not a blob.

Hopefully that makes sense and here is another example to possible help you out further. IF I took that touch-up paint and put it in my air brush and shot it in those spots. NOW...that same color that was DARK when you brushed it on is NOW lighter than the car. The reason for this....even though I shot it out of a paint gun (air brush) is that the needle size is so much SMALLER than the size that was used to paint the car. NOW I have lighten the color drastically due to I am not allowing ENOUGH of the metallics to flow out and ...thus...lightens the color. The total opposite of what happens when it is brushed on..

So taking you paint brush and swiping it on something to pull off some of the paint and THEN try to lightly dab it MAY find to work for you adn NOT have that dark spot that I know you are getting.

NOW..if you are trying to fill UP the chip an make it level. This will take some time so you can slowly fill it in and sand it when needed until you get it almost flat and THEN apply your final swipe to get the color to match and then apply the clear on top of it to protect it.

DUB

Highflight

Yup. That's standard for silver paint.

Just so the OP understands... the look of silver is entirely due to how the silver flake in the paint lays down (it's orientation within the liquid paint because the flake is a solid).
When sprayed, the coat typically dries fast enough to where the flake "stands up" a little and so reflects light in a more diffused pattern.
When used as a touch up, the glob of paint takes longer to dry, so the flake lays down flatter and reflect light in a less diffused way. Since you eyes aren't seeing all the light coming from lots of different angles, it appears darker.
Look at any silver car driving around and you can spot a repainted fender easy because no two painters spray alike, the repainted part was painted in different temperatures and with different solvents, and so on.
The only reason my repairs never looked repaired was because I routinely blended my paints (of any color) into adjacent panels and then cleared it all in.

To make a silver touch up look a little lighter, try laying down the small blob, and the lightly touch it with your finger. Much of the wet paint will come off with your finger and the remaining touch up will dry more quickly, thus appearing lighter and closer to the original color of the car.
Do not, however, expect a "perfect" match with a silver touch up. Ain't gonna' happen.

rmtt

Thanks for the reply. One thing I was wondering is that it looks like the undercoat or primer that does show through in one area is dark. I used the touch up paint on a white paper plate first to hold it up to the car and compare it before attempting to repair the chip....and it matched perfectly. I just wonder if the dark primer affected the color once it was put down.

I went to tge automotive store today, and the guy working there told me he used to work in a body and paint shop.

He suggested a place close to me called PPG and said they had a tool that could scan a panel of the car and they could mix me up some paint that would match. He said that's what his shop did all the time as that there could be many variations of colors that fall under the same paint code.

So I may give that a shot although I forgot the name of the tool that they used even though her told me.

I had left the wife in the car while looking at different paints, and 30+ minutes went by before I knew it. So as soon as she started in about the wait...my mind went blank! 😁

rmtt

Thanks guys. I appreciate all the responses.....I hadn't refreshed the page and just seen the first reply.

The explanations make it easier to understand. I've never been a paint or body guy. I've done tons of restorations in earlier years.....but I would do all the mechanical work and wrenching. When it was time to do any external work....that's when I usually sold the car and bought another project to work on.

I'm probably being **** about it as it isn't really noticble, but I'm OCD about things like this. I did think about air brushing, but it's something I've never tried.

I assume matchup paint out of a "rattle can" would be more similiar as I could adjust that by distance from the area....but I would still probably end up making more problems and making it noticble to anyone who looked!

I will probably just leave it be.

MITCH

I found I company that will mix the paint for the wheels on the grand sport. Color code wa269m the company is touchupdirect.com.
hope this helps someone.
Mitch