What should you order?
What Paint do I need?
Most vehicles made after 1986 will require a basecoat of color followed by clearcoat. These paints come in two separate containers. One container has the actual color in it (the
basecoat)
and the clearcoat comes in a separate container and is applied over the basecoat. Many pre-1987 vehicles are available as a
single stage
and do not require a clearcoat.
Tricoat
colors are composed of a
basecoat/midcoat/clearcoat
or three separate layers of paint. When you order a tricoat paint, we automatically ship you the basecoat and midcoat. If you have unpainted surfaces (i.e. metal, unpainted fiberglass, rubber, etc.) showing, you should order the primer. Primer sticks to unpainted surfaces and paint adheres to primer.
If you are painting a flexible surface (such as a rubberized bumper) and you are spraying the paint, you should order the
SEM Adhesion Promoter
as this is required for proper adherence for the primer, basecoat and clearcoat. The adhesion promoter is only required when you are spraying the paint and not for the touch up bottles and paint pens.
Rubbing compound
is essential to make the paint shine. Thin the basecoat and midcoat paint 1:1 with
automotive lacquer thinner
. (not the lacquer thinner from Home Depot, etc.) The clearcoat is
thinned with two parts thinner to one part clearcoat
. Use
automotive
lacquer thinner to reduce the paint which can be ordered on our site.
What Size?
Paint Pens-
Great for touching up small scratches and chips. Also, you can use the pen on key scratches.
Do not try to use the paint pen on long wide scratches or areas which are larger than a pencil eraser head. The paint pen is designed to deliver a small amount of paint to a chip or to fill in a key scratch. However, you cannot expect to use the paint pen like a felt pen as automotive paint dries quickly and the result will not be smooth. Larger areas should be spray painted.
1 oz. Brush Cap Bottle-
Use this size where you wish to use a brush to repair the paint.
2 oz. Brush Cap Bottle-
Use this size for numerous chips or use your own spray equipment for small areas.
12 oz. Spray Can
-Each can covers four square feet and is used to repair larger areas.
Larger Sizes-
Pints, Quarts and Gallons are used with your own spray equipment.
Paint Coverage
Product
Square Feet Coverage
2 oz. Brush Cap Bottle
3
12 oz. Spray Can
6
16 oz.-Pint
20
32 oz.-Quart
40
128 oz.-Gallon
150
Spray Can
Calculator
Enter the width and length of your repair in inches to determine how many spray cans to order.
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Additional Items
Many of the items listed under
Touch Up Paint Helpers
are for individuals doing their own body repair. Just click on each product and you will receive a brief explanation of the item.