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Help! Got a slight ding on my Prius.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by crellion, Mar 6, 2012.

  1. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    I was in a low-ceiling car garage when I opened the trunk of my Black 2010 Prius and it hit a copper pipe in the ceiling and got this ding. I attached a pic of it.

    I'm now desperate in trying to figure out how to repair it - either through a scratch remover or touch-out paint.

    I'm sooooo mad at myself :mad:!!!

    [​IMG]
     
  2. smokiejoe

    smokiejoe Member

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    It's hard from that picture to see what I'm looking at. Painless Dent removal guys usually do pretty good work at getting any dings or dents out. If its a scratch only in the paint, Dr. Colorchip usually works, but a professional Body Shop fix always works 100%.
     
  3. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    I don't see it either. If you need to touch up the spoiler Toyota 202 Black is a perfect match.
     
  4. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    Its that tiny white hole (pretty small when you see it in person.)

    I have gotten the official Toyota 202 Touch-Up Paint from the dealer. The dealer told me not to bother with the clearcoat (is he right on that?) Why do I not need clearcoat?

    Also - he advised I probably use a toothpick and start layering the tiny hole - one layer at a time, until it fills the paint gap...
     
  5. Supra410

    Supra410 New Member

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    Dings n scratches always drove me crazy. I say it gives your car character. Don't beat yourself too much over it.. It looks as if it nicked the paint? If so the dealership has a matched paint pen. I would say get a super fine paint brush from a hobby store.
     
  6. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    What about the clear-coat - is it necessary for touch-ups? I heard something about Black color Toyotas not particularly recommending clear-coats for touch-ups - but what is the current opinion on this?
     
  7. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    Regarding the Clear-Coat Requirement - I found something quite interesting.

    According to this official Toyota PDF:

    http://www.shoptrd.com/stores/pdfs/touchuppaint20042010.pdf

    My 2010 Black Prius (202 Black 00258-00202-21) does NOT require a clear coat on top of the color.

    In fact - only the colors that have a star (*) next to it - Requires clear coat on top of color: 00258-0000C-21.

    So I guess my 202 Toyota Touch-Up Pen should work well by itself then...
     
  8. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    Ok - I am applying the touch-up paint carefully with a toothpick, but I notice this paint has a sort of silky paint strand on it.

    In fact, when I dab a little into the hole - there are spider-like strands of the paint protruding out - so its not a smooth layer.

    Is this normal? How do I smooth it out?
     
  9. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Langka blob eliminator does a good job of smoothing it out.
     
  10. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    Hmm... Has any other Prius owner used this Langka thing before?

    Frankly one topic I never hear discussed much is how to remove excess touch-up paint and smoothing it out. I assume this is actually a very common occurrence when filling tiny gaps with touch-up paint (such as the one I'm doing.)

    I hear wet-sanding it works, but since this hole is rather tiny, I want something less dangerous (as I don't trust my skills in this.) Is this Langka blob eliminator safe for me to use?
     
  11. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    I've used it. The blob eliminator will only remove touch up paint (not original factory paint no matter how hard you try), so if you end up over-removing the touch up paint, you can always re-apply it.
     
  12. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    Wow that's awesome - I'm going to give this a shot.

    BTW - I'm not sure if this is normal for 202 Toyota Black, but the paint seems to dry very quickly on my toothpick and create these thin black strands of paint that can wisp in the air.

    Is that normal for this touch-up paint?
     
  13. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Touch up paints are designed to be fast drying. Have more than one toothpick at your disposal. Use a new one as soon as the one you have dries out and keep the bottle closed between applications.
     
  14. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    So because its fast drying - it hardens into these tiny strands relatively quickly then right? And that's normal?
     
  15. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    You probably used too much if you're getting those tiny strands. Try dapping on less at a time, allowing to dry, then dapping on more.

    Either way, it doesn't matter if you have excess if you use the blob eliminator after.
     
  16. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    Just got my Eliminator and I used a microfiber towel to wrap it around the provided plastic card.

    It does seem to work!

    However, I think I can't seem to get a nice level finish on this, as it cleared all my touch-up paint, and I'm back to square-one ----- ARGH!!!!!

    Rinse and repeat?
     
  17. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Pretty much.
     
  18. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    For this second round - I'm going to be a bit more conservative with the paint. Still using a toothpick - I'll just gently glob one layer onto this little hole.

    As for smoothing it out again - do you recommend using the card or just two fingers? The paint chip is at the tippy-edge of the spoiler, so its not flat anyways...
     
  19. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    The card might get too much out. I'd do gloved fingers. The idea is to have the blob eliminator "melt" the excess touch up paint until the surface is level.
     
  20. crellion

    crellion Junior Member

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    Gloved fingers? You mean dab some of the Eliminator directly on my latex gloves and smooth it out with just that?