touch up 2000 impala

First off, I wouldn't expect a perfect result.

I made the touch-up paint mistake when I first had my 2002 Grand Am. It developed a couple of very small, barely noticeable scratches on the driver's side door. Like an idiot, I put touch-up paint on them. Now, the blemish caused by the touch up paint is 20 times more noticeable than the scratches ever were.

There ARE instances where touch-up paint helps, but minor scratches isn't one of them. If a few scratches is all you have, you'll do better to some of the polishes offered in automotive stores to buff them out, and then wax the car.

If, on the other hand, you have some stone chips where the original paint is actually missing and you can see the metal surface underneath, then the touch up paint will definitely help but not fully restore the surface to "like new" condition. Make sure you've fully cleaned the area you're going to apply the paint to (may as well just wash the whole car thoroughly). Apply the paint in SMOOTH strokes, and avoid using too much or else it'll drip down the body of the car and not look good at all.

And, be realistic about the results. You're still going to see a blemish, as touch-up is basically a lacquer-based paint and will look a lot someone used nail polish to cover the area. However, it will work well enough to protect the surface, and if applied properly, won't be too noticeable to the average person looking at your car.