Instructions for paint spraying.

Haynes manuals do a very good (not English made) book which would cover all your needs.

There must be hundreds, but if it is a bumper, easiest would be to remove it, sand down old paint, and use som form of plastic putty to fill in the scratch and then spray primer/undercaota/top coat on itr or take it at that point to a spray painter who will do it for a few tenners.

Put it down to fair wear and tear and leave it as it is.

Depending on how deep it is you may need to fill first. Otherwise for somewhere not so obvious you might get away with touch up brush paint and a steady hand. Never as good at blending in as a spray. Beware that the match between original colour panels (plus N years in direct sunlight) and fresh paint may not be as close as you might hope.

Cocktail sticks are good for applying paint to small linear scratches.

You will need to practice a few times on sacrificial targets first.

The difference between a nice even layer put on from the right distance evenly and something that turns into orange peel after a few seconds is not huge and a moments hesitation could well end up as a paint run. It is a bit easier if the surface being painted is horizontal - no runs.

You will need practice and you can't get that from watching videos.

I suggest masking off all adjacent areas with masking tape and newspaper and doing it on a still dry windless day. Beware some masking tapes can leave a residue that affects the clear top coat :(

Seems a bit of a wasted effort as the next week she'll do it again. BTDTGTTS!

Discard the brush that comes with the touch up paint and buy thin "artists" brushes - the kind you can get 10 off for £1 in a pound shop. The thin brush allow you to fill a scratch with paint without going over the surrounding remaining paint.

Must be many many years since you paid for spraying.

Car Mechanics magazine has a feature this month covering precisely this topic for novices doing it at home with spray cans. I suggest you get a copy.

Indeed, earlier this year, a minor scratch (literally only a paint repair) on the door of a Honda CRV in silver, paying cash with no receipt: 500 quid

Mind you it is now back to perfect again, and even knowing where the mark was, it is not possible to find it again.

Well, that is precisely how it should be if it's been done to a professional standard, Mr. C.

Last work I had done was the bonnet respray on an E39 - the clear coat had started to lift. So no actual repairs needed.

£350. A few years ago. You'd not even buy the paint for a few tenners.

For once, Dave makes a good point here: the cost of compliance with EU 'green' directives has more than quadrupled the cost of vehicle enamel in real terms - as it has much else.

As the OP wanted Black they won't apply.

G.Harman

Trust you to try and bring the EU into it.

Good quality car paint has never been cheap. And just what do you mean by enamel?

Depending on the severity of the scratch, it might be worth considering a chipex kit. You get a perfect colour match and if you are prepared to put a bit of (unskilled) effort in the finish is perfect.

About 6 months after getting my new new car, some skateboarding kids ran into the (parked) car in the road and put a 3 inch scratch in the paintwork by the o/s headlight. I got a chipex kit and spent a bit of time working on it and you would nebver know it had been damaged. You get comprehensive instructions in the kit as well as everything you need including rubber gloves!. I still have the kit 3 years later and have used it to repair paint chips and other scratches, always getting perfect results.

Andy

How much does it cost? I've always done stone chips and minor scratches with the manufacturers paint (and a decent fine brush or cocktail stick to apply it). Not the useless broomstick they provide on the cap.

3 sizes of kit from £30 to £38 depending on how much stuff you want

It uses the splodge, wipe and lightly buff painting technique, it only takes 5 mins or so for the paint to harden so ideal for amateurs like me

Andy

Dont even try if you value the appearance of the car. Look up a local mobile "Scratch doctor" service. I've used one, it wasnt that expensive and gave a virtually invisible repair.

Mike

there is also "Chips Away" which I've used on my car.

Depends on the quality you want.

It was only this year that I sent the old pug bus (a red 307) down to the local garage for a paint job after the fence post attacked it whilst she was reversing into the drive.

£60 for the repair.

It's a £600 car and so I really do not care. An insurance co would have written it off.