I have a couple fairly deep bumper scratches, pretty much all the way through the paint but not into the plastic. I'm certain Dr. Colorchip will not work, so I need a brush applicator.

My 8 is Brilliant Black Clearcoat (A3F) and I'd like to get the liquid applied rather than the pen. The Mazda part # should be 0000-88-0154-A3F but everything I've seen says it's discontinued. They have it in the pens. My local dealer is useless, and going to the next-nearest dealer would be a 2 hour round trip on a Saturday. So questions are:

1) Is this ACTUALLY discontinued directly from Mazda, which means I could buy OEM mix online?
2) Can dealers still batch it if that part number is discontinued?
3) Are the pens they sell any good (which are available), does paint apply thin and evenly, have you used them, etc?
4) Is there a different "OEM match" supplier you've used for brush applied?

Thanks in advance for the help

 

You can get the pen but apply the paint with a toothpick or a fine brush. Just press on the pen until a nice bead of paint comes out onto a container of some sort. Can't comment on can availability.

 

Why not try polishing them out first? If they haven't reached the plastic, chances are there's still paint left. You should be able to polish it out.

 

Nah, it's at the plastic... not into it, but definitely right there. You can see the primer on the edges of the scratch. I'll give the pen a try, bleeding it makes sense. My plan is basically:
- Wash the area
- Wipe down with rubbing alcohol, prep with 2000 grit, wipe again
- Tiny bits of paint applied with probably the flat end of a paper match (since the scratches are somewhat wide) over the course of probably a full day, raise above surface
- Wet sand at 2000 grit to level
- Rubbing compound, by hand to feather (I think I have 1500-1800 grit, but I have to find it)
- Polish compound to remove sanding marks
- Wax

You guys have more experience on this - is that a good plan? The only other thing I'm wondering is whether I should build up the scratch with putty before painting since it's a fairly large size and obviously through the paint.

 

Good plan. Make sure you wet sand with a rubber backing pad (or something else that's flat) to level out the touch-up paint. Regarding putty, depends on how deep they are, really.

 

Plan looks good! I don't know if the other formats of paint are thinner, but the pen stuff has to be worked quickly. It starts to goop up under a minute, so take that into account when executing.

 

Well there's two formats I can find, one is the 0000-91 applicator, the other is 0000-92. The former is 0.5oz the latter is 0.33oz. I can't tell if the tips are the same?

I would prefer thinner paint and more drying time, since it's a weekend car and I won't be in a big rush. If anyone could shed light on that, it would be awesome.

Also, what are the grits what you would suggest using? I'm still reading a couple things and now am thinking I'll be at 800-1000 to start and work down to 2000 both before and after painting... but I think this is the kind of thing where there's never going to be consensus.

 

I would start with 1500 grit just to be safe, since the paint is new, it'll be pretty soft.

 

Good point. I scooped up a 12 pack of half-sheets in various grits and a 2000 grit block, actually think I'm going to get a DA polisher since I've coveted one for a while and finally have a reason to actually do it. Stay tuned...