NFT5 wrote:Acrylic dries glossy if you use a high quality, slow drying thinner, which I recommended. Polishing it helps bring up the gloss as well.

I am having difficulties finding a lacquer thinner. I currently own a bottle of Solvable Professional Grade Lacquer thinner: https://www.rona.ca/en/product/solvable ... 635122.The other options I have been able to locate locally is Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/finishin ... ner-250ml/) and 'Pro Series Premium Lacquer Thinner' from Rondex who sells the acrylic enamel. I took a photograph of the container, assuming I could read about it more online, but cannot find anything:  

Needless to say, I do not think any of these are marketed as slow-drying. Do you think using what I have already would work? It makes no mention of slow drying attributes.

Do you have any specific recommendations for a slow drying thinner? And possibly (I appreciate this might be a longshot), a seller in Canada that sells it?

Also I found a body shop willing to repaint the bumper for 350 CAD (roughly 255 USD).

If it's marketed as "premium" then it's probably ok. See if you can get your paint distributor to give/sell you a little slow 2K reducer. Mix that with what you have at 2 parts acrylic thinner to 1 part slow 2K. It's not paint company recommended, but it does work.

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:I found a body shop willing to repaint the bumper for 350 CAD (roughly 255 USD).

Take it.

NFT5 wrote:If it's marketed as "premium" then it's probably ok. See if you can get your paint distributor to give/sell you a little slow 2K reducer. Mix that with what you have at 2 parts acrylic thinner to 1 part slow 2K. It's not paint company recommended, but it does work.

Take it.

I will not bother asking as she declined my request to purchase a smaller quantity of the lacquer thinner.

I was able to find locally a 'Paint Retarder Acrylic' by Tamiya. Its product description reads, "This paint retarder will make acrylic paint dry slower, enabling a smoother finish. It can be used up to a 1:10 ratio with Tamiya Acrylic Paints. It helps to lessen the chance of painting a grainy surface on your model. Also, it is ideal for painting glossy finish surfaces." Would this product be suitable?

Meanwhile, I am going to pass on having it repainted by the body shop because, as luck would have it (with a twist of irony), as I was visiting the shop that sold the ‘Paint Retarder Acrylic’, someone vandalized my front bumper:
I do not know what would have caused this damage (possibly screwdriver or similar tool?), but I think much of the damage goes through to the plastic...

1. Would this 'Paint Retarder Acrylic' work on its own (or with my existing lacquer thinner) work? And if yes, what ratios?
2. Will the process for fixing this new damage be the same? A cursory online search makes me wonder if the process will involve plastic bumper filler?
3. Is this new damage more suitable for an airbrush? The rear bumper is a small section to be repaired, and I really am worried about it not blending well. I think I am going to give up on getting a professional to do it as keeping up with the damage that way (and at that rate) will be expensive.

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:1. Would this 'Paint Retarder Acrylic' work on its own (or with my existing lacquer thinner) work? And if yes, what ratios?

Yes, use with your existing thinner and at the ratios they recommend.

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:2. Will the process for fixing this new damage be the same? A cursory online search makes me wonder if the process will involve plastic bumper filler?

Your photo is so 'close up' that it's difficult to get proper context but I'd say no. That one looks a bit big and, I think, in too visible an area for successful touch up. It needs sanding, maybe a little filler and respraying. To what degree I'm not sure from the photo.

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:3. Is this new damage more suitable for an airbrush?

No.

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:I think I am going to give up on getting a professional to do it as keeping up with the damage that way (and at that rate) will be expensive.

Now that you have this extra damage why don't you contact one of the mobile paint repair guys? They're usually much cheaper than a bricks and mortar shop and they are generally pretty good at just repairing the damaged area, in the case of a bar, rather than the whole thing. Can't hurt to give one or two a call and get a quote.

NFT5 wrote:Yes, use with your existing thinner and at the ratios they recommend.

The lacquer thinner I have says nothing about dilution ratios. The Tamiya Acrylic Retarder says, “It can be used up to a 1:10 ratio”. Earlier you had said, “Mix [slow 2K reducer] with what you have at 2 parts acrylic thinner to 1 part slow 2K”. Indeed, 2K reducer is different than the Tamiya Retarder, but would the same dilution ratio work?

Also, apologies for the confusion, but would it then be, for example, 10 ml acrylic thinner, 5 ml acrylic retarder, and 15 ml acrylic enamel?

NFT5 wrote:Now that you have this extra damage why don't you contact one of the mobile paint repair guys? They're usually much cheaper than a bricks and mortar shop and they are generally pretty good at just repairing the damaged area, in the case of a bar, rather than the whole thing. Can't hurt to give one or two a call and get a quote.

I could not find any local mobile paint repair individuals, but I obtained quotes from a few “less established” local body shops and an individual who worked out of a home garage. The least expensive quote for both the front and rear bumper was $1300 CAD, a price I cannot justify.

Next month I will be doing a paint correction, and my aim in repairing these damages is to minimize their overall impact on the vehicle as a whole.
With that said, I think I have a good understanding of how to touch up the rear bumper, but how do I approach the front bumper? Here is a photograph where it can be seen in greater context (I think):


In my view, the ‘jagged texture’ found within the gouge is what makes the damage stick out most. In the above photograph, the scratch was filled using generic black touch-up paint on hand, but here it is without:



My thinking is to use a sanding pen e.g. PrepPen within the scratch not to get to bare metal but to smoothen the ‘inside’ of the gouge, then apply several layers of touch-up paint. Ideally I would like any work I do to be reversible as to allow me to have it done professionally should the need arise (and my wallet allow!)

Thoughts on this proposed approach or suggestions? Would the same method you suggested for the rear bumper apply i.e. brush at low angle, let the surface tension of the paint do the work?

Also, yesterday I was able to find a source for PPG Waterborne Envirobase High Performance basecoat. Would this product be preferable to the acrylic enamel or should I stick with the acrylic enamel?

Thanks for all your help!

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:Indeed, 2K reducer is different than the Tamiya Retarder, but would the same dilution ratio work?

No. Retarder is much more concentrated than thinner. Stick to the TDS ratios.

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:My thinking is to use a sanding pen

Don't. You'll just make it worse.

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:but how do I approach the front bumper? Here is a photograph where it can be seen in greater context (I think):

Yes, the better photo does help. But it also shows that the plastic has been dented as well as the paint scratched. You can touch up the scratch, similar to the rear bar and build up until the jagged surface inside the scratch is filled and this will improve the look but this one really needs to be repaired properly and resprayed.

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:I was able to find a source for PPG Waterborne Envirobase High Performance basecoat. Would this product be preferable to the acrylic enamel or should I stick with the acrylic enamel?

No, it's basecoat and then needs clear over the top. Waterborne is not suitable for touch ups.

NFT5 wrote:
No. Retarder is much more concentrated than thinner. Stick to the TDS ratios.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by TDS ratios? If I have 5 ml of acrylic enamel, how much of the retarder would I need, and how much of the lacquer thinner would I need?

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:

NFT5 wrote:
No. Retarder is much more concentrated than thinner. Stick to the TDS ratios.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by TDS ratios? If I have 5 ml of acrylic enamel, how much of the retarder would I need, and how much of the lacquer thinner would I need?

are we sure this is what we want to do? i may be out of the loop, as i'm trying to stay out of this.
Jay D.

badsix wrote:

s-c-3-1-3 wrote:

NFT5 wrote:
No. Retarder is much more concentrated than thinner. Stick to the TDS ratios.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by TDS ratios? If I have 5 ml of acrylic enamel, how much of the retarder would I need, and how much of the lacquer thinner would I need?

are we sure this is what we want to do? i may be out of the loop, as i'm trying to stay out of this.
Jay D.

Originally the suggestion was "some acrylic touch up paint made up in th correct colour and some acrylic (aka lacquer) thinners in the best quality you can get[slow drying]...Thin the paint about 1:1 wiht the thinners in a tiny cup."

When I encountered difficulties sourcing "high-quality", the suggestion was made too see if I could get some slow 2K reducer and mix it with my lacquer thinner (2 parts) to slow 2k (1 part). Then I found some Paint Retarder Acrylic, it was said it could be used with my existing thinner at the ratios they recommend. Further clarification led to the TDS ratios...

That's the short of it. I think the whole point is that "Acrylic dries glossy if you use a high quality, slow drying thinner."

Your comment/question has me second guessing, though. Is this a bad idea? Suggestions?

TDS = Technical Data Sheet = the Bible that all painters should read and follow

Acrylic enamel is usually thinned at 1:1 for brush touch work.
Therefore, if you mixed 5ml of acrylic with thinner you'd end up with 10ml.

Retarder is usually mixed with standard thinners at 5-10%. So, if using 5%...

5ml = 95% >> 5/95 = 0.0526ml = 1%
0.0526 x 5 = 0.2632ml

So:
5 ml of paint
0.2632ml of retarder
4.7368ml of standard thinner

It isn't really critical to get this degree of accuracy. I usually use a medicine dropper when I'm mixing for touch up and work on about 3 drops per gram.

Lucky you're in Canada. If you were further south the answer would probably be in acres.