# One Week In - Need Paint Help (not QC issue)



## Pattern (Jan 21, 2018)

I bought a used 2017 Cruze with 7k miles. Got a good deal, excited. Went to the DMV today. While there, the sheriff comes in (no kidding), and asks everyone, "Who has a brand new Cruze?" I had just lost a Sonic to an accident, so I said "...I do." His response, "Well, it's not new anymore." 

Yikes. Bleargh. Meh. My son and I went out to check out what happened. Turns out, it's not so bad. Seems she had it in neutral and didn't apply the brake, and rolled into my car. In fact, I couldn't see any damage out there. The driver of the car (some young girl that had her father with her) apologized profusely. Since there was some salt and dirt, I told her I'd give it a wash and let her know if there's any damage. I got her info and left (after paying sales tax - salt in the wound). 

I washed my 6 day old car in the garage - at least the part of the bumper she bumped. I found a couple scratches that were smaller than an eraser head. While I have her info, the thought of going through another insurance claim (I bought this Cruze with $$ from a totaled Sonic) makes me cringe. 

I was thinking of getting one of those paint pens and handling the details myself. I mean, I like taking care of my cars anyway, and it just shouldn't be that hard. It is really small and hardly noticeable. If the paint's anything like my Sonic, the paint pen may come in handy for years to come. 

So my question is, does anyone have any advice on what paint pens are worthy of getting?


----------



## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

You can use a tooth pick to fill it in, but eh it's not really good enough. My method is to use lots of paint, make a nice blob. Keep it on for a month and then polish it down, or even wet sand. Then put clear coat on for a week or so and repeat the process. You can get very close to factory with this method.


But... It's a lot of work. I would rather have the entire panel repainted even if it meant doing an insurance claim. My 0.02


----------

