How to tackle touch-ups with water based paint?

[OUCH! That's hot!]

Just acquired a Peugeot 206 for my son; 2000 model in (I think), Sapphire blue met. It needs a few scratches touching up but it is a 10 year old motor so I don't need or want a first class job. I was planning to use a tiny brush but how do I apply the lacquer over it? I am planning on using a one pack lacquer over the water based paint that I already have. Any advice for an old mechanic who has never used anything but cellulose and synthetics would be gratefully received.
Pic of sample scratch below...

 

[pedrobedro]

You can't do metallic with a brush, the particles all sink to the bottom and it just looks dark. Put a sticker over it

 

[OUCH! That's hot!]

You can't do metallic with a brush, the particles all sink to the bottom and it just looks dark. Put a sticker over it

Thanks Pedro, very helpful

 

[paintpot]

if you are going to touch up with water based apply a little drop and then use a hairdryer to evaporate the water from the paint and then apply again ..Touch up with your clear coat.or go to halfords and get a touch up kit

 

[series2]

if it's an otherwise tidy motor, get one of those 'chips away' type people to do it. I had them out to do one of our cars after a shopping trolley was run along the side of the car.

iirc it cost about £75 to do 2 doors, the repair is all but invisible - well impressed with them.

 

[OUCH! That's hot!]

Paintpot: thanks, some good advice.
Series2: Never thought about those blokes, good idea but I don't want to spend that much money, put your idea on the back burner for now but thanks anyway.

 

[steveo3002]

maybe find some non waterbased touch up...halfords and the like do it

 

[the snooper]

just go to a local paint supplier and get an eighth of a litre in base coat.
dont thin it down and hope the thickness will keep the metalic particles from sinking

 

[OUCH! That's hot!]

maybe find some non waterbased touch up...halfords and the like do it

I thought of that but I wonder what is on the car already? I suppose a synthetic would be ok though.
I do have an airbrush but I think I could do a better job with a brush, overspray onto an otherwise pristine panel...

Snooper: that's what I've got and what I will do in the absence of any better ideas.

Do you think I should lacquer over with the brush too?

 

[langy]

If you don't lacquer basecoat it will stick out like a sore thumb, To be honest if you don't do it properley it probably will anyway i'm afraid.

 

[OUCH! That's hot!]

If you don't lacquer basecoat it will stick out like a sore thumb, To be honest if you don't do it properley it probably will anyway i'm afraid.

Agreed, I fully intend to lacquer it, being water based it wouldn't last long if I didn't. Can't do anything about doing it properly though, it just wouldn't be worth the expense.It's touch-up or nothing I'm afraid.

 

[pedrobedro]

You can get cellulose to match it. Fill the scratches in with some primer and rub down lightly to the level of the present paint then just blow over the repair and lacquer it. If it looks a pig's ear wipe it off with thinners and do it again later. That's my method but I'm not really the fussiest, if it's all one colour blah blah

 

[Robotstar5]

Do Peugeot do paint repair kits?, Land Rover do one with small bottles of paint and lacquer with built in brushes.

 

[OUCH! That's hot!]

Do Peugeot do paint repair kits?, Land Rover do one with small bottles of paint and lacquer with built in brushes.

Maybe but anything from a main dealer is likely to be expensive.

 

[Sphinx]

The trouble with touching up in several stages is that the touch up ends up pretty thick. You can buy touch up paints online that are a mix of base & lacquer so you only need to put one coat on and then you buff it down level.
It looks like it's been touched up slightly in those pictures before (I could be wrong), if so then remove the old repair with some thinners and start again. Use a very very thin paint brush to 'fill' the scratches with touch up paint, then when it's hard wrap a polishing cloth around a nice square rubber so you've got a small flat surface. Then use some cutting compound and buff it down level with the rest of the paint, after that a bit of polish or wax should make a nice neat repair.
That's what I've done on stone chips and small scratches and it works well.

I'm always dubious of mobile repairs as in my experience they never last very long becuase of the type of paint used. You also run the risk of paints not matching in certain lights; something that once you notice you will NEVER be able to ignore.

 

[OUCH! That's hot!]

The trouble with touching up in several stages is that the touch up ends up pretty thick. You can buy touch up paints online that are a mix of base & lacquer so you only need to put one coat on and then you buff it down level.
It looks like it's been touched up slightly in those pictures before (I could be wrong), if so then remove the old repair with some thinners and start again. Use a very very thin paint brush to 'fill' the scratches with touch up paint, then when it's hard wrap a polishing cloth around a nice square rubber so you've got a small flat surface. Then use some cutting compound and buff it down level with the rest of the paint, after that a bit of polish or wax should make a nice neat repair.
That's what I've done on stone chips and small scratches and it works well.

I'm always dubious of mobile repairs as in my experience they never last very long becuase of the type of paint used. You also run the risk of paints not matching in certain lights; something that once you notice you will NEVER be able to ignore.

Excellent! Particularly the bit about a mix of base and lacquer: I wonder if it would be possible to mix my own base and lacquer? This is just the sort of thing I had in mind so thanks Sphinx.

 

[Sphinx]

Sorry for the late reply. Yeah you can mix the base and lacquer, I've done so in the past spraying both from rattle cans into a pot and stirring it all.
There's nothing wrong with doing it in 2 stages for those that have in the past, but in my experience it just ends up too thick and you buff off all the lacquer by the time you're done.
One other thing, for the best results you want to buff it off with a machine polisher; the speed combined with the surface of the pad means it takes back the touch up paint to the level of the original paint much better. Sometimes if you're not careful with the cutting compound you end up just taking all the touch up paint out of the scratch as it's softer than the factory paint (the rubber helps this, much like block sanding)
Some people say to use ultra fine wet/dry paper like 1500 or 2000 but you've got to be VERY careful and imo only dare on a car with hard paint; peugeots are known for they're soft, fairly thin paint for example.

 

[OUCH! That's hot!]

Thanks again Sphinx, I'll try it your way.
Thanks to all who replied.