Bad Pearl touch-up paint?

[BerTX]

Due to an unfortuante run-in with a pole at a mall charger, I needed to touch up a small scratch on my rear bumper.

I ordered the touch-up paint from Tesla, but it is really very odd looking. There is almost no pigment in it (yes, I shook it until my arm was sore). I thought maybe that was so that the clear would rise to the surface and try to give it a clearcoat look.

After 6 coats of the stuff, all I have is a mess that looks worse than the black gash on the bumper. The paint has no body to it, so it just runs and I have to wipe off the drips. So now I have a glob of semi-transparent paint at the bottom of the scratch, and almost no coverage of the booboo at the top.

Is this the way the Pearl touch-up paint is supposed to be? If so, I guess I'll have to go another route. A piece of white plastic tape would look better.

 

[BerTX]

 

[KyleDay]

Agreed. I tried the exact same repair on some rock chips on my front bumper. It's like a white watered down liquid, not a thick pearl white gel.

It turned out so bad I wiped it off and left the rock chips.

 

[JPP]

Go to Dr. Color Chip:

Dr. ColorChip Automotive Paint Chip Repair Kit - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems

I have used their paints for our 2 S (see below for colors)--very good match, good application system. Works for me.

 

[ngeadah]

I ordered the red paint repair kit for my car and the results are awful!!! I can't believe Tesla is peddling this product. The color does not match at all, and now it looks even worst than simply having paint chips.

I am writing to Tesla customer service about this; I will be returning it as well and asking for my money back.

 

[dark cloud]

Due to an unfortuante run-in with a pole at a mall charger, I needed to touch up a small scratch on my rear bumper.

I ordered the touch-up paint from Tesla, but it is really very odd looking. There is almost no pigment in it (yes, I shook it until my arm was sore). I thought maybe that was so that the clear would rise to the surface and try to give it a clearcoat look.

After 6 coats of the stuff, all I have is a mess that looks worse than the black gash on the bumper. The paint has no body to it, so it just runs and I have to wipe off the drips. So now I have a glob of semi-transparent paint at the bottom of the scratch, and almost no coverage of the booboo at the top.

Is this the way the Pearl touch-up paint is supposed to be? If so, I guess I'll have to go another route. A piece of white plastic tape would look better.

Did you guys hear the metal ball or metal slider rattle when you shook it? I have not tried the Tesla touch up, so I can't confirm it has the metal ball/slider, but I have had some touch ups for past vehicles with a metallic or pearl paint where vigorous shaking sometimes did not release the ball bearing stuck to the bottom of the container. Your arm cannot stop quick enough to give it enough force to release the metal part from the paint. You had to actually hit it on your hand to release it; and then shaking it mixes the contents properly.

 

[dark cloud]

Having said that, I bought a 3 piece touch up from Touchupdirect, as I have pearl white tri-colour, and it didn't work very well trying to apply it with their directions. What worked was just mixing the base coat and the top coat together, using a toothpick and filling in the rock chips, then a coat with the clear.

If I had to do it again I would go with Dr. colorchip, as suggested by JPP. I saw some youtube videos of people applying it and it looked so much easier than the 6 hour process over several days I had to go through.