how to thin touch up paint/other tips?

[joaks]

Does anyone know what solvent to use to thin touch up paint? Also, I'm looking for tips on improving my results: I have two spots of bubbling paint on my cars roof. One is next to the antenna mount the other touches the windshield. What I did in other areas is remove loose paint, treat with "rust not" prime, paint, and clearcoat using the duplicolor kit and subaru touch up paint. It does not look great when I do this (this is with no sanding or putty) and these last two spots are more noticeable. I was thinking I would use putty. Sand, and thin the paint for a smoother final result.

 

[40Deluxe]

duplicolor touch up paint with the brush in the cap is lacquer based so use lacquer thinner sparingly,take spot putty or feather fill available at walmart and use per instructions,it will fill the irregularities and level,then paint.You want the body sealed off from the spot putty,epoxy primer will seal the steel off and provide a good base for filler.

 

[Benzadmiral]

For those tiny little nicks and chips, use a tiny tiny brush. You can get very small ones at the hobby store. Put some lacquer thinner in a squeeze bottle, the kind they sell at the paint store, and when you clean your brush, "shower" the brush with the thinner into a paper towel.

I couldn't get touch-up paint at the dealer any more (?), and the Dupli-Color codes at Autozone/Pep Boys didn't match. So with the right color code I ordered from here: http://www.automotivetouchup.com/ (Oddly, their home office is here -- in the suburbs near my regular mechanic.)

 

[mechtech2]

If you are going to dig out or chemically remove the rust [common naval jelly], then forgo the rust killer stuff and use regular auto filler and primer.
Lacquer doesn't lay down right with a brush. You have to build it up and and it, then polish later.

 

[Tornado Red]

I had O'Reilly's mix up some touch-up paint for me. It was very expensive and then I did not do a good job with it.

Fortunately my car's color is a perfect match with a common color of automotive spray paint. So I sanded everything smooth and sprayed the affected areas, and it looks a lot better now unless you get up close. But for a car with 300k+ miles it is definitely good enough and much better than it was before.