Duplicolor Scratch Fix All-In-1 Touch Up Paint, Gloss, Bright White, .50 Fl. Oz., Gw7; Pw7

I really like this product for touch up. The tip for removing loose paint chips before painting, the included brush for the color paint and the clear coat made it simple and easy to use. Touch up results were great and hardly noticeble unless looking for it.

I picked up this product (in a differnt color) hoping to fix various branch and brush marks on a late model Dodge pickup. Some were mere scuffs and some were pretty deep, down to primer and even some to the bare metal (that were easily visible from several feet away). I assumed this product would be about as effective as 99% of the absolute garbage you see on late night infomercials, so my expectations were very low, but it was in a very official looking display at a well-known auto parts store so I decided to give it a try. The color code matching stuff aside (which was straight forward using the book at the display), the first thing I noticed was a total lack of instructions in the package. I mean it, aside from a couple external picture blurbs, no nifty little booklet folded up and hiding in there anywhere. I had to go online to find a single video on their website, and it was only slightly more informative than the graphics on the package. I was off to a grand start with almost no information. The next thing I noticed was that it is ridiculously difficult to open the tube/pen/paintbrush contraption the paint comes in. I'm no rocket scientist, but I've worked in aviation maintenance for a number of years, and not even the space shuttle needs to be this complicated. I eventually used a pair of pliers to open the thing, which was a real thrill; torquing on a fat plastic tube full of paint that could likely burst open at any of three points (according to the pictures) at any moment. After several minutes messing around, I got each of the three caps/sections broken loose without making a mess, and I got down to work. The next item on my list had to do with the "abrasive-tip" that nobody explains anywhere will scrape even the good paint off in a heartbeat. This white pen-tip will turn a small chip into a large smear of exposed primer and a narrow scuff into a deep bare metal gouge in microseconds. They should call it the "paint eraser". Save yourself some frustration and do not use the abrasive tip for anything (except maybe to scrape the paint off your nails when you're finished, more on that in a minute). My next complaint goes back to the complexity of the applicator "pen". There are four sections to this thing, the super fantastic paint destroying abrasive tip, the "fine-tip" paint applicator (also apparently useless, couldn't get a drop out of it), the "tapered" paint brush (great for smearing the globs around), and the sponge tip for appling the clear coat (yet another, just shinier glob spreader). It should be noted that you have to use the first two in a pencil fashion, tip down. However you have to remember to flip the pen upright before opening the other two because these sections are just little paint pots waiting to spill their guts where ever without hesitation. The upside is that the abrasive tip will also take the touch up paint off of you with a little effort. In the end, the wonderful in depth color match system is nearly pointless because as I mentioned at the beginning, even my lowest expectations were not met, and the results are pathetic. The best I was able to achieve was to color in the worst scratches that were primer or bare metal and visible from a distance. Now from that same distance, they blend in enough so that you have to get much closer to notice them, however when you're that close you can easily make out the rough looking finish thats covering them, in spite of the supposedly dealer specific color codes. All in all, the entire process reminds me of my wife painting her toes; she uses emory boards (the white abrasive tip) first, then a little brush to apply her choice of I imagine thousands of colors, and finishes it off with some clear coat. The difference being her toes look great even close up and my truck looks somewhat worse (especially close up). I'm pretty sure I could have achieved (at least) the same weak result in half the time for half the money by just picking up some blue nail polish at Wally World. I'll try that long before I bother with this product again.