Paint touch up and scratch removal price

[mohamedmaark]

I really appreciate every one on this forum that constantly helps me with all my questions, its a honor learning from the pros. I wanted to know for my customers that have scratches and will need touch up, where is a good reliable place to get touch up for cars? Should i tell them to get it from the dealer or should i get it from a website? Also im not so sure how much i should charge for scratch removal, and i know you guys are going to say it all depends on the size and depth of the scratch. But to categorize it i would say you either have a scratch where you have to sand it and then polish it, or you have the scratch that needs to be prepped then touch up paint, then sanding and polishing. So what is a good method to use when trying to calculate how much for scratch removal?

 

[512detail]

Per hour? or per job?
I don't do wet sanding so I have no idea there.

You really have to determine what you cost is and what you feel you are worth vs what the market will allow.

As far as touch up paint, I have used the Dr Colorchip road rash kit on two vehicles and its pretty awesome. ACC sells it. It's not poured until you order it so it's irrelevant whether you order it from dr colorchip directly or not.l (I'd rather give PBMG my $ anyways).

When I was trying to determine my pricing I did research of the local competition and tried to base my rates off of market value.

Sorry to not give you a direct answer. I will also say that I don't consider myself a pro but I am running a reputable business. I would never try to charge as much as the guys in the big leagues, but I will always happily accept nice tips .

And as far as deep scratches, if your finger nail fits nicely in there. I'd say that's at least a two stepper and probably not all coming out short of wet sanding.

 

[mohamedmaark]

Per hour? or per job?
I don't do wet sanding so I have no idea there.

You really have to determine what you cost is and what you feel you are worth vs what the market will allow.

As far as touch up paint, I have used the Dr Colorchip road rash kit on two vehicles and its pretty awesome. ACC sells it. It's not poured until you order it so it's irrelevant whether you order it from dr colorchip directly or not.l (I'd rather give PBMG my $ anyways).

When I was trying to determine my pricing I did research of the local competition and tried to base my rates off of market value.

Sorry to not give you a direct answer. I will also say that I don't consider myself a pro but I am running a reputable business. I would never try to charge as much as the guys in the big leagues, but I will always happily accept nice tips .

And as far as deep scratches, if your finger nail fits nicely in there. I'd say that's at least a two stepper and probably not all coming out short of wet sanding.

Thanks alot, very helpful information

 

[Beemerboy]

I know this doesn't answer your question but...I stopped doing touch up paint work some years back. Any OTC or online touch up paint and or kits that I found did marginal jobs at best. It also requires ( at least for me) a lot of practice before I was going to work on and or charge a customer.

I've also noticed that people tend to focus on areas that have a scratch or whatever...but once you return a super clean detailed car, that all goes away

 

[512detail]

Any OTC or online touch up paint and or kits that I found did marginal jobs at best. It also requires ( at least for me) a lot of practice before I was going to work on and or charge a customer.

Great point. I failed to mention that I had to put on several coats of the dr colorchip kit and it still doesn't 'fill' in all the area to a level surface, and I'd say touch-up paint work is my least favorite thing to do and I really don't try to sell that type of service personally because it is just very time consuming and I find it very difficult to determine what is a fair price to charge them relative to what they could spend to have a body shop actually spray paint on there.

 

[Beemerboy]

Great point. I failed to mention that I had to put on several coats of the dr colorchip kit and it still doesn't 'fill' in all the area to a level surface, and I'd say touch-up paint work is my least favorite thing to do and I really don't try to sell that type of service personally because it is just very time consuming and I find it very difficult to determine what is a fair price to charge them relative to what they could spend to have a body shop actually spray paint on there.

Smart move IMO...I've had decent success with small rock chips, but no matter what the paint never really seems to match the OEM, unless its like a white, jet black or a small variation of that.