Paint for filling in scratches

[thisismyname09]

If I wanted to paint over some places where the paint got scratched off on a camera, what kind of paint should I use? My previous experience with trying to paint things is that the paint is sticky as soon as my hands touch it, so I assume I've been using the wrong kind of paint.

 

[Ian Grant]

Black non chip nail polish Believe me I use it regularly

Ian

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

If it doesn't effect the function of the camera, I'd just live with the scratch. Also, I'm sure some cameras have a baked on enamel finish that can't be duplicated. Good luck.

 

[Blacknoise]

I'd leave it if I were you. As Mainecoonmaniac says, the finishes are often baked enamel, which will be difficult to replicate. But also, unless you strip all the paint and repaint it from scratch, your cover ups will be almost as noticable as the scratches.

Most of my cameras have a little bit of paintwork damage (nothing ugly), I like to think of them almost as badges of honor, showing that the camera has been well used. They are part of that camera's history, and I think its quite important to keep them there.

This article looks pretty interesting if you fancy a go at repainting it.

Good luck!

Rob

 

[Rick A]

I'm with Ian, or you can go to the hardware and buy appliance touch-up enamel. Auto paint touch-up might work as well, and more choices of color.

Rick

 

[rmolson]

scratches

Filling in scratches

When I picked up my Fuji GW670 the body showed a lot of wear , Mechanically it was in great shape So I used one of my spotting brushes about a 000 and one of those small touch up units from an auto store, with a combination brush and pen tip..They carry quite a few varieties of black. After shaking well I would put a small amount in on a piece of aluminum foil or dish and drew the brush through it to get tiny amount on the tip of the brush The tip was small enough to fit inside the scratch and filled from the bottom up. If you work slowly you can do a pretty good job of filling in scratches. I finished it off with a little clear coat cover up wax.. Now I have an almost new looking camera .And if it’s like washing your car which seems to run better after wards, maybe my pictures will improve too.

 

[suzyj]

I've had good results with black enamel from the hardware store, both gloss black and satin black. For filling small scratches etc on the body I generally use a small modelling brush with gloss black, and build it up over a couple of coats. Leave it a week or two before buffing.

For more extensive damage I strip back to bare metal with paint stripper and repaint. So far the only bits I've done like this have been satin/matte black bits (the baffle just behind the lens mount on my M645, and a waist-level finder), though I have plans of repainting my non-metered M645 prism cover, and that'll be gloss black. I start by cleaning the stripped metal bit with enamel thinners, then do a very fine dusting spray with satin black enamel paint. then after a minute or so, I do another slightly heavier coat, but not enough for the paint to gloss over. Then the part goes in the oven for an hour at 80-90 degrees C. Once it's cooled off, I repeat the exercise, with a very fine dusting coat followed by a slightly heavier coat, then oven baking.

 

[unclemack]

I wouldn't touch in a scratch or a rubbed area, much too obvious. A small chip maybe, but only if I have the right shade and finish of black.
Breathing on quick-drying paints as they dry can reduce the gloss level a little if needed (by blooming the surface).
When spraying most people use too much paint, and lose corner & edge definition as a result. Original paint film on cameras is very thin, hence the usual rubbing on edges.
Factory satin finish is easily polished to gloss by handling because it's so fine, not like commercially-available satins which contain more matting agent.
I've never been 100% happy with work I've done when original factory paint was unavailable.
Low-bake between coats isn't a good idea - prevents complete chemical bonding between the baked substrate & the subsequent coat, which can chip or peel in time. Tacky is the state to recoat most low-bake paint types for good bonding and good hold-up (no runs). Water-based paint likes air circulation for curing in low-bake so dust can be a problem.