Especially for the bright metallic colors, its important to apply a clear over top. It will match well when you do this.

 

Touch up Paint Match

Thanks, this makes sense. I will try the clear coat and let you know!

 

Where can I buy clear coat? At the dealer? or at any auto store.

 

You can get clear coat at any auto store. I know Walmart carries it. It is the same for all cars. You may have to use several coats of that.

 

Buyer beware: some of the Honda cross-reference charts show the wrong touchup paint code for some vehicles.

When buying paint for our SSM Ody, the dealer gave me YR-524M, but the door panel sticker shows 542M. The color was very close.

Long story short is that the book showed 524M but the book was wrong.

Lesson: match the code on the door to the code on the paint. Don't worry what the name says, it's the code that counts.

 

Is the code on the drivers door on the sticker?

 

Try the below site - they have a lot of good information regarding touch up paint - flex additives for bumpers, factory code for an exact match-up, clear coat etc.

I have never used them, so please don't consider this a recommendation. But if you do use them - post some feedback

http://paintscratch.com/

Regarding metallic paint, I've read somewhere, that only a spray touch up can do an exact match, even with the correct color, due to the way metallic particles will lay on the surface.

 

I tried starlight silver spray

I recently had to repair some deep scratches on my wing mirror, so I did the full job of spray filler primer/sanding till it was all smooth and primed the entire mirror. Looked very good till here. I had special ordered some starlight silver spray paint from dmbpaint.com Honda color code NH638M. This went on very well and uniform and the color looked a good match, but somewhat flat or dull in appearance. I thought the clear topcoat would do the trick, but despite several coats of clear topcoat, it just doesn't have the same shine as the factory paint. the color match is very good though, just noticebly less glossy if you look. My guess is that the original base coat was too 'rough' to give the nice glossy finish with the clar top coat. I had sanded the primer with 1500 grit before the base coat.

Can any of you guys with painting experience shed some light?

 

I guess for the side view mirror, there are 2 other options.

1) Buy a new one. I am sure it is easy to remove and install.

2) Remove the scratched up one, bring it to a body shop
and have them repair and re-paint the mirror, then re-install it.

 

Need to apply a rubbing compound to polish the clearcoat. See below - this is not from experience - but picked up from the paintscratch.com site

"Using the Rubbing Compound
The application of Rubbing compound creates the deep gloss in the clearcoat so don't skip this step!
Let the clearcoat dry for at least 3 days before using the rubbing compound. Use a clean, very soft cloth like an old tee shirt (for example DO NOT USE PAPER PRODUCTS as the wood fibers will scratch the paint!). Place a small quantity of rubbing compound on the vehicle and use circular strokes and apply even pressure to the vehicle. It's almost like waxing a vehicle except the rubbing compound is like an extremely fine liquid sandpaper. Buff with a clean cloth to a high gloss. (You may want to spray some paint and clearcoat on a smooth surface and practice to get the feel of it.) Sometimes lots of pressure is required to make the clear shine. The rubbing compound can also be applied by machine, but careful, it's very easy to burn the paint! You can get the same results by hand, it will just take a bit longer.

The rubbing compound is also good for removing oxidation from your finish. Let the paint dry for a 30 days and apply a good quality automotive wax."