Fixing small nicks in the paint

[x_GSEadam_X]

I have a few nicks in the paint on my red 2009 vibe. I know it can be fixed with touch up paint but was wondering if anyone had any steps to follow or tips that will help it come out better. The areas i would be fixing are: hood (3 chips just above headlight), rear bumper (2 chips just above the license plate) and driver's side rear door (about mid way up on the edge of the door).The car only has 17,000 miles on it so i would like to make it look as good as possible. Thanks in advance for your help!

[09vGT]

My dealer advised me to use the paper matches to apply the touch up paint. Use the paper end obviously, not the part that would flame. Works pretty well for me, but I've stopped trying to touch it up. There are far to many now for me to fix

[star_deceiver]

Good luck... I have probably over 1000 nicks on the front end from rocks and such in winter.I'd need to repaint the hood and replace the front bumper... some of the nicks in the plastic go pretty deep!

[09vGT]

If your paints isn't too bad as of now, you probably would fair well from that 3M clear paint protection!

[vibenvy]

IMO touch up paint always ends up looking worse than the scratches, chips, etc. themselves. I don't even worry about all the chips on the front of my 09 GT any more. I look at them as battle scars . I am just planning on getting the whole front end repainted a couple years down the road. It will look much better, plus I can get a new front bumper cover without license plate holes !

[ponta2147]

I've tried touch-up paint and it kind of looks like crap, even trying to do it properly. The '09s/'10s are destined to be as pockmarked as teenagers, think of it as "personality." Just keep an eye out for rust and keep them properly waxed for protection.