Touching up paintwork damage
Taking care of your car's paintwork helps to maintain the exterior. Inspect it regularly and repair damage straightaway to avoid further problems.
Common damage that may occur includes stone chips, scratches and marks along the edges of doors or bumpers.
Important
Paintwork damage in front of a radar can affect the radar's detection capabilities. Contact a service point for repairs if you find any damage close to the radars.1 If you're unsure about where your car's radars are, you can find an overview of their locations in a separate section of this manual.
Note
Paint batches and brands may differ slightly in colour even if the colour code is the same. Therefore, even though you can touch up paintwork damage on your own, Volvo recommends that you always contact an authorised Volvo workshop to get help with any paintwork damage.
- Contact a Volvo dealer for recommendations on touch-up pens and spray paints.
- The surface must be clean and dry before doing any touch-ups.
- The temperature of the surface should be at least 15 °C (59 °F).
- Follow the instructions for the touch-up pen or paint you're using.
Apply masking tape over the damaged area. Then peel it off to remove all loose paint.
If there are uneven edges, you may need to gently polish around the damaged area using a very fine abrasive cloth. Clean the area thoroughly afterwards and let it dry.
If the damage:
- has not reached the metal and an undamaged layer of paint remains, you can apply touch-up paint directly to the cleaned surface.
- has reached the metal, first use a primer.
- is on a plastic surface, first use an adhesive primer for better results. Spray into the lid of the spray can and brush on a thin layer.
- is a long scratch, use masking tape around the damaged area to protect the undamaged paintwork.
Stir the primer thoroughly and apply with a fine brush, matchstick or something similar. Let it dry.
Finish with a basecoat and clearcoat.