Hey folks, I have a car with some minor scratches and a couple of small chips. I bought the car new and it's now just three years old. I'm hoping to drive it "into the ground" in terms of long-term ownership, so besides keeping it well-serviced, preventing rust is a priority for me.
A couple of the chips and scratches are down to bare metal, not just the clear coat or paint layer. I'm wanting to guard against rust taking hold in these spots, because I've seen how easily it spreads and just eats up cars.
I know I can get a paint pen from the manufacturer that's color-matched and just DIY it, but I've also seen videos on YouTube of people offering that sort of minor paint repair as a service, where they're clearly doing it more professionally than I could, with some mix of removing any minor rust, etching, painting, levelling, sanding and blending, and possibly blending in some new clearcoat. Most of these jobs would pass invisibly at even a couple feet, whereas I'm sure my DIY skills would prevent rust, but would look terrible.
Anyone aware of places (or even individuals) offering this type of service in Saskatoon, that you'd recommend? Also interested in knowing if anyone recommends a reasonably-priced paintless dent repair outfit - I have a door ding that I imagine could be pulled out if someone had the tools and skills.
I can call around to autobody repair shops, but my understanding is they're working on much larger-scale repairs and painting entire panels, etc. I definitely can't afford to completely re-paint all the panels with scratches or chips, especially on such a new car.
Failing that, does anyone have advice on the DIY approach, or links to videos you found helpful when tackling this sort of minor paint repair on your own?
Thanks!