1. Sprayless Scratch Repair
Europe.com
Tech Tips Sheet
The following details some tips and advice with regards to the use of SSR. This information is
for the exclusive use of purchasers of the SSR system and is to be kept confidential. This
page will be maintained with up-to-date information and feedback from our technicians
throughout the world.
Selecting the right colour...
In general, all dark paints have a tendency to lighten and all light paints have a tendency to
darken, so:
· On dark paints use colours that are darker. Almost all Dark colours (dark blue, dark
green, dark red burgundy and of course black) can be repaired using the SSR Black
paint. You’ve seen us do it, trust the process.
· On light paints use colours that are lighter
On all silver, use the SSR Silver. On gold, use the SSR Gold or true to colour.
Preparing the repair…
When cleaning the scratches you need to apply enough pressure and really scrub the dirt
from the bottom of the scratches and chips.
It is the dirt in the scratch that makes the scratches standout. This is
particularly relevant when dealing with white or pearl white paint finishes
Next you will need a clean buffer pad. (A clean pad is essential when working any of the
lighter colours: white, silver, gold or beige).
If any wax, glaze or polish is in the scratch, or if it’s been recently detailed, the paint will not
adhere to the scratch. A water alcohol mixture of 50/50, Lacquer Thinner or Panel Wipe will
do the trick.
Now you are ready for touch-up.
Applying the paint…
The paint should be applied using the index finger. Rub paint into the scratch with about 8-
10Ibs of pressure. (You should wear latex gloves during the application). This is to force the
paint to the bottom of the scratch. Rub the area in a circular, spiral like motion.
Do not worry too much about rubbing the paint over a larger area than need be, it will easily
be removed when applying the polish. You should be more concerned that you do not leave
any ridges.
SSR - Tech Tips Sheet R1 Ó ssreurope.com 2005

2. Sprayless Scratch Repair
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If you leave ridges in the paint, the finished repair may have a warped
appearance. If this occurs remove the paint with thinners and start again.
The paint will dry within 30 seconds to 4 minutes depending on temperature and humidity.
Lower temperature (below 50) and high temps (above 90) will set the paint up faster. High
humidity will set it up slower.
Next you should apply the polish generously, directly to the paint. Then buff at 800-1000 rpm
(absolutely no higher) with a high quality wool pad.
You should use our pads exclusively! Our pads are a proven tool and will
provide the very best results.
You may also apply 15-20 Lbs of pressure to the buffer to expedite product removal, but be
sure to keep plenty of polish in the area to avoid burning the OEM paint. Practice this process
to become familiar with the effort that is necessary to remove the product from the surface.
Some scratches will require more than one application. The wider and deeper, the more times
you will have to apply the paint. We recommend no more than three to four applications and
buffing but keeping enough polish on the surface will prevent burning the OEM finish.
Once the excess product is removed from the surface, you may want to wipe down the repair
and surrounding area to remove polish that may have slung over the surface of the vehicle. In
particular check windscreen mouldings and wiper blades for splatter.
Depending on temperatures and sunlight on dark cars, you may only want to
do one panel at a time as the heat on the bonnet, roof and boot lid of the car
may make it extremely difficult to remove the product if left longer than 2
minutes. If the excess does not come off while buffing, get the lacquer
thinner, wipe the area clean and start over.
Taking care of the vehicle…
Pinstripes and Door Handles When polishing around pinstripes and door handles,
cover them with masking tape so as not to damage
them.
Petrol cap doors, door edges and All edges are easy prey to burning, be gentle and
coach lines. careful around these areas. Hand rubbing with polish
is a safe alternative in these situations
Plastic and rubber Plastic and rubber (bumper bars) will not dissipate
heat in the way metal does, so again be gentle with
the buffer. Towel off all polish residues after the car
is finished.
SSR - Tech Tips Sheet R1 Ó ssreurope.com 2005

3. Sprayless Scratch Repair
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Checking the job over…
We recommend walking around the car at least 3 times to ensure you haven’t missed any
chips or scratches. Be sure there is no paint or polish residue left in the areas you have
worked.
Remember that most cosmetic repairers do not work areas below knee level. There are
scratches below knee level too. Do the roof first and work your way down. Generally, you can
apply paint to all scratches on one side of the car then buff. This is obviously dictated by the
climate, heat, cold, humidity etc.
Touching Up
After the buffing process (step 1), and after the micro-fibre wipe down (step 2), it is now time
to touch-up any leftovers.
· Find the colour code to the car you are working on.
· Pull that paint from your system and pour a small amount into a mixing cup.
· If necessary… (we’ve never needed activator)
· Add two or three drops of activator to the paint, mix and touch up any door edges or
chips to large for SSR.
If the paint becomes too thick, add a little thinner to reduce the paint to a more manageable
thickness.
IMPORTANT! Do not return activated paint to the bottle, if you have diluted
with thinner ONLY, you may return the paint to the bottle.
“Grab and Dab” Colour Matching
If by chance you do not have the colour code in your system, there is a simple process called
“grab and dab”. All you need to do for instance, if you have a blue car you might be able to
find a close colour in another line or mix two blues together to get as close as possible. You
can also take out five, six or more blues, remove the caps and dab your finger in the cap then
touch the car (don’t worry it will polish off). Allow the test spots to dry and pick the best match.
Buffer Pad Care
Do no more than three full cars per clean buffer pad! Dirty buffer pads will leave swirl marks
and pull the paint from scratches as you work. You will also find residue removal will become
more difficult. Pads should be machine washed in warm water and allowed to air dry.
Does Not Force Dry Pads! Force dried pads will shrink and tighten up and before you know it
you’ll be buying new ones.
SSR - Tech Tips Sheet R1 Ó ssreurope.com 2005

4. Sprayless Scratch Repair
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Colour Theory & Tinting
First of all you must remember that there is no such thing as a perfect colour match. Colours
may look fine in one light and not so good in another. Even vehicle manufactures cannot
guarantee the same colour from two different batches of paint. However it is possible to get a
very satisfactory result from your paint scheme. We have included this section should you
wish to make use of it for the odd time your scheme may not have the exact shade you need.
One of the first things to remember when looking at a colour is that it may have been affected
by weathering; this is especially true of reds and whites. The simplest way to overcome this is
to machine polish (SSR) a section or the whole of the panel you are working on. If the
customer requires the whole vehicle polishing ensure you charge accordingly.
Don’t be put off trying to tint colours, it’s all a matter of “practice makes perfect”; use the colour
triangle to assist you.
You should also (if spraying) make a spray out card before you actually apply paint to the
vehicle; this card should be kept as part of your growing “colour library”. Just be sure to write
the formula on the reverse of the card for future reference.
Remember! Have patience and learn from your mistakes.
Colour Theory
The colour triangle actually started life as Sir Isaac Newton’s colour wheel. In an attempt to
show the natural progression of colours he split sunlight into red, yellow, green, cyan and blue
beams. He then basically joined the two ends together to form the colour wheel.
The colour wheel is composed of twelve segments. There are three primary colours of red, yellow and
blue, the other segments are secondary and tertiary shades and hues, all derived from a mixture of the
three primary colours.
Terminology
Chroma. This refers to the intensity or richness of a colour. When used on the colour wheel
Chroma increases as it moves outward from the centre. Chroma describes how bright or vivid
a colour is.
Value. More commonly know as lightness or darkness of a colour. Value is typically the ratio
of white when compared to other pigments, therefore value is added when white is added.
The only exception to this rule is adding white to red which obviously will turn to pink.
Hue. This is sometimes referred to as a cast or tint. Hues may only move in two directions
around the colour wheel. As an example red can only move to blue or yellow. When you try to
evaluate a hue, you need to determine which side to move toward to obtain a satisfactory
colour match.
Tint. Tints are a mixture of a hue and white.
Shade. Shades are a mixture of a hue and black.
Tone. Tones are a mixture of a hue and greys.
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5. Sprayless Scratch Repair
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When you add white to a colour to add value you automatically reduce Chroma. Making the
colour become paler.
When working with the three primary colours you need to remember that red can never be too
red, blue can never be too blue and green can never be too green. For example green is
either too blue or too yellow. Red is either too orange or too yellow and blue is either too
green or too violet.
Complementary. Complementary colours are colours which are directly opposite each other
on the colour wheel such as red and green.
Metallic. Metallics follow the same evaluation as solid colours i.e. value, hue and chroma.
You may also hear terms such as concentration, orientation or flip and character when
discussing metallic paint.
Concentration refers to the metallic flake content of a colour.
Character. Is commonly used to describe the flake or particle size of the metallic. It’s
generally referred to as either coarse or fine metallic. Coarse metallic is obviously darker than
fine metallic as the flakes are larger and have more space between them when sprayed.
Orientation. Orientation and flip both refer to the way the metallic is laying within the paint. If
all the flakes are laying in one direction the colour will appear different if the flakes were mixed
layer. The colour will also change depending on the direction you look at it i.e. face on, left
side or right side.
Below you will see the colour triangle. The three primary colours are of red, yellow and blue
can be found on the three “corners” of the triangle. In between these three primary colours
you will find the three secondary colours of orange, green and violet. The three secondary
colours are made from equal amounts of the two primary colours on either side of it. For
example if you mixed equal amounts of red and yellow you will make orange.
Knowing the above to be true you can determine which colour needs adding or subtracting
when tinting colour mixes. For example, if your green is to yellow you will need to add more
blue, if your yellow is too yellow you will need to add either more blue or red, you could simply
add more violet which is in affect equal amounts of blue and red.
To subtract or kill one colour simply find it’s opposite colour and add that.
SSR - Tech Tips Sheet R1 Ó ssreurope.com 2005

6. Sprayless Scratch Repair
Europe.com
Contact
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call tech support on the numbers shown
below.
UK
Graeme or Paul
0191 516 8745
USA
Brodie
001 817 903 4971
Charlotte
001 817 896 9638
Alex
001 817 966 0527
Remember USA times are CST which is six hours behind UK. This is an advantage you as
you can call the above right up to 11pm UK time
SSR - Tech Tips Sheet R1 Ó ssreurope.com 2005