My Montero has been working hard for most of its life. At least I assume as much since it’s a vehicle designed to go… well, anywhere. And I’m now taking it easy on the thing, even if it shows 326,000 miles on its odometer. Still, I’d like it to look good, which occasionally means addressing the paint. With some Automotive TouchUp landing in my mailbox, I decided to test it out on some of the more pockmarked sections of my truck.

If I see brush and other non-metal smashing things hanging across trails, I typically just push on through. The truck can handle it; if I scratch things, that’s just a scar earned through adventure. I’m starting small with my touch-paint fixes, though, because I’m actually quite lazy. So I want to see how well the paint pen version of this stuff works without any prep.

Automotive TouchUp includes the proper pieces to do this all correctly, and the instructions are easy to follow. So this is a “me” thing here today. I took the paint pen labeled Montero S55, which translates to Sahara Gold Metallic and I set out dabbing it on some pockmarks on the nose of my truck.

What you’re supposed to do is use the wipe to clean the area. Then you apply some primer via another paint pen. After that, you can use the paint, and finally, you can cover it with a clear coat. I just set to dabbing. I dabbed away for a little bit and covered up the upper portion of the Montero snout where the paint had been stripped off.

And even cutting corners, I’m supremely stoked with the result. In fact, this simple fix has me wanting to tackle some other areas but do it properly. I’ll report back on that next week. For now, this is how the lazy version works. Well, the really ultimate lazy version would be to buy the aerosol spray the brand sells, tape off an area, and have at it. But that makes me nervous, even though it might work out fine on my truck.