PaintScratch

What PaintScratch does

PaintScratch is a privately held, family-owned e-commerce business that sells factory-matched automotive touch-up paint directly to U.S. consumers. Founded in 1999 by Collin Harris — a former auto body shop operator — and operated since 2012 by his son Nick Harris and daughter-in-law Mari Collins Harris, the company is headquartered in the Lake Tahoe area with paint mixing operations in California. The core technology is a curated database of 34,000+ OEM automotive paint codes spanning 100+ vehicle makes from 1950 through 2026, against which orders are custom-mixed to order by hand by paint experts with over 50 years of combined experience. Product formats span 1/2 oz paint pens, 2 oz brush bottles, 12 oz aerosol spray cans, and professional pint/quart/gallon sizes, alongside tricoat (pearl/metallic) specialty SKUs, primers, clearcoats, body fillers, and safety accessories.

The business model is direct-to-consumer e-commerce with unit pricing: standalone SKUs range from $19.95 (paint pen) to $599.95 (PRO gallon), with bundled kits priced $46.95–$119.95 and free shipping above $149. All paint is mixed to order, leading to 3–5 day standard ship times, and returns of mixed paint are not accepted. The go-to-market motion is product-led and SEO-driven: customers self-identify their vehicle's paint code via an online lookup tool or are guided via educational content including YouTube tutorials and a "Help Me Find My Color" resource. Customer segments are primarily DIY individual car owners fixing chips and scratches, with secondary segments in classic/vintage vehicle restoration (served via mailed-in-part custom color matching) and professional body shops (served via PRO gallon sizes).

The company reports a 4.6–4.7 star Google Reviews rating across 14,000+ reviews and states "millions of car owners trust PaintScratch." Marketing channels are organic: SEO-optimized per-make/model pages, YouTube, X, Facebook, and email cart-saving. Distribution is exclusively domestic U.S. shipping via USPS, FedEx, and UPS Ground. The company has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, no patents, no API or SDK, and no documented AI/ML capabilities.

Name

PaintScratch

Legal name

PaintScratch

Website

https://paintscratch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PaintScratch is a family-owned U.S. e-commerce retailer that custom-mixes and ships factory-matched automotive touch-up paint across 100+ vehicle makes and 34,000+ OEM colors to DIY car owners, classic vehicle restorers, and professional body shops.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Automotive Touch-Up Paint

NAICS

Paint and Coating Manufacturing (32551)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Powder Coatings (IMAEAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Paint & Refinishing Services (Spray, Color-Match, Clearcoat) (TLAKAEAC), Powder Coatings (IMAEAHAE)

Keywords

• Automotive touch-up paint
• OEM color matching
• Custom paint mixing
• DIY auto refinish
• Automotive repair accessories

Headquarters

HQ city

Incline Village

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Touch-Up Paint Products: Revenue from selling custom-mixed automotive touch-up paint in various formats: paint pens (1/2oz), bottles (2oz), spray cans (12oz), and professional sizes (pint, quart, gallon). All paint is custom-mixed to order based on vehicle paint codes.
2. Complete Repair Kits: Bundled kits containing primer, paint, clearcoat, sandpaper, polishing compound, and finishing supplies for complete repairs. Higher average order value than standalone paint.
3. Automotive Accessories: Supporting products including primers, clearcoats, adhesion promoters, rust converters, body fillers, sandpaper, cutting compound, lacquer thinner, masking tape, microfiber towels, clay bars, and safety equipment (respirators, gloves).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PaintScratch sells factory-matched automotive touch-up paint that is custom-mixed by hand to OEM color codes after each order, offered in pen (1/2 oz), brush bottle (2 oz), spray can (12 oz), and professional pint/quart/gallon sizes. The catalog also includes complete repair kits combining primer, basecoat, and clearcoat, plus supporting accessories such as clearcoats, primers, body fillers, sandpaper, and safety gear. The company operates as a direct-to-consumer online storefront shipping within the United States.

Product overview

PaintScratch is an e-commerce platform offering factory-matched automotive touch-up paint products and accessories for DIY vehicle repair. The core product line consists of three main paint application formats (pen, bottle, spray can) available as standalone products or complete kits, plus professional-size paints for spray gun application. Specialty tricoat/pearl products serve vehicles with multi-layer finishes requiring basecoat and midcoat. Supporting products include clearcoats, primers, body repair fillers, sandpaper, and safety equipment. The portfolio ranges from beginner-friendly small-chip repair pens ($19.95) to professional gallon-size paints ($599.95+), serving vehicle owners from 1950 through 2026 across 100+ vehicle makes including Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and others, with over 34,324 OEM color formulas available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Touch-Up Paint Pen Kit

Quantifiable outcome

• Color match guarantee - replace or refund if color doesn't match
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Rust-Oleum: Major coatings manufacturer (RPM International) with extensive automotive and DIY product lines including touch-up, rust, and specialty paints. Adjacent in product chemistry and DIY retail presence, but broader portfolio and not focused on OEM color-code matching.
• Dupli-Color: Sherwin-Williams-owned automotive coatings brand offering touch-up paints, spray paints, and coatings in broad DIY and hardware channels. Competes with PaintScratch in the same end-use category but distributes through mass retail, auto parts stores, and broader product portfolio rather than direct OEM-code custom mixing.
• Eastwood: Long-established DIY auto restoration retailer selling paints, tools, and supplies to classic-car enthusiasts and home restorers. Overlaps with PaintScratch in the restoration/DIY customer segment and adjacent products (clearcoat, primer, body fillers), with a much wider catalog.

Emerging players

• SEM Products: Specialty coatings manufacturer for automotive refinishing, collision repair, and plastic restoration. Comparable in serving professional body shops and refinishing use cases, though primarily a B2B/pro-grade supplier rather than a DIY DTC storefront.

Others

• AutoZone: Mass-market U.S. auto parts retailer carrying competing touch-up paints (including Dupli-Color and Rust-Oleum SKUs) alongside body-repair supplies. Not a direct competitor, but a key shelf-based alternative that captures some DIY demand PaintScratch targets online.

Direct peers

• Dr. ColorChip: Sells proprietary touch-up paint kits with a unique 'paint jar' application process for automotive chips and scratches. Overlaps directly in DIY automotive touch-up paint e-commerce, premium-positioned, color-match-led GTM.
• AutomotiveTouchup: Direct online competitor selling factory-matched automotive touch-up paint in pens, bottles, and spray cans with custom color mixing. Closest 1:1 comparable in product, customer (DIY vehicle owners), and D2C e-commerce model.
• Chipex: UK-based manufacturer and DTC seller of factory-matched automotive touch-up paint with a 'patented process' for blending repairs. Directly comparable in OEM color-matching claim, kit-style SKUs, and DIY-oriented content marketing.
• ScratchWizard: Online-only touch-up paint retailer focused on OEM-matched automotive paint for chips, scratches, and bumper scuffs. Comparable customer segment, product form factors (pen, bottle, spray), and color-code-led customer acquisition.
• ColorRite: E-commerce seller of OEM-matched touch-up paint for automotive and powersports applications, with extensive make/model coverage. Comparable in catalog depth, target customer (DIY owners and body shops), and DTC fulfillment model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/paintscratch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/paintscratch
• Facebookfacebook.com/paintscratch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paintscratch-com

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PaintScratch