Touching up black aluminum

[Racer X]

rgG wrote:
[quote=space-time]
I have some ugly scratches on a black Bogen tripod, ...

does it affect the pictures?

I think he needs to keep the scratches from catching the light and distracting the shooters he is photographing, but I could be wrong.
Nope. When photographing polished metal or glass, the surface becomes a mirror. I can get around a lot of the issue if there are no bright spots on the gear, or me. Most of the bare aluminum on the tripod is cast with a sandblasted finish. It is these big scrapes through the low gloss black paint that show up as pinpoint light reflections. Back in the film days, I messed up a shot because my black t-shirt rode up, and there was shine from a belt buckle. Didn't catch it til I saw the negatives.

The pistol shooting reference is because I do a lot of maintenance on black anodized pistol and rifle parts, so I have some experience with aluminum vs steel and what sticks and wears well.