A Family-Owned American Business Since 1999

Built on Self-Reliance, Craft, and Family

PaintScratch began with a simple belief: you shouldn’t need an expensive body shop to fix small paint damage.

Before founding PaintScratch in 1999, Collin Harris and his wife, Kathi, would buy used cars, fix them up in their driveway, and resell them to make ends meet. Autobody shops charged too much for minor repairs, so Collin taught himself the craft of automotive paint — learning one project at a time. His DIY repairs looked so good that friends, neighbors, and even strangers kept asking for help. That encouragement inspired him to create a business that empowered regular people to do their own repairs with factory-quality paint products.

Founder Collin Harris and his refurbished 1967 Porsche in 1976

Today, PaintScratch remains a family-run American business, with paint mixed locally in California by our automotive paint experts — professionals with over 50 years of combined experience.

Since 2012, Collin’s son Nick Harris has led PaintScratch’s online operations, bringing the business into the future with the help of his wife, designer Mari Collins Harris. Both father and son live with their families in the beautiful Lake Tahoe area, where they enjoy time outdoors and continue building a company rooted in self-reliance, craftsmanship, and helping people fix things the right way.

The PaintScratch family legacy: Collin and Nick Harris

At its heart, PaintScratch is still what Collin intended it to be: a family business helping everyday people restore their vehicles with pride.