How to fix paint chips (properly)?

[msmit62]

Hello,

Besides the body work to do on my 62, I have to fix some paint chips on a newer vehicle (2000 model year). What is the proper way to do this as far as sanding, filling, buffing, etc is concerned? The few spots are small enough to only need one bottle of touch up paint (which I already bought from the dealer). I'd like to make it look very nice rather than just glob in the paint and wax over it. I'm not sure if there is a proper way to fill, sand, polish, fill some more, etc.

Thanks in advance!

Matt

[droptop62]

Paint chips.
Make sure the touch up paint matches the paint on your vehicle.
Clean out the areas being touched up. wax and grease remover.
Slowly fill in the chip, until it is slightly raised above the paint surface.
Wet sand the filled in chip slowly, and try to use a block to keep your paper flat.
keep the area very wet, and rinse the paper often to keep it clean.
also keep the area being wet sanded contained to as small an area as possible.
Start out with 1000 grit, and then change to 1500.
when the repair is even with the surface, you can rub it out with compound and then polish.

Black is an easy color to touch up, others may slightly show the repair but should not be too noticable.

I touched up a few chips on the 70 Chevelle LS6 convertible I did some restoration on last year. You could absolutely not see the touch ups.
It must have been a good job, because the car sold earlier this year for $225,000.00
:D

[msmit62]

Thanks! Will your advice work on both lacquer and enamel?

Thanks,
Matt

[droptop62]

I got a pretty good size chip in my tail-gate on my truck this morning,
so when I repaired it today, I took some photos, and thought I would bring back this thread and post the photos here.

(Bob, If these photos take up too much space delete this thread)

#1 - Chip about 3/8 inch in size on my tail gate
#2 - Bottle of touch up paint
#3 - Put enough paint over the chip to be higher than the normal paint surface.
#4 - small rubber block and 1500 grit paper
#5 - Plenty of water to keep your work area wet and your sandpaper clean.
#6 - Work slowly and be patient! wetsand small area until area is level or even.
(You may need to apply more paint if there is low spots in your touch up,
Also do not over-sand your area you do not want to produce thin spots.)
#7 - Rub out sanding scratches with rubbing compound and finish with a polish.

[droptop62]

See above for earlier part of this thread (photos 1- 5)

photos 6 and 7

[60convert]

you did such a good job that a miral of a 62 apeared in the paint. actually you did one h@ll of a job and it was a good tip as i have a few spots to do on my girls car but they can wait a while as it is a plastic saturn.
Jesse

[bobs409]

(Bob, If these photos take up too much space delete this thread)



Delete them? When we get the new Tech Article Area underway, I'm going to ask that you do a small pictorial on this! (basically, you already have)

This is just the thing we'll be looking for. :)

[msmit62]

Wow, that's a beautiful job that you did! Thanks for the demo; it's just what I needed in order to get started.

Matt

[droptop62]

I actually fixed a chip that was right in the middle of the drivers door on my 62 last week.
I wished that I would have taken pictures of the process when I repaired that chip.
Then I ended up chipping my tail gate on sunday morning.
The chip on my door turned out very well, the red paint was slightly off, but the repair is very hard to see, you would have to be on your hands and knees to see it, and even then you would have to be a couple inches away from the door to see the repair.
Much better than the chip you could see from 10 feet away.
Black is easy, other colors are harder. Metalics can be difficult, usually too much metalic in the touch up paint, may need to thin slightly and really shake it up to get the right amount of metallic to be less noticable.
This is not always a perfect repair, but most of the time very acceptible.

[fatride]

[ even then you would have to be a couple inches away from the door to see the repair.



Wait, I don't have a jack stand high enough to see the bottom of my Impala without putting my Bi focals on! Let me back up a few more inches! :rolleyes: