What would you do? Paint FIX!
02-12-2013, 01:36 PM
#11
Senior Member
If the paint chip isn't down to the bare metal there is no need to apply primer first. If you buy the ford OEM touch up for your paint code you won't need clear coat either because it is already mixed in with the paint. I had a pretty nasty chip on my drivers side fender and I was able to hide it and fix it to like 95%. You wouldn't be able to find it unless I pointed it out. Here is the process to do it the right way.
1.) clean the area using rubbing alcohol/isopropyl alcohol. You can get this at your local pharmacy store if you don't have any. Use this to remove any wax on the surface that would prevent the paint from bonding.
2.) Use some painters tape to tape off the surrounding area making sure to get as close as possible to isolating the chip itself as to not affect the surrounding paint.
3.) make sure the chip is level and the outer edges aren't sharp and sticking up. If they are then use some 2000 grit sand paper to knock it down. Make sure you wetsand! You can obviously use water in a spray bottle but I like windex because it has cleaning properties in it. If you set a day aside to do this you can soak your sandpaper in water over night. This helps but is not necessary the most important part is to Make sure to keep the surface and paper wet while sanding! And don't apply too much pressure, let the paper do the work. If the paint chip is on a level flat panel a good practice is to use a sanding block. Since its such a small chip i recommend taking a paint mixing stick and breaking it in half then wrap the sand paper around that making sure to keep it flat when sanding. If the chip is on a slightly curved surface you don't need the stick but when wet sanding be extra careful because clear coat is always thinner on edges and corners than flat body panels.
4.) if you wetsanded the chip flat clean it again before the next step using your isopropyl alcohol.
5.) Now its time to start applying some touch up paint to the chip. This process is a multi step process and will take some time. It's a good practice to do this a layer at a time waiting at least 24hr between layers to let the paint fully cure before adding another layer. This is not necessary as I myself have done it in less than 2 hrs when detailing customer cars and not having that sort of time. The paint will dry rather fast if doing this in fairly warm temps or inside a heated garage.
The reason for doing multiple layers is because the paint will shrink once dried and you will need to add enough layers until the touch up paint is just above the surrounding paint area. Thus allowing you to sand the touched up area down flat to match the surrounding paint.
5.) if you are careful and precise enough you can use the fine brush from the touch up bottle. Some like to use toothpicks and let the paint fall into the chip but I found this doesn't work too well on vertical side panels which I believe is where your chip is. Anyhow you should be ok using the little brush otherwise you can buy an even finer artist brush from a craft store.
6.) fill the chip with light multiple layers. This may take 3-5 layers before noticing the paint is above the other surrounding paint. All depends on the severity of the chip. If not doing this during a couple days I would at least wait 30-45 min between each layer. You'll notice when the paint is dry as it will have shrunk like I mentioned before.
7.) be sure to clean the chip with your isopropyl alcohol each time before going in and adding another layer.
8.) once you get the paint to where it is just above the other paint now you can start to wetsand it flat and blend it in. I suggest using 2000 grit and moving up to 3000 before compounding. You can use 1500 but if you have never done this before stick to the 2000. You can buy these sand papers at your local auto parts store. They usually sell a 3m assortment pack that includes a couple sheets of 2000, 2500, and 3000 grit in the one pack. Again be sure to wetsand!
9.) once you feel that you have sanded down the chip level with the surrounding paint you can buff out the sand scratches.
10.) if you don't have a buffer you can do this by hand. I like meguiars ultimate compound which you can buy at walmart. Use that on a microfiber towel and rub it in and repeat until you notice the scratches have disappeared. Once they have follow that up with some wax to top it all off. This should make the chip almost invisible at this point.
Good luck and I know this is a scary process so if you're not comfortable sanding your paint I would just carefully blob some paint in there and leave it alone. It will still be less noticeable than it is now. But if your brave enough to tackle this, this is the right way to do it.
1.) clean the area using rubbing alcohol/isopropyl alcohol. You can get this at your local pharmacy store if you don't have any. Use this to remove any wax on the surface that would prevent the paint from bonding.
2.) Use some painters tape to tape off the surrounding area making sure to get as close as possible to isolating the chip itself as to not affect the surrounding paint.
3.) make sure the chip is level and the outer edges aren't sharp and sticking up. If they are then use some 2000 grit sand paper to knock it down. Make sure you wetsand! You can obviously use water in a spray bottle but I like windex because it has cleaning properties in it. If you set a day aside to do this you can soak your sandpaper in water over night. This helps but is not necessary the most important part is to Make sure to keep the surface and paper wet while sanding! And don't apply too much pressure, let the paper do the work. If the paint chip is on a level flat panel a good practice is to use a sanding block. Since its such a small chip i recommend taking a paint mixing stick and breaking it in half then wrap the sand paper around that making sure to keep it flat when sanding. If the chip is on a slightly curved surface you don't need the stick but when wet sanding be extra careful because clear coat is always thinner on edges and corners than flat body panels.
4.) if you wetsanded the chip flat clean it again before the next step using your isopropyl alcohol.
5.) Now its time to start applying some touch up paint to the chip. This process is a multi step process and will take some time. It's a good practice to do this a layer at a time waiting at least 24hr between layers to let the paint fully cure before adding another layer. This is not necessary as I myself have done it in less than 2 hrs when detailing customer cars and not having that sort of time. The paint will dry rather fast if doing this in fairly warm temps or inside a heated garage.
The reason for doing multiple layers is because the paint will shrink once dried and you will need to add enough layers until the touch up paint is just above the surrounding paint area. Thus allowing you to sand the touched up area down flat to match the surrounding paint.
5.) if you are careful and precise enough you can use the fine brush from the touch up bottle. Some like to use toothpicks and let the paint fall into the chip but I found this doesn't work too well on vertical side panels which I believe is where your chip is. Anyhow you should be ok using the little brush otherwise you can buy an even finer artist brush from a craft store.
6.) fill the chip with light multiple layers. This may take 3-5 layers before noticing the paint is above the other surrounding paint. All depends on the severity of the chip. If not doing this during a couple days I would at least wait 30-45 min between each layer. You'll notice when the paint is dry as it will have shrunk like I mentioned before.
7.) be sure to clean the chip with your isopropyl alcohol each time before going in and adding another layer.
8.) once you get the paint to where it is just above the other paint now you can start to wetsand it flat and blend it in. I suggest using 2000 grit and moving up to 3000 before compounding. You can use 1500 but if you have never done this before stick to the 2000. You can buy these sand papers at your local auto parts store. They usually sell a 3m assortment pack that includes a couple sheets of 2000, 2500, and 3000 grit in the one pack. Again be sure to wetsand!
9.) once you feel that you have sanded down the chip level with the surrounding paint you can buff out the sand scratches.
10.) if you don't have a buffer you can do this by hand. I like meguiars ultimate compound which you can buy at walmart. Use that on a microfiber towel and rub it in and repeat until you notice the scratches have disappeared. Once they have follow that up with some wax to top it all off. This should make the chip almost invisible at this point.
Good luck and I know this is a scary process so if you're not comfortable sanding your paint I would just carefully blob some paint in there and leave it alone. It will still be less noticeable than it is now. But if your brave enough to tackle this, this is the right way to do it.
Last edited by Frank20; 02-12-2013 at 01:41 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by Frank20:
GilgameshMartin (02-12-2013),
JVPPC187 (02-12-2013)
02-12-2013, 01:44 PM
#12
Project: Big Red
Thread Starter
Thank you very much for the detailed instructions cause I was just about to post and ask what the best way to go about this was and now I have my answer thanks to you!
I probably will sit aside one of my weekends that I have off to complete the project. I can start it on Friday afternoon and do it until Sunday night, so it'll definitely have some time to dry and bond to the body.
Thanks again for the tips! I don't think that it's down to the sheet metal cause it's white and I assume if it was down to the body it might have the gray color, but am I wrong on that?
I probably will sit aside one of my weekends that I have off to complete the project. I can start it on Friday afternoon and do it until Sunday night, so it'll definitely have some time to dry and bond to the body.
Thanks again for the tips! I don't think that it's down to the sheet metal cause it's white and I assume if it was down to the body it might have the gray color, but am I wrong on that?
The following users liked this post:
JVPPC187 (02-12-2013)
02-12-2013, 03:51 PM
#17
Member
I would use rubbing compound first to knock down the rough edges. Them touch up, then clear... Then polishing comp
02-12-2013, 03:54 PM
#18
Member
What is your advice dude? Just wondering for future dings... My audio installer dented my bed and it cannot be fixed paintless so I am looking at 700 dollars to repair. Well, he is... Not me.
02-12-2013, 04:15 PM
#20
Member
