paint scratch/ding repairs

[dominicanto17dr]

Originally Posted by Si_Jeff

^^ that's what i thought too. my car got keyed also a while back and the shop wanted 800 for the entire panel. i say f it and just do it yourself.

Thats an added vacation for them.

[Trajen]

OP thanks for the nice DIY. I followed the instructions but unfortunately i think i made a mistake and while trying to fix a small chipped area, i believe i sanded too far and took the clear coat off my OEM paint. Any suggestions about how to add a _thin_ layer of clear coat back to the oem to make it level again? When i try the tooth pick or the brush from the paint bottle, it ends up either dabbling unevenly or adding a layer way too thick (with the brush); but i'm afraid if i sand the new layer down then i'll just start sanding away at the margins again hitting the oem paint! what a predicament..

[MrHardcore320]

I got to try this. I scuffed my front bumper backing out this morning on a wood gate that we havent used in 10 years. I wanted to cry. And I have another scratch on my rear from a wheel barrow my brother left behind my car. Hope my Fiji looks gorgeous again!!

[riceK]

Originally Posted by Trajen

OP thanks for the nice DIY. I followed the instructions but unfortunately i think i made a mistake and while trying to fix a small chipped area, i believe i sanded too far and took the clear coat off my OEM paint. Any suggestions about how to add a _thin_ layer of clear coat back to the oem to make it level again? When i try the tooth pick or the brush from the paint bottle, it ends up either dabbling unevenly or adding a layer way too thick (with the brush); but i'm afraid if i sand the new layer down then i'll just start sanding away at the margins again hitting the oem paint! what a predicament..

Dabbing the paint or brushing it on will go on uneven, that's why you sand it back down to the level of the OEM paint. Then you use the scratch remover to remove the scratches off. Then you polish the affected area or entire car to blend in the results.

here's what I suggest:

1. Make sure the area is clean of debris
2. when adding the touch-up paint use a toothpick and dab the touch-up paint as smoothly as you can (don't worry if it's a little past the affected area or higher than the OEM paint because you are gonna wet sand it even to the rest of the paint)
3. When sanding make sure you often check (feel) the affected area for smootheness and eveness with the rest of the paint. Remember to sand a few strokes and check, this part of the work is really tedious and boring and you can't rush this part because you might have to start up again if you mess it up.
4. Make sure that the affected area is always dripping wet when sanding.

* Put a layer of the "OEM" paint on the affected area and wait for it to dry.
* Using dabbing method add the clear coat paint that came with the kit.
* Once the clear coat dries solid wet sand the affected area till it "feels" level to the rest of the paint.
* After the feel is right stop and polish the affected area with the scratch remover (this step will take a lot of elbow grease, your finger tips might be numb and your shoulders might hurt, and really "glob" that scratch remove on it) Again this part of the work is long and tedious, but if you keep at it, the scratches will fade away slowly.
* once the scratches are done, polish the rest of the area with your favorite wax and check to see if the affected area is blended in (sometimes a fresh set of eyes can help you so have someone else check your work to see if they still notice the scratch or better yet take a digi pic , if you have one of those HD cameras handy

[riceK]

Originally Posted by MrHardcore320

I got to try this. I scuffed my front bumper backing out this morning on a wood gate that we havent used in 10 years. I wanted to cry. And I have another scratch on my rear from a wheel barrow my brother left behind my car. Hope my Fiji looks gorgeous again!!

if you only scuffed the clear coat I don't suggest doing this DIY. I suggest just wet sanding the affected area and use the scratch remover and polish the car.

[PFCCarvajal]

so just to clarify and hopefully simplify, dab on the paint, wetsand it to level, apply clear, wetsand it to level again, then apply scratch-x and then 3stage....so if i apply 3stage JUST to taht area will I have to do it to the ENTIRE vehicle??

[riceK]

Originally Posted by PFCCarvajal

so just to clarify and hopefully simplify, dab on the paint, wetsand it to level, apply clear, wetsand it to level again, then apply scratch-x and then 3stage....so if i apply 3stage JUST to taht area will I have to do it to the ENTIRE vehicle??

yes you are correct I have done it where I'm just too lazy to sand the touch paint and not do it and just sand the clear coat to level. On your second question, no you don't have to 3 stage your entire car, just that area. Now mind you if the rest of your car is dirty, then that spot is the only spot that will be waxed, so I say why not finish the entire car?? right?

[jdizzle37]

I bumped into my little storage rack in my garage and got a good chunk of paint knocked off. Luckily you wrote this DIY! Now hopefully I won't screw it up.

[elmerfud]

Great post. I've been doing something like this on my truck over the years with good results. Only thing I have to recommend is that the first layer in the bottom of a rock chip should be a good etching/ anti rust primer. Then proceed with the paint.

I have a bunch of rock chips to fix once it gets nice out.

[PFCCarvajal]

you are correct sir....why not.....

Originally Posted by riceK

yes you are correct I have done it where I'm just too lazy to sand the touch paint and not do it and just sand the clear coat to level. On your second question, no you don't have to 3 stage your entire car, just that area. Now mind you if the rest of your car is dirty, then that spot is the only spot that will be waxed, so I say why not finish the entire car?? right?:thumb:

[plrbr533]

need to do rock hit the front of my hood, went right to the metal. need to do something before it begin to rust.

[red_si_kid]

where can i get the touch up paint from?

[I Vtec, do you?]

Originally Posted by PFCCarvajal

so just to clarify and hopefully simplify, dab on the paint, wetsand it to level, apply clear, wetsand it to level again, then apply scratch-x and then 3stage....so if i apply 3stage JUST to taht area will I have to do it to the ENTIRE vehicle??

I heavily doubt that will work. For one, your sanding is going to dull the factory clear-coat around the chip. You'll probalby never get it perfectly level, either. Secondly, you need a rotory (or possibly a Flex) to get out sanding marks.

I tried doing this and it was a fail. Scratch-X won't get out wetsanding marks, it takes an aggressive compound to do that. Your best bet is to just leave paint chips alone unless they NEED to be covered. If it's on your bumper or something, just live with it.

[asndragonboii]

Originally Posted by plrbr533

need to do rock hit the front of my hood, went right to the metal. need to do something before it begin to rust.

Clean it and cover it with some touch up paint. You dont want it to rust. Same thing happend to my fender... all the way down to the metal. It's not perfect but i will live with it.
HUGE rock chip!

[M1C. MON5T3R]

props for good diy.

[Jgams]

Question for you guys ...

My back fender was scraped while being backed into my garage ... its about a 1.5 inch scrape with varying degrees of depth throughout the scrape. I tried using touch up paint, sanding it down, adding some more, sanding it down, etc, but i don't see it working out for me. I can still see the varying degrees of depth when looking up close.

Should I be sanding my scrape down, filling it with something to even everything out and then trying to do a touch up?? Obviously a professional repaint is the way to go, but I don't have the coin for that. Any ideas?

[d-rok5987]

wow thsi may even help me

[HacksignLX]

instead of a toothpick, can you just use an airbrush? I happen to have one back in the days when I airbrushed my Gundam models lol.

[B-Stylz]

Trying this soon myself. Thanks for posting.

[csxian]

the pics all gone.... How to fix rock chips???