Touch up paint & kits

[danager]

My 2010 SE has a small chip in the paint on the hood, just above the grill. I visited three dealerships, a few auto accessory shops, and a NAPA, all with no luck. I ordered the car with the Platinum White (code UG), because it is rare. Now the dealership says it will take two weeks to order the tiny tube of scratch filler. I can have it mixed locally for $45.00! Anyhow, I will be ordering it tomorrow, and have some questions for when it arrives. I have never repaired paint - although I have painted some parts completely. I noticed that Duplicolor offers a kit, which is a two-stage process. Has anybody used that, the kits had a lot of dust on them... Is it necessary for a chip 1/16" in diameter? Any other tips?

 

Advthanksance

Dan

[DJE]

I touch up chips with multiple coats. The first coat puts the color back and additional coats help fill the hole. Let each coat dry for at least a few hours. It's easy to use too much especially on a tiny chip. Sometimes it is better to use a toothpick to dab a tiny bit on. The brushes that come with the little bottles are pretty big for small chips. Then, I just put a coat of wax over it. You can still see it very close up but from a few feet or more, it goes away.

[noreast]

I used to dab a little touch up paint using the brush provided but that usually resulted in a bead of paint that sticks out like a sore thumb. So I started doing what Desert Fusion suggested. Much better!

Recently I started adding the following steps after filling the chipped hole with layers of touch-up paint:

1. Add another layer so that the touch up paint forms a little bump.

2. Get a piece of masking tape and cut a hole about the size of the chipped area and use it to mask the paint around the bump formed in step 1 above.

3. Use a piece of very fine grit sand paper and a wet sponge to wet-sand-paper this bump flush.

4. Use fine rubbing compound to further blend the repair area to its surrounding.

5. Apply wax.

6. Peel-off the masking tape and enjoy the almost invisible repair job.

[FFHdriver]

My 2010 SE has a small chip in the paint on the hood, just above the grill. I visited three dealerships, a few auto accessory shops, and a NAPA, all with no luck. I ordered the car with the Platinum White (code UG), because it is rare. Now the dealership says it will take two weeks to order the tiny tube of scratch filler. I can have it mixed locally for $45.00! Anyhow, I will be ordering it tomorrow, and have some questions for when it arrives. I have never repaired paint - although I have painted some parts completely. I noticed that Duplicolor offers a kit, which is a two-stage process. Has anybody used that, the kits had a lot of dust on them... Is it necessary for a chip 1/16" in diameter? Any other tips?

 

Advthanksance

Dan

Check out drcolorchip.com. Some friends say it works great.

[acdii]

White Platinum tri coat is a bitch to repair due to the pearl. This is also why there is a premium price for it. It is a 3 stage paint process. Base coat, Pearl coat, top coat. a small chip shouldn't stand out too bad, but if it is over an 1/8" even following the above methods, it will still be quite visible. This is also why the touchup paints are so expensive. If you have a body shop near by, they may be able to make up a touchup kit for you that has a pearl base and a clear coat for topping it. Follow the above steps, but you only use a little of the base pearl to blend, and then fill the rest with clear, this will give the best results. Good luck with that. It's a beautiful color, but a bitch to repair.

[deo1929]

What Noreast and Desert Fusion suggest is a good DIY way to fix the chip. Definitely use a toothpick to control the buildup. To elaborate on the sanding... If you're going to sand the "bump" down to the rest of the paint, start with a 600 grit paper with a block behind it and use water. A bucket with a cloth to wring the water above the surface you're sanding will keep the area nice and wet. DO NOT USE TOO MUCH PRESSURE as you can cut right through the paint. Use a "cross-hatch" pattern--for example lower left to upper right for a dozen strokes and then upper left to lower right. When the "bump" is almost level, switch to 1000 or even 1500 grit paper and repeat the process. For the final leveling you may need to remove the masking tape to make the bump level with the rest of the surrounding surface. A word of caution. You can sand the clearcoat of the factory finish, but GENTLY. It's very thin and you can go through it quickly. Also, keep the area you're sanding around the bump to the size of a nickel. When it's level, switch to the buffing compound--a 1500 and then 3000 grit. Again, use caution on the clear coat. The whole process is labor intensive, but the results can be very good.

 

Color wet sanding can bring nice results. Just go slow...use light pressure...check your progress often...and keep it wet. If you are successful, the average person will not see the repair, even though you know where it is. I've painted my own cars including hot rods and daily drivers and have had great success with the process above. I hope it works well for you.

[akirby]

You can get a complete kit from paintscratch.com. I have it for my white platinum bumper but haven't used it yet. I have used their kits on other cars and they work great. They even include the rubbing compound and clearcoat.

[acdii]

Here is a nice little write up on paint touch ups. Paint Scratch

[danager]

Thanks for the tips and the links. I will visit a few websites this evening. I did pick up the small tube of touch up paint at a dealership yesterday. I was surprised it was only $10.50. I felt going to the dealer, as some local shops were saying to use a combo white to repair it. It is very thin, will take a couple applications for sure. I painted a clear plastic card, and am surprised how flexible the paint is. It is so small, I do not want to start sanding if I do not need to.

 

Thanks again,

Dan

[deo1929]

Thanks for the tips and the links. I will visit a few websites this evening. I did pick up the small tube of touch up paint at a dealership yesterday. I was surprised it was only $10.50. I felt going to the dealer, as some local shops were saying to use a combo white to repair it. It is very thin, will take a couple applications for sure. I painted a clear plastic card, and am surprised how flexible the paint is. It is so small, I do not want to start sanding if I do not need to.

 

Thanks again,

Dan

 

 

That's what makes this forum so great. Many good ideas from which to choose. When you decide how to go about it, post some before and after pictures and the process or kit you used. :shift: