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I've got a paint chip on my fender. I bought a paint kit from HD. Does anyone have any tips on applying and finishing a repair of this type. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jonnierock
It depends on the color and sheen of your paint, if metal is being exposed, if rust has started to form and what your expectations are of the final finish as well as how much work and elbow grease you are willing to put into it. Metal preparation is imperative, specially if rust has started to form. if the chip is superficial, I've had good results by tapering the area around the chip, applying the base color in thin coats until flush with the paint, then sanding to blend in the paint and then applying a clear coat. I then sand and buff the area to blend in the repair. The buffing will need to be done to the entire fender so sheen is uniform, and only of shiny finishes. Have never tried it on denim paint.
Edit: Forgot to mention that I usually use the eraser end of a pencil wrapped in sandpaper to sand the edges of the chip and use automotive grade wet/dry sandpaper for the repair.
Last edited by Labrador; May 18, 2020 at 04:17 PM.
Had a chip on the pinstripe of my tank. Could never get it to match, even tried Chips Away paint service..First place my eye went was to the chip.. Finally took the tank to OCC in Newburgh. When their painter was done, looked like brand new.. Trying to do it myself was aggravating to say the least.
Depending on how big and how good you want it. Perfect or you are going to look at it ever time you climb on, read post 4. Good enough, this is what i do.
Only want paint in chip. Do not make it bigger.
I shake bottle. I take two round toothpicks and a old plastic credit card (to put picks on). I put one pick in bottle and come up with a coating of paint on it. Then I scrape down the side of it on the end of the other one to get my ball of paint. I then touch it to center of chip circle it out.
Been doing it for years but I still am conservative so it usually takes a couple scrapes to load my pick to get the chip filled with just a slight convex crown surface touching all the edge of chip. It will sink after drying.
I am done. Depending on how thick your touch up is makes getting that perfect slightly raised or level surface. So practice with a couple drips on the card. No way am I trying to build up, sand and clear coat. I have three white vehicles plus the bike, a red vehicle and a blue one.
I have one bright white, a blue and red touch up. White I think is probably the easiest to fix. But even on my bike's white blue pearl, it works. Red is pretty easy and dark blue hardest. You need touch to be slightly lighter if it is not a perfect match.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; May 18, 2020 at 04:59 PM.
Search for touch up applicators on Amazon, like this
Get a damaged part from your dealer's trash bin and practice first if you want. If you wet sand around the edges with 2500 grit you will need to compound and polish afterwards. It will never be perfect but you can make it hard to see. You can also mix a little clear into the color.
Here's something on You Tube. I could not get the razor blade trick to work.
I've used the razor blade trick before,but i fix a chip in my buddys purple bike by using a tooth pick to apply the paint color and then after it dried i fill the rest of the chip with clear, just above the other paint level.. After all was dry i used 600 or 1000 grit paper on the end of a chap stick tube to gently bring it down to a smooth surface. Then polished with Meg's until smooth. Has looked good for the last 25 years. I did use HD touch up paint.
I've used the razor blade trick before,but i fix a chip in my buddys purple bike by using a tooth pick to apply the paint color and then after it dried i fill the rest of the chip with clear, just above the other paint level.. After all was dry i used 600 or 1000 grit paper on the end of a chap stick tube to gently bring it down to a smooth surface. Then polished with Meg's until smooth. Has looked good for the last 25 years. I did use HD touch up paint.
Thats kind of the way I do it. One thing to remember; touch up paint is always lacquer, which dries by solvent evaporation. This means your fill will shrink as it dries, so it may take several applications of paint over several days to fill the chip to where it can be level sanded. Then, if you level to soon, the touch up will continue to shrink.
Patience is the key to a good job. I usually spend several weeks drop filling a chip with lacquer, allowing plenty of time for the paint to dry and shrink, revealing the repair once again.
Last edited by Uncle G.; May 19, 2020 at 06:16 AM.
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Paint Chip
