Hi,

I have a very small nick in the paint (Vivid Black) on top of the back fender of my '05 RK Classic. I touched it up with some Harley paint. What are the steps I should follow to "finish it down"? I'm not a body repair person so I would appreciate it if someone would go through the procedure step by step. I do have some Dupont rubbing compound and Dupont polishing compound and several different types of scratch and swirl remover. I'm just not sure what sandpaper grits to use and the steps involved. Thanks for your suggestions.[8D]

Tom

 

First off....

Is the paint you used for the touch up a single stage or basecoat (that should be covered with clear when normally sprayed)?
What size is the chip?
How deep is it - is it just the paint where you can see the primer or does it go down to bare metal?

For the most part you can take care of this fairly easily but will not be a 5 minute repair. You would have better luck if the paint is single stage but this will still work with a basecoat. The key is to apply many stages of the paint inside the chip to bring the crater up to level of the factory paint and even a little higher. Above all else - BE PATIENT. Always allow enough time for each application to fully dry before you do the next application of paint. When all is done and said the repair should be sitting proud of the fender paint. At this point is when you want to bring out the, no lower than, 1500 grit wet / dry paper. In fact you might want to start off with 2000 grit. It would be easier to remove the 2000 grit scratches by hand. Basically you want to WET sand down the high spot of the repair so it is even with the factory paint. Do not be aggressive with the pressure. It is best to let the sand paper do the work and turn the paper often and keep the sanding area as small as possible - again, be patient. Once that is done it is time to move on to the polishing / buffing.

Do NOT use the rubbing compound. That stuff is WAY tto aggressive and you will be hard pressed to get those scratches out without doing some major wet sanding & buffing. Personally I would dilute a little of the polishing compound with a few drops of water and start with that. Keep in mind that these compounds are really designed to be used with a mechanical buffer of some sort. Doing it by hand will not provide the same results. Because of this try to keep the polishing part of the task down to the smallest area as possible. You would then try to finish up with a hand glaze or swirl mark remover. Again don't get too aggressive with the hand pressure when polishing the spot. You don't want to make any more scratches that aren't already there. Remember, rubbing compounds, polishing compounds, foam pad solutions, swirl mark removers, etc. are all just a liquid sandpaper with different grits. Just go easy on it.

If possible it would be good to have a body shop run a mechanical buffer over the repair because the heat generated by the high-speed friction actually helps to bring out the shine.

Please take this as you will since it is sooooo hard to diagnose a body repair without actually seeing the area needed to be repaired.

<inser disclaimer here>


Brian

 

"paint inside the chip to bring the crater up to level of the factory paint”

A feat which isn't easily completed. Any hints? I've tried using a sewing needle, while I'm sober, and that sort of comes close.

 

Yup...

NAPA and a lot of auto paint supply shops have actual touch-up swabs. They look like a mini, one-ended Q-Tip. The swab end is very small but does have a ball of bristle like material that holds paint. Certainly more than a needle tip would. If more info is needed I can look up product name and part number when I get home to the shop.

EDIT: As I said in the previous post, patience is a required element in doing this (and all body work - especially painting). Believe me, you will get better results buy building up to the surface using layers as opposed to just glopping in a big 'ol drop of paint. If you do use the drop glopping method make sure to give it adequate time to FULLY dry before trying to sand it otherwise you'll be starting over.


Brian

 

And when is that????

 

Dab a little paint on it and hit the road !! The more you ride, the more chips you get !! Seriously though. Just be nice and neat, touch it up real nice, let it dry and wax it up. You'll be fine and no one will notice !