Spot paint repairs

[MattB]

I noticed that a couple of tiny rock chips (maybe the size of the point of a toothpick) on the roof of my car were down to bare metal and were showing signs of oxidation (barely noticable, but observable upon a very close look). What is the best way to deal with this kind of thing and prevent it from spreading? My thought was clean + touchup paint to cover the area, but wasn`t sure if there`s something more I should do. The car is nearly 10 years old so some of these rock chips are pretty much inevitable, but I want to keep it in good condition as long as possible.

[Accumulator]

MattB- I always feel like a [jerk] saying this, but, uhm....this one is really worth doing the dreaded SEARCH. We have a few threads here where we go into *great* detail.



Short version for situations where you have oxidation/rust starting: apply rust converter; depending on how well you trust the converter, consider also applying rust-sealing primer; apply touchup basecoat just thick enough to cover the converter/primer and give the right color (e.g., no primer showing through on light colors); apply coats of clear to build up above existing paint; level resulting "blob" of clear with either Langka/etc. or by wetsanding if desired (and then polish out wetsanding marks if you did that).



I use very small artist`s brushes instead of toothpicks/matches, but others do fine with such improvised tools.