One More Paint Chip Repair Question...

[melissa809]

Hey guys/gals....



So, I applied primer (metal was showing)...about 3 layers of color and then a couple of layers of clear on a rock chip on my car.



I have different grits of sandpaper as well as a light cutting compund.



Anyway, this repair is slightly blobbed....I was planning on masking around the chip and hitting the blob with 2000 grit paper.



ALso, the kit I bought came with clear coat, but the color looks like it should be smoothed first...but the instuctions say not to sand the color...only the clear.



Then, I was just thinking of foregoing the cl ar, Sanding the color and calling it a day.....after some wax.



Help, please. Am I on the right track??? Do I need a Sanding block? Is masking it out wrong?

Can i sand the color and apply clear????

[Accumulator]

melissa809- I`d leave it alone for a while so the paint can truly dry/cure a little/harden. Then, I suggest that you do a little leveling with a solvent-based approach such as Langka`s "blob elimintor". No, it won`t turn out as well as a perfectly executed wetsand/compound/polish, but there won`t be the risk of paint damage either.



SOOO many people try the wetsanding and then post here with "I was wetsanding my touch up and.. [oops!].." that I just can`t recommend that you do that.



The worst that can happen with the Langka is that you`ll overdo the leveling and remove the touchup. If that happens you just start over, with no real harm done.



If you mess up the wetsand, you`ll have a real problem on your hands.



And do use the clear; don`t just leave it "basecoat only". If you want to do that kind of repair, use the DR Colorchips system instead.

[melissa809]

melissa809- I`d leave it alone for a while so the paint can truly dry/cure a little/harden. Then, I suggest that you do a little leveling with a solvent-based approach such as Langka`s "blob elimintor". No, it won`t turn out as well as a perfectly executed wetsand/compound/polish, but there won`t be the risk of paint damage either.



SOOO many people try the wetsanding and then post here with "I was wetsanding my touch up and.. [oops!].." that I just can`t recommend that you do that.



The worst that can happen with the Langka is that you`ll overdo the leveling and remove the touchup. If that happens you just start over, with no real harm done.



If you mess up the wetsand, you`ll have a real problem on your hands.



And do use the clear; don`t just leave it "basecoat only". If you want to do that kind of repair, use the DR Colorchips system instead.



Well...I have the Dr colorchip solvent and it says not to wait longer than two hours...I`m too late for that now. Should I just use paint thinner? Also, the color coat sprang`t look smooth.:..won`t applying the clearcoat without some type of smoothing look bad?

Also...I plan on waiting a week to let the paint cure.

[Accumulator]

Well...I have the Dr colorchip solvent and it says not to wait longer than two hours...I`m too late for that now. Should I just use paint thinner? Also, the color coat sprang`t look smooth.:..won`t applying the clearcoat without some type of smoothing look bad?

Also...I plan on waiting a week to let the paint cure.



Langka will work on older touchups.



Usually, an uneven basecoat won`t be an issue once the clear is on there. But you could level the basecoat a little with the Langka also.



A week is OK for a "usual touchup" (note scare-quotes...I`m thinking how most people put it on pretty thickly with a brush) to dry, but not cure. That takes a lot longer.

[Ron Ketcham]

I guess as an "old painter", I missed something.

I use, on occassion some Dupli-Color in the rattle cans, I use their quarts of various products for small jobs.

What I, even with my decades of shooting old lacquers, alkaline enamels, etc, know enough to "read the directions for usage".

These companies are not looking to supply incorrect directions of usage for their products and the "instructions" are the result of a lot of testing, testing, testing by their chemists and staff, to insure they do what they spend millions on marketing to get people to use the products and be satisfied with the results.

Why would anyone, who has no experience with spray painting, touch up work, etc, not follow the directions?

Is it that so many are so lost in the world of "touch a button and get an answer" not able to "read" any more?

Grumpy

[melissa809]

Grumpy....I`m assuming your reply is directed at me as I am the OP. Yeah, I can read directions. But honestly, the directions I got in this specific "kit" were all over the place.



But I digress. I ended up removing the paint touch-up though I didn`t ruin my primer coat. So I am ALMOST at square one.



I tried Langka in the past and found it frustrating. Then, while searching the net I found a post on a Corvette forum where a guy there uses turpentine to level out his paint touch up repairs.



Is this safe?? I`m not cheap by any means...hell, I already tried Dr. colorchip and Langka in the past...and I`m basically paying 50 bucks for 2 ounces of a "blob eliminator"...all the other stuff they give you I already have.



So, does using turpentine to level off excess touch up paint sound like a viable option???



Thanks in advance

Melissa

[Accumulator]

melissa809- I haven`t used turpentine since, gee....the `60s? so I have no idea how it`d work in this case. But I suspect that nothing is gonna do the "solvent-based leveling" thing better/easier than the Langka. I know it can be very frustrating stuff, but IMO that tells you how *another* approach might turn out!



Eh, chips touchups never turn out 100% anyhow IME, well, unless my best paint/body guy does `em, but he`s had many decades of experience.

[Ron Ketcham]

Wasn`t directed at you, but at so many who come on the forum and never read a products directions, and yell "foul".

Turpentine, no.

The final "clearcoat"---

1200 wet with a block, yes, then maybe 2000 wet with a block and carefully polish.

Never was happy with the Langka, found I had pretty much the same solvents, etc, a little retarder added, to do it for a fifth the money and get better results.

Hard to ever get a perfect match every time no matter whose paint or system one uses.

Grumpy

[Accumulator]

Rurpentine, no...



Thanks for confirming that, Ron.




The final "clearcoat"---

1200 wet with a block, yes, then maybe 2000 wet with a block and carefully polish....



Melissa809- IF you go the wetsand route (and by now you know *my* recommendation on that score ;) ), I`d do the final sanding with 3000 or 4000 as the scratches will be *much* easier to sort out. Let the paint sit for a good while before you try the sanding, it can be surprising how long it takes to harden up enough for a good finish. But again, [repeat recommendation].....

[melissa809]

No...forget it. Not wetsanding. Just gonna try langka again. thanks, guys

[Ron Ketcham]

Their product takes so long to cure out due to the retarder they add to the mix to increase work time.

Grumpy

[Accumulator]

Melissa809- Glad to hear that, I`ll quit worrying now ;)




Their product takes so long to cure out due to the retarder they add to the mix to increase work time.

Grumpy



Whose product? Heh heh, I`m getting all confused :confused:



I pretty much *always* just let touchups sit/cure/whatever they do for a long while before I try to level `em. Well, not so long with the DR Colorchips stuff, but still longer than they recommend. Heh heh, yeah...I`m one of those people who :argue with the directions now and then :o

[Condo King]

I have to touch up some very small paint chips on the door edge of my car. Can I just touch up with touch up paint without any base coat or sanding?

[paco]

I have to touch up some very small paint chips on the door edge of my car. Can I just touch up with touch up paint without any base coat or sanding?



Yes but you won`t get a good match. If its metallic, even less so.

[Accumulator]

I`d be less worried about the match (which is seldom any good anyhow, especially with metallics) than with adhesion. You can sometimes get by without using primer, but I`d at least scuff the chip a little with some sandpaper.



When you half-@$$ such repairs, which BTW I`m *not* all :nono: about (hey, just do what you can, might be better than nothing and you`re not out much if it`s not better) it`s a matter of getting lucky. The more corners you cut, the less likely you are to be lucky.



It shouldn`t be all *that* big a deal to use some kind of abrasive to prep the chips a little bit :think: but I guess that`s one of those subjective things.