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safetyman2010
01-19-2003, 01:05 PM
Several people have asked me for help in touching up their vehicles paint with professional results so here goes. The first thing you will need is the proper paint code off your vehicle.

Once you have your paint code I would recommend visiting your local auto paint supplier and having them mix you a small amount of the appropriate colour in a can (touch up sticks from the manufacturer don`t tend to match perfectly IMO). I use standox paint for my business and highly recommend it due to its high quality and perfect colour matching (Standox is a little more expensive but I use it day in and day out and trust me it`s the best).

You will also need to pick up a 3M rubber squeegee usually used for wet sanding but we need it for a different purpose. Also get a small bottle of 3M body prep solvent and a small package of tork 909 polishing cloths.



First remove all waxes and silicones from the chips you want to fill with the body prep sol and a clean lint free rag. Once all the chips are prepped, you will need the rubber squeegee and the paint you had mixed (it will help if you put a small amount of paint into a small squeeze bottle for ease of use). Squeeze a small amount of paint onto the edge of the squeegee and pull the paint across a chip. You don`t want to leave a large amount of excess paint around the chip if possible so use sparingly. This will have filled the chip with paint and left a samll amount of paint on the surrounding paint (don`t worry about this as we will remove it later).

Go ahead and touch up all the chips on the vehicle using this methos and wait about 15 min for the paint to set up.

Once the paint has dried you will need the squeegee again so clean it up and rmove all the paint from it with some thinners and wrap the squeegee with a tork towel (you want the towel tight and smooth across the surface of the squeegee). Apply a small amount of prep sol to the tork towel and gently sweep the squeegee across the chips you have painted (apply no pressure - let the solvent do the work). You should be slowly removing the excess paint from around the chips (once again - make sure the tork towel is tight and you don`t use any pressure or you will pull the paint out of the chip).

Once you have removed all the excess paint the chips should be filled with paint and be nearly invisible. You should get a very fine artists brush now and touch up all door edges and spots that can not be squeegeed (apply the smallest amount of paint possible and re-apply if needed).

Let the paint set up for another 30 min and remove any residue from the prep sol with any QD you wish to use or wash the car with a good car wash soap.



This technique is very similar to what I use but has been modified slightly because the materials available to me are not available to the public.



Good Luck.

nate010753
01-19-2003, 03:52 PM
where can you get a squeege that small?

Nagchampa
01-19-2003, 04:28 PM
Great article ShineShop! I really appreciate the tutorials from pro`s such as yourself. :xyxthumbs

hondaguy2582
01-19-2003, 05:03 PM
this should be a how to article!!!!!!!

jericsen
01-19-2003, 06:53 PM
ShineShop - Great article and thanks. Do you apply clearcoat as part of the chip repair if the car has clearcoat paint?

chris72
01-19-2003, 07:38 PM
dengsxr



You can get small squeeges from an art supply shop, at least in aus you can..



Rubber and also like a foam type..





Chris.

PAW
01-19-2003, 07:40 PM
What are tork 909 polishing cloths and where do you get them? Do the small squeeges have handles or are they like what window tinters user?

nate010753
01-19-2003, 08:01 PM
thanks for the post Chris I am going to check out my local auto shop as I have 3 chips that I would llike to take care of. Thanks again

imported_barryscott
01-20-2003, 12:02 AM
Thanks for the how-to.:up :bow

safetyman2010
01-20-2003, 08:13 AM
Originally posted by dengsxr

where can you get a squeege that small?



Just got to any body shop supply store and they will have them. Ask for the 3M rubber sanding block (thin - about 3/8 inch thick) and is abou 2 inches x 4 inches.

safetyman2010
01-20-2003, 08:15 AM
Originally posted by jd80

ShineShop - Great article and thanks. Do you apply clearcoat as part of the chip repair if the car has clearcoat paint?



I don`t because I am mixing enamel paint that doesn`t require the clear. Also the thickeners and bonding agents we add ensure the paint will NEVER come out of the chip unless you want it out.

safetyman2010
01-20-2003, 08:17 AM
Originally posted by PAW

What are tork 909 polishing cloths and where do you get them? Do the small squeeges have handles or are they like what window tinters user?



Tork 909 polishing cloths are available from any body shop supply house and you can virtually use any soft rubber squeegee you can get your hands on.

ClayBartrug
01-20-2003, 08:22 AM
what about applying some clear?



:nixweiss



Seems like an important step, isn`t it?

safetyman2010
01-21-2003, 01:16 PM
Originally posted by Chris S

what about applying some clear?



:nixweiss



Seems like an important step, isn`t it?



Important in a refinish situation with a whole panel - yes. In fixing a stone chip, no - provided the paint is of high quality and has the appropriate thickeners/bonding agents which prevent the paint from coming out of the chip. Acrylic enamel/polyurethane paints are a single stage paint and require no clear to be applied after the initial application like a two-stage (base/clear) paint system.

TristanCSI
01-22-2003, 07:18 AM
What exactly is "prepping" a chipped area?





What would you recommend for a paint that for some odd reason has worn off on the lip of an edge, for example the hood of the car, up by the windshield?



Thanks, looking forward to trying this out......