This is probably a stupid question but how can you tell if a stone chip is down to the metal or down to the primer? The reason I ask is because someone told me if it was down to metal it would have shown significant signs of rust in just a few months but my husband (who does not take care of his car) has some major marks that I swear were down to metal and they have not rusted dispite the fact that they have been there for a few years. So this makes me wonder if I am just too dumb to tell or what. :nixweiss
down to metal or primer
- Thread starter asm505
- Start date
GearHead_1
Long Time Member
Many of the current models have aluminum hoods. Obviously they don't rust. I'm not sure if that's where the chips you are referring to are located or not.
Accumulator
Well-known member
It *can* be hard to tell!
I have some spots on the MPV that I'm certain are down to metal- they sure don't look like primer to me and I know primer when I see it. Yet they haven't rusted even after an Ohio winter :nixweiss Must be some kind of metal treatment like the galvanizing blackrex mentioned.
If in doubt, put some primer/rust converter on the spots before applying touchup paint. Or just seal/wax right over them (as I did on the MPV) and keep an eye on them. As long as you don't neglect them and let them absorb moisture they might not be any big deal. IMO it's when people let their (unprotected) bare metal chips harbor dirt, which retains moisture, that things get nasty in a hurry.
I have some spots on the MPV that I'm certain are down to metal- they sure don't look like primer to me and I know primer when I see it. Yet they haven't rusted even after an Ohio winter :nixweiss Must be some kind of metal treatment like the galvanizing blackrex mentioned.
If in doubt, put some primer/rust converter on the spots before applying touchup paint. Or just seal/wax right over them (as I did on the MPV) and keep an eye on them. As long as you don't neglect them and let them absorb moisture they might not be any big deal. IMO it's when people let their (unprotected) bare metal chips harbor dirt, which retains moisture, that things get nasty in a hurry.