Stone chip repair advice

[ListedGuru]

So I finally pick up a some touch up paint from my Ford dealer and wouldn't you know it two days later this appears: You might be able to tell from the picture but it's down to the bare metal:(

So my question is how do I best repair this? I have the Ford Atlas blue metallic touch up paint and it has a separate clear coat application on one end as well. Any advice on prep work and the actual touch up of this stone chip would be great. I know it's not going to look great but I want to get it sealed up so it doesn't rust.

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[Farmer Fran]

Pretty sure the hood is aluminum

 

[Magic88]

Don't use the brush inside the paint or clear coat tube. Go buy some really fine paint brushes from an art store so you can just cover the exposed metal. Just put a dot on, don't smear it. It'll dry flat.

2 coats paint, 2 coats clear

Good luck!

 

[ListedGuru]

Pretty sure the hood is aluminum

Good point on the hood being aluminum. I still want it to look decent after I make the repair though

 

[ListedGuru]

Don't use the brush inside the paint or clear coat tube. Go buy some really fine paint brushes from an art store so you can just cover the exposed metal. Just put a dot on, don't smear it. It'll dry flat.

2 coats paint, 2 coats clear

Good luck!

Very good info and thanks for the tip on using fine paint brushes. We may even have some of those brushes here at the house as we have two artists in the household (and neither one is me, lol).

Just to clarify when you say 2 coats paint and 2 coats clear are you saying paint it once and then clear coat it once and the repeat that procedure? Or 2 coats of paint followed by 2 coats of clear?

 

[Radiant]

Very good info and thanks for the tip on using fine paint brushes. We may even have some of those brushes here at the house as we have two artists in the household (and neither one is me, lol).

Just to clarify when you say 2 coats paint and 2 coats clear are you saying paint it once and then clear coat it once and the repeat that procedure? Or 2 coats of paint followed by 2 coats of clear?

2 ~ 3 coats of paint followed by 2 ~ 3 coats of clear.

Clean out the rock chip with a cotton swap and rubbing alcohol. Take the cotton applicator tip that comes with the touch-up paint, soak it in water, and use it to gently rough up the bare metal and edges of the paint around the rock chip.

Using the smallest paint brush you can find, dip the paint and tap small beads to start to fill in the hole. Don't try to fill it completely on the first coat, just tap-tap-tap and leave some little beads to get the coverage started. DO NOT BRUSH. Even though you're using a paintbrush, you're going to just drip the paint into the wound.

Let it dry for 20 ~ 30 minutes, and then do it again, after 2 ~ 3 coats (or more) you'll have gotten the paint chip filled in even with the existing paint. Let this dry for another 30 minutes. Don't sand, you'll just wind up chewing up the existing clear coat and paint. Take your clear coat applicator sponge, squeeze it out slightly in the container, and then do a nice clean stroke over the painted area.

Let that dry for 30 minutes. Repeat two more times, so you have 3 coats of clear. Let this dry for 24 hours to harden, at exactly 24 hours, you can hand polish with a polishing pad and compound on the new clear to smooth it out.

The goal of rock chip repair is just protection, at some point years down the road you can have the whole area professionally repainted (via proper spray), but if done correctly it'll only be visible from a few inches away with a flashlight.

My wife slammed the door on the seatbelt accidentally, took it down to the bare metal, a few hours of letting paint dry, it's barely noticeable:

 

[Magic88]

Radiant nailed it!

 

[ListedGuru]

2 ~ 3 coats of paint followed by 2 ~ 3 coats of clear.

Clean out the rock chip with a cotton swap and rubbing alcohol. Take the cotton applicator tip that comes with the touch-up paint, soak it in water, and use it to gently rough up the bare metal and edges of the paint around the rock chip.

Using the smallest paint brush you can find, dip the paint and tap small beads to start to fill in the hole. Don't try to fill it completely on the first coat, just tap-tap-tap and leave some little beads to get the coverage started. DO NOT BRUSH. Even though you're using a paintbrush, you're going to just drip the paint into the wound.

Let it dry for 20 ~ 30 minutes, and then do it again, after 2 ~ 3 coats (or more) you'll have gotten the paint chip filled in even with the existing paint. Let this dry for another 30 minutes. Don't sand, you'll just wind up chewing up the existing clear coat and paint. Take your clear coat applicator sponge, squeeze it out slightly in the container, and then do a nice clean stroke over the painted area.

Let that dry for 30 minutes. Repeat two more times, so you have 3 coats of clear. Let this dry for 24 hours to harden, at exactly 24 hours, you can hand polish with a polishing pad and compound on the new clear to smooth it out.

The goal of rock chip repair is just protection, at some point years down the road you can have the whole area professionally repainted (via proper spray), but if done correctly it'll only be visible from a few inches away with a flashlight.

My wife slammed the door on the seatbelt accidentally, took it down to the bare metal, a few hours of letting paint dry, it's barely noticeable:

Wow great post. Thanks to you and Magic88 for the pointers. Now at least I have some knowledge so I won't screw this up too bad

 

[Magic88]

Wow great post. Thanks to you and Magic88 for the pointers. Now at least I have some knowledge so I won't screw this up too bad

Haha, if you do screw up, have a little towel and some rubbing alcohol at the ready. You can wipe away and start over. Take your time, you'll be fine

 

[RLE55]

So my question is how do I best repair this?

See if this provides some good info. I've used them for years and they have simple directions.
https://www.automotivetouchup.com/directions.aspx

 

[MAT1955]

@ListedGuru ..... awesome advice from @Magic88. Exactly same thing happened to me about a week after getting touch-up for my vapor blue metallic. I am a bit luckier as IMO touching-up a paint with metallic is a bit easier. I went to an art supply shop and got several fine brushes and a small "brush" that had a fine sponge-like tip. I used the rough end of the tip of the Ford OEM touch-up paint to very, very, very carefully sand the perimeter edges of the chip. I used two hands to steady the "sanding" tip while the boss (aka the wife) held a light on the spot. I had to rough-up the edges of the small chip as the stone (I assume) raised the edges of the hole when it struck. I always build up the paint three or four times. The key IMO is to NOT get the touch-up paint over the good paint as that makes a "lip" that is easy to see - it would look like a moon crater. Instead, I strive to only put the paint in the hole itself while ensuring it gets into the perimeter edges of the hole NOT up over those edges onto the good paint. The clear coat supplied by Ford in its touch-up kit is IMO awesome and dries very fast. I only use one coat of clear coat. I have two chips now. One, no one can see, the other I notice when the light is "right" but few would notice. As my wife said "we'd never get a chip if we left it in the driveway" - which IMO is the right perspective, although it didn't stop me from cursing when I saw the chips! Best wishes.

 

[CMcA]

can't find a brush small enough. take a Qtip cut the paper stick on a sharp angle point with a razor knife. dip the Qtip point into the bottle and dab the stone chip. 1-2 applications allow some depth to remain for the clear also applied with the angle cut Qtip. On bare steel chips use primer for the first dab

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