The Spray Paint Method
What about chips in the middle of a body panel? In this case, you may want to spray on your primer and paint. First, use the lacquer thinner or alcohol to clean and degrease the area and make sure there is no rust anywhere inside or around the chip. Now get a thin piece of cardboard , and cut a one-and-a-half-inch hole in the center.
Hold the cardboard in one hand with the hole directly over and about two inches away from the chip in your paint. Then start by spraying the primer onto one side of the cardboard and move it across the hole and over to the other side of the cardboard, where you can stop spraying. Do not start or stop the spray over the hole, because it will run and lump on the car. What you want is a fine, even mist of paint. If the cardboard you’re using is small, then mask the rest of the car with larger pieces of cardboard. Don’t use newspaper because the paint will soak right through it. Wait about an hour and do it again. All in all, you’ll spray about three to four light coats of paint. Don’t overdo it. You don’t want the paint to run or lump.
When finished, remove the masking tape and, using 800-grit sandpaper, sand off the bulk of the primer, leaving it to just fill the chip. Use some medium rubbing compound to remove any overspray from the surrounding paint.
That’s all there is to it. But, if you feel nervous, then we recommend you practice first, either on an inconspicuous part of your car, like the inside of your hood, or on a friend’s old junker.
When Is It Not A Good Idea To Fix Damaged Car Paint On Your Own
It is tempting to cut the visit to the body shop and save money doing car paint chip repairs at home. However, there are cases where this can do more harm than good. If you have any of the following, just go to a professional and DO NOT do it at home.
- If your paint has a large number of chips on it.
- If the paint on the car has started to peel off at multiple locations.
- If rust is appearing under the damaged paint.
- If the sheet metal under the paint has been exposed.
As a general principle, rust is the worst enemy of sheet metal as well as the paint of your car. If you see it, run for cover.
Now on to actual paint correction.
Why Is Paint Important
As mentioned earlier, a chip on your cars paint job is much more than an eyesore. The paint job is more like a jacket or a cover for your car. Along with providing an appealing look to your cars exterior, paint is designed toward off structural problems.
The exterior of the body of most cars is made using steel. This is not indestructible. The integrity of your body will deteriorate over time, especially when it is exposed to the elements without any protection. A proper paint cover will help keep your cars body strong and keep you safe on the road.
This also helps prevent your body from rusting. Rust can make your metal body brittle, which can easily become a safety hazard. A poor paint job can lead to rusting on your cars body. A rusted car would require a lot of bodywork repair to get it back to a condition where it can be driven. A proper coat of paint will not allow oxygen and moisture to come in contact with the steel body protecting it from rust.
Finally, we have another aesthetic value of a complete paint job. Just like how scratches, chips, and any other paint damage looks sore to your eyes, others view it the same way. This includes a potential buyer. Assuming you are planning to sell your car in the future you need to protect your coat of paint.
You May Like: How To Touch Up Car Paint Chips
Stone Chip Repair: Tips To Fix Car Paint Chips
Stone chips are a common feature in car paintwork, usually on the bonnet. They create small, deep and very localised damage in the paint.
They are usually the result of gravel and road debris flicked from the tyres of vehicles in front of you onto your vehicle. Due to this, they are more common when motorway driving where debris is more likely to be flicked because of the higher speed of vehicles in front of you. Unfortunately, at these higher speeds, the little stones can leave a ding or small mark in your paintwork.
Stone chips are also more common in winter as salt-spreaders throw grit over the roads which is then either, flicked onto your vehicle directly by the salt-spreaders or by other vehicles more often because of the extra debris on the road. This damage can also be made worse by winter weather, as rainwater and ice from the lower temperatures settle and get into the chip and affect the metal underneath your cars paintwork.
Because of the common reasons above, stone chips are difficult to avoid, but they can be easily and usually inexpensively fixed. This makes stone chip repair easy for vehicle owners, which is an advantage as it is important to repair the damage as soon as possible, so it doesnt worsen in rainy or icy conditions.
Our latest blog can help you remove chips and scratches from your vehicle with its top tips on removing scratches from your car paintwork.
How To Fix Paint Chips On Car Fast And Easy 2022
We all wish to keep our cars as good as new. But, with time, we inevitably wind up in minor accidents that leave a small area of cracked paint on our vehicle, which is also referred to as a dent.
When it comes to fixing chipped paint, various car care companies may charge a large sum of money.
However, you can quickly get rid of that dent without spending a lot of money if you use some ways that are not only simple but also economical.
Also Check: Rent Paint Sprayer Sherwin Williams
Stop Chips Before They Start
When you have chips on your cars paint job, its best to take care of it as fast as you can. Stop them before they start to spread around your car and keep them from going from minor to severe. The faster you take care of it, the faster you can get back to enjoying your cars appearance while cruising around.
Get a Curated List of the Best Used Cars Near You
The CoPilot car shopping app is the easiest way to buy a car. Tell us what youre looking for and well search the inventories of every dealership in your area to make you a personalized list of the best car listings in your area.
Only looking for newer models? CoPilot Compare is the search engine for nearly-new cars. Only see cars five years or newer with low mileage CoPilot Compare is the best way to find off-lease, early trade-in, and CPO cars.
The best part? CoPilot is built using the same technology that dealerships use to buy and sell their inventories, so we have more info on each vehicle than competitors. CoPilot doesnt work with dealerships, so there are no sponsored posts or other shady practices just the most info on the best cars. Check out our About Us page to see how CoPilot works.
The 3m Scratch Removal Kit
My last piece of advice is to get 3Ms Scratch Removal System.
This is your secret weapon against minor clearcoat scratches that havent penetrated the color coat layer.
You get a 3000-grit abrasive square, a compounding pad, a polishing pad, 1 oz rubbing compound, and 1 oz scratch remover to make a perfect repair.
How Much Does It Cost To Fix Chipped Paint On A Car Professional Repairs For Cheap
You may take the chip to any vehicle shop and repair it with the help of a qualified technician. It will assist you in repairing the chip and achieving a smooth finish. Given the time to repair the chip, they could charge $150 to $500. You must find out how often a body shop or dealership would charge to repair the paint chip.
A body shop can repair the chip and provide your vehicle with a professional-looking finish. Dealerships can charge between $50 to $300 for just 2 ounces of VIN-matched paint and a large crack or chip.
They will not charge less than $150 to $200 for a simple print job of this nature. In most cases, a body shop could perform the work at a lower cost than a car dealership.
Apply The Base And Clear Coat To The Cleaned Scratched Surface
You need to apply at least three base-coat layers on the scratched surface.Between coatings,wait about five minutes to let the coat dry. Spray the base coat around the scratched area to have the paint blend in with the surrounding area. Then leave it for an hour or so to let the paint dry.
When the base coat is dry, apply the acrylic clear coat to protect the paint from scratches and chemical substances. This clear coat will give your car a glossy effect. Then leave it for four hours or more to dry.
By Step Method To Fix Chipped Paint On Your Car
After cleaning it thoroughly with soap and water, apply alcohol or white spirit to disinfect it. This step is critical in removing grease and providing a nice surface for the paint to adhere to. Enable the area to dry completely.
You should sand down any raised edges from around the chip. You can take a cutting compound for all of this or extremely fine grain, both wet and dry sandpaper, for a more polished look. Do not scratch or damage the clearcoat around the edges do not rub too hard.
Apply the primer or base coat. If your package includes a fine brush or paint pen, use that to apply the paint. Allow time for drying.
Spread the paint in small coats to avoid streaking. Since you had put the automobile paint in numerous layers, you must replicate this process. Allow for drying time between coats of paint. Make certain that the paint remains contained inside the damaged area and therefore does not spread to nearby regions.
As soon as the paint has dried, sand it carefully to bring it up to the same standard as the surrounding paint. Youll need very fine grit, damp sandpaper, and a steady hand to complete this project. Sand the small chip areas with the sandpaper wrapped around in the blunt end of a pencil to avoid scratching the surrounding paint.
Allow the stone chip repair to dry completely before applying a topcoat or lacquer to seal it.
Level And Polish The Touch
At this point, all youll have is an ugly looking blob
That is
Until you level paint touch-up to the same plane as the original paint.
Leveling the paint repair is easily done. Use a small sanding block and 1500- to 2000-girt wet and dry sand paper.
TIP: Use a 1 by 2 rubber erasure as a sanding block.
Why?
This will allow you to level touch-up repairs with surgical precision.
Dont forget to soak your sand paper for at least 20 to 30 minutes before use. Follow the directions.
First wet the area to be sanded. Thats how you level a paint chip.
Next, use your sanding block and sandpaper to mill the high spot.
Sand in a straight line. Go with the length of the car.
Never in a circle!
Keep the area youre sanding well lubricated with water.
Check your work often. I recommend repeatedly drying off and visually inspecting.
Another thing to consider:
Wet sanding will dull the paint.
But dont worry because youll use a fine-cut compound to remove sanding scratches and restore a high-gloss finish.
Dry it with a clean towel when the surface looks level. Then, inspect with your fingertips.
If you can feel a high spot that means it needs more work.
The final step is to buff out the repair.
Use a good fine-cut compound. Go with Meguiars Ultimate Compound.
Apply the compound to a clean foam applicator pad or polishing cloth.
Heres what you do:
Rub the repair area using a short back-and-forth motion. Again, no circles.
Then, buff out with a clean microfiber towel.
How Paintcraft Fixes Car Paint Chips On A Hood
Using the Dr. Colorchip system, I will actually smear the paint on with a diaper cloth. I admit I have a little fun with this at car shows. Often, Im working on multi-million dollar cars, and Ill just smear paint all over the front of someones car without warning. I know the excess paint is going to come off, but the car owner isnt always so sure. Sometimes its a good joke, sometimes not.
Once I smear the paint on, I wait until its dry usually 15 minutes or less. The paint should be smooth, not tacky. Next, I have a clean section of cloth in one hand, a microfiber cloth in my other hand, and a bottle of the blending solution handy. Ill put a few drops of solution on the cloth and start gently removing the excess paint. I make sure the cloth is very flat along the cars surface to avoid removing paint from the chips. I continue adding a few drops of solution until I remove all the excess paint. Once every couple of minutes, I gently wipe the hood with the microfiber cloth to remove the solution and see which areas still have excess paint.
Check out this video of me fixing a BUNCH of paint chips on a hood at a dealership:
How Long Does It Take To Rust
This could be another concern among users. How long does it take for exposed metal to rust? By knowing how long it takes for the body to rust could give you valuable information on how to go about fixing your paint chip.
The time that it takes to rust depends on many factors. First of all, it depends on the size of the damage. If your chip was caused by a tiny stone while speeding through the highway, the chip would be small. When the damage is small, the rusting process happens slowly.
On the other hand, if the chipping in your paint ended up exposing a lot of metal, then the rusting process happens really fast. Depending on the size of the chip, you would have to hustle accordingly.
Some factors can accelerate rusting. Constant exposure to salt, air, and water will greatly accelerate corrosion on your car. Even the smallest chip can rust quickly if you are bombarded by salty wind gusts. Other than the rust, salt particles could crawl into the paint when an opening is created by a chip.
Another factor that accelerates rusting, is ice-cold weather. When you are driving in snow or ice, small ice particles could get stuck where your paint is chipped. When this melts, it increases moisture near the metal. This can accelerate corrosion.
Depending on the size of the damage, the area you live in, and the weather corrosion could differently affect your car. You should keep this in mind if you are dealing with chipped paint.
Keeping Paint From Chipping
There is not much that you can do to keep small chips from happening here and there. There are sealants that you can add to your car that protects the topcoat but, that still is not 100% effective. To reduce the costs typical of large paint chips, try this preventative routine when you have small chips.
1. Clean It Up
Start by cleaning the area where the chips are and adding a bit of rubbing alcohol too.
2. Sand it Down
Using a sanding material, gently sand the chipped area down by making circular motions all around it. Make sure that everything is smooth to the touch before moving on to the next steps.
3. Apply a Base
Before choosing the base, make sure that you choose one thats approved for use on your car. Then, apply a little bit to each smoothed-out area.
4. Paint It Up
Once the base is dry, apply just a small amount of paint. Only cover the area youre painting over and avoid getting any on the undamaged areas.
5. Sand It Down Again
Once the coats are nice and dry, get the same sanding material and run it over the area you worked on. This will ensure that all of the paint is on the same level and make it look nice and even.
You should do this 5-step process when you see chips, preventing them from cracking and going from minor to severe damage. It will save you time and money, helping to keep your paint job looking good longer.
The Tools & Parts You Need
Weve all heard that proper planning prevents p*$$ poor performance, so gather all the tools and accessories youll need for the job before you start going to town on your hood. Maybe youll get lucky and will only need to go to the auto store one time for this project . Heres what youll need:
Tools:
Body Shop Respray And Mobile Spray Paint Services
A body shop or a mobile spray paint service are great options if youre looking for near-perfection. If you want no evidence of the paint damage left behind, youll need one of these more thorough and expensive approaches. A body shop will charge anywhere from $250-$600 to respray an entire panel of your car. This will give you the cleanest look with the biggest price tag.
You can also have a mobile service come out to your home and respray the damaged area. They will sand down the paint chips and scratches, spray paint the area, and then condition and protect it. It will cost $250-$350 for a small, centralized area. This is a good option if the paint damage is too extreme for simple touch-up.