Help Needed: Stonechip & Scratch Removal

[namz]

Hey guys,

I need to get rid of stonechips on my front bonnet and 2-3 scratches on my bumper bar. Its a silver colour camry and would appreciate a help here.
I read few threads about UC , will that help me or should i try something else ? One of other forums says i should not use UC in my case and i need touch up paint instead of compound.

Here are the pics of damage

[Karlsbad]

Stonechip & Scratch Removal

a mobile pro repair could go two ways (something you can do too - with the right formulas and accesories--its not rocket science)

1.Buff areas polish only (hand or machine) to get as surronding area as nice as possible - fill with spot putty - wetsand - air brush with touch up paint with a touch of clear in it (artist airbrush with fine control) the spot ( entire job done in less than 60 min)
2. Buff (hand or machine) the area with polish only-- get as nice as possible - using touch up paint (with thickener / hardener) applied with a squegee - wait no more than 10 min - wipe excess with overspray solvent - clean area and seal with a good acrylic polymer sealant. Done in litterly 15 min.

The retail consumer so called "blob" remover solvent kits are not so good...mostly bc they dont give the retail customer a thickener / hardener which is the "secret" of the pros for a chip touch up like this using the squeegee method...which by the way is the fastest easiest way to do a convincing repair on a chip.

If you cant get your hands on the proper forumulas -- you can settle for applying touch up paint with a syringe (like the type found in a inkjet printer refill kit) metal tip with blunt tip...if the edges of the chips are a little ragged...take some 2000 grit wet dry with water CAREFULLY go back and forth a 2 or 3 times to "relieve" the edge so its not sharp. Then Polish the area so it all looks nice -- clean off polish residue and then apply the touch up paint with the syringe ---dont over fill to the point where it spills into the surronding paint --- do it with surgical precison --- if you want to redo it use Automotive laquer thinner to remove all of the touch up paint just applied --its the only thing that will remove the touch up paint and not harm the original finish. then simply try again till you get it perfect. If you do this nicely you can walk away with a nice repair that when you stand back 2 feet you will not even see it. Done deal.

Nine times out of ten...just applying touch up paint with a syringe and doing it with surgical precision is a great chip repair and takes no time at all and something that anyone can do with minimal cost and effort...just make sure you have some automotive laquer thinner on hand before doing touch up paint repairs. If you must you can always take some 2000-3000 wet dry (with a small rubber block) to the fully dried touch up paint and level it and then polish and seal it. Touch up paint without hardener takes forever to fully cure so wait a week before taking 2000-3000 to it.

[RamAirV1]

Re: Help Needed: Stonechip & Scratch Removal

Great post!

Where can we buy those syringes?

RamAirV1

[donwhiteking]

Re: Help Needed: Stonechip & Scratch Removal

Hi, what product do you use to blend the touch up paint with the surrounding paint? Ice tried Meguiars UC and Autoglym SRP and although my sanding marks are gone, I can still see the outline of the chip very clearly...any advise please?

[Karlsbad]

Re: Help Needed: Stonechip & Scratch Removal

I use a system from car-scratch-remover.com good blog posts there on doing really nice touch up paint repairs. There are two parts to the process.

1. touch up paint and blend with a solvent (some call it a blob remover etc)
(it really dosent "blend" it simply levels the touch up paint to the surrounding paint...so you dont have a "blob" or bump of paint.

2. You want to polish the defect area and the surrounding panel to get the best shine or reflectance possible. This goes a long way to visually camoflauging the touch up paint repair.

its best to polish the entire area first, then do the touch up, then come back and polish lightly (if the area dulled a little during the touch up phase) then glaze and finally apply a quality acrylic polymer sealant.

[donwhiteking]

Re: Help Needed: Stonechip & Scratch Removal

Hi thanks for replying. You mean polish the area before even applying the touch up paint? If so, won't that affect how the new paint will adhere to the chip? Most recommend washing and cleaning the area making sure it's free of any form of residue.

Can you name some polish and acrylic polymer sealant that I should use?