How To Repair Paint Chips

Paint chips in a your car are inevitable. Most small paint chips are hardly noticeable at first. However, they can become a serious problem if they are left alone. Paint chips over the metal surfaces on a car need to be fixed as soon as possible. If a paint chip over metal remains exposed for too long, it can lead to rust. If a rust spot grows, the body can deteriorate. If you wait until it gets to this point, you can have a quite expensive repair on your hand. This article explains how to fix small paint chips. These techniques are usually only practical if your dent or ding is smaller than a quarter.

Bore Out Any Corrosion

If the area inside your dent already shows signs of rusting, you need to prep it before patching it. The patch will not stick well to untreated rust. To do this you will need auto body sandpaper. This sandpaper is on spongy paper because it needs to be soaked in water while sanding. The water helps lubricate the paper and prevent over-sanding. Use the corner of the paper to get inside small dents. Try to rub until there is no rust inside the dent.

Using Auto Body Patch

Autobody patch is easy to work with, but it dries very quickly. You can just use your fingers instead of a putty knife, so you don't scratch the paint. The patch will dry unevenly so you need to resand the area after it dries. Sanding the patch will take some patience to match the car contour.

Touching Up the Paint

Touching up the paint is only possible if you use factory replacement paint. This paint can be found at auto part stores or from the actual dealership. Touch up paint often comes in pen-like form. These are good for extremely small touch ups. But, you might need to use the cans with a touch up brush. These are easy to use, but the texture will not dry perfectly smooth.

To finish the job you need to buff out the painted area. A wool buffing attachment for a power drill makes the job very quick. Alternatively, you can use steel wool to smooth it out by hand. This should restore the sheen of the new paint and help it to blend with the existing paint.

The process for touching up small paint chips is obviously very simple, but if you wait too long, it can be much more substantial. Contact a service like Vince's Auto Service to learn more.