Stone chip touching up

[richmills]

Hi all,

I have a couple of small stone chips I notice, and given the recent discussions about the potential for paint bubbling if they're left unsorted I thought I'd better do something about them.

It says in my owners manual that I can get some touch up paint from Honda that I should be able to use to repair the chips myself, but I'm wondering how good this is likely to actually look afterwards.

The reason I wonder is that there's a small mark on the passenger door that looks to me like it could be a previously repaired stone chip, but the repair is a much darker blue than the rest of the paint. Did the previous owner repair a stone chip using the wrong colour? Or does the DIY chip repair paint change colour over time?

I guess it comes down to the question - is it a good idea to repair stone chip marks yourself, or should I look at getting it done by someone professional?

Cheers, Rich.

[indi pearl]

I try to tackle chips as soon as I spot them and have a system that works well enough to "lose" them to all but a perfectionist!

Clean chip with Isoproply alcohol (sold in tins at Maplins and one of the best all round degreasing/degumming/cleaning/water removing chemicals available).

Have your colour made up in aerosol form by Halfrouds (did I really say that).The Honda dealers only have the the touch up tubes and the paint is far to thick to flow properly.

Spray paint into the plastic cover of the aerosol and apply to the chip using a cocktail stick or the smallest proper artists brush you can buy.Do not try to fill in one go but build up the layers over an hour or so untill the new paint just lifts above the sourounding paint.Leave overnight to harden,then......the magic.Dampen a old but perfectly clean cotten cloth (bit of sheet is great) with Isopoply alcohol and wipe lightly and swiftly over the repair taking off paint untill the levels match.The alcohol will have no effect on the original paint,only on the newly filled chip!!

Leave an hour,finish with a scratch remover,claybar area then apply polish.Job done.

[richmills]

I try to tackle chips as soon as I spot them and have a system that works well enough to "lose" them to all but a perfectionist!


Thanks for that! It sounds simple enough that even I ought to be able to manage:thumbsup: I'll give it a go on the smallest chip first and see how it goes.

[Papalazarou]

Sounds like good advice. I'd concurr with 'Indy' about not going for the touch-up paint, it's never the correct colour. If you can't get a good match from Halfords just try your local paintshop. When I had some work done on my last car, the paintshop had 25 different cards for formula red.


Cheers,


James.