How To Repair Paint Chips On Cars

How to Set up Paint Chips on a Car in four Piece of cake Steps

If you ignore fries and dings in your car'due south paint, they'll turn into a much bigger trouble: Rust. Here's how to repair those irritating piddling imperfections before it's also late.

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Car paint repair - man inspecting car paint job Photo: Shutterstock

DIY pigment chip repair: Step-by-step instructions

Retrieve that gravel truck travelling at 100 km/h that all of a sudden switched lanes in front of y'all and bounced a few marble-size rocks off your hood? Now you've got to fix those chips on your machine's paint that could abound to quarter-sized rust spots in a few years. Invest $10 in pigment bit repair right away and you'll save yourself big coin later on—not to mention the embarrassment of driving a premature clunker.

The set we show here is for fresh pigment fries on a car that haven't started to rust yet. If you see a rust spot, or have a dent along with your chip, you'll need to do a more challenging fix than we show here. Keep in listen that this repair will be visible under close scrutiny, but if yous purchase the right touch-up colour, it'll be unnoticeable from a few feet abroad.

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Paint chip repair - auto touch-up paint Photo: Shutterstock

What you'll need for DIY pigment scrap repair

At an auto parts store, you'll notice a brandish of motorcar bear upon-up paints. Look up your motorcar'south year, make and model in the booklet at the display. You'll find a list of mill colours that cars like yours were painted that yr. If you have a white vehicle and there is only i white listed for it, just purchase that ane. If you don't know the colour number for your car, you'll take to find it on your vehicle identification plate. This tin can be challenging. The plate may be located under the hood on the cowl, virtually the radiator shield or on the jamb of the commuter'due south door. Some owner'southward manuals volition tell you where to wait, or a quick telephone call to your dealer will assist. (Here'south how to detect a car's engine lawmaking in the vehicle identification number.)

In one case you find the number, buy a modest bottle of touch on-up paint. If you can't observe the correct colour at the display, bank check with the dealer. (Find out the near popular car colours in Canada.) Dealers often carry colours for the cars they sell. Too, buy a minor can of auto primer. At present only follow our photo sequence to fix that chip, and remember, don't exercise this repair in the direct sun or if the temperature is below 10 degrees C.

Tip: If you tin only discover spray pigment with the right color number, you can use information technology past spraying a fleck of paint into the cap and applying it with a fine artist's brush.

Here'south what you lot'll demand to prepare paint chips on a car:

Auto body touch-upwardly paint
Denatured alcohol
Polishing compound

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Paint chip repair: How to fix paint chips on a car - step 1 Photograph: Family unit Handyman

Step 1: Clean the car paint fries

This is a typical rock chip that you can fix with this procedure. In fact, even if the chip is about ane-fourth the size of a dime, you can notwithstanding repair it. Clean the chip with soap and water and then dry information technology with a soft cotton fabric. Rub a dab of automotive polishing compound over the chip to gently soften any ragged edges. Only a dozen swirls or so will practice the task. As well much rubbing could damage the clearcoat over the paint and brand a cloudy mess.

Has your car suffered a scratch as opposed to a flake? Find out how to repair car pigment scratches here.

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Paint chip repair - how to fix paint chips on a car - step 2 Photo: Family Handyman

Step 2: Clean with booze

Make clean the finish with denatured booze. Don't flood it with alcohol—only a few wipes with a soft cloth will do. The alcohol will remove any wax or remaining grime.

Our car experts weigh-in: Is motorcar paint sealant worth information technology?

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Paint chip repair - how to fix paint chips on a car - step 3 Photo: Family Handyman

Step 3: Use the primer

Apply a spot of primer with the butt stop of a paper match. Fill the surface area within the chip, just touching the edges of the surrounding paint. Let the primer dry for at to the lowest degree a half hr.

Could you exist dissentious your pigment without even realizing it? Here'due south how a automobile launder can ruin your car's finish.

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Paint chip repair: how to fix paint chips on a car - step 4 Photo: Family Handyman

Pace 4: Pigment the chip

Put a small-scale corporeality of paint over the primer coat. Always test the color on a piece of paper to make certain it matches. The exam will likewise requite y'all a experience for how much paint to load onto the applicator brush. Use a second coat almost 1 hour later on. Let the paint cure for several days and rub information technology out again gently with polishing compound to feather the edges of the repair.

At present that yous've got these paint chip repair tips under your belt, find out how to become the best results from car wax.

Originally Published: July 06, 2022