BradB

I had this horrible chip on the rear fender lip of the Carrera. It was the size of a pencil erasor, perhaps sightly larger. Chipped right down to the primer. But it was one of those blister types where the edge leading up to the open hole was raised and looked like a miniature volcano.

I touched up the hole with factory touch up. I slowly layed it paint over the course of a week. I would thin it with laquer thinner to make it flow better and use a 000 art brush to lay it in the best I could. It matched but the texture was wrong and it wasn't flat due to the volcano-effect surrounding the filled in chip.

I tried flattening it with Langka but it destroyed the metallic effect. I then built it up again and wet sanded it flatter and tried touching it up one last time with the brush. It wasn't bad. Still, the volcano look was distressing.

I decided that I had to flatten the volcano more and while picking on it some more, part of the chip, apparently a loose paint-blister, popped off! So now I had a hole twice the size of the one I started with. This was almost dime size now!

So after a lot of cussing, ranting and pacing around the car, I decided to take laquer thinner and get all the paint out of the chip and start from scratch.

Following a friends guidance and tutoring, I went to the art supply store and bought myself an air brush!

I have some extra paint from when the dealer painted my new euro front bumper cover this past Winter. We thinned the paint 50/50 with laquer thinner and began to layer in paint in the chip. We cut varying size holes in a postcard and shot the airbrush through the card at the chip and moved the card around the chip filling the area evenly. This went on for most of a day slowly building up the paint thickness. Finally it was sanded with 1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper. It was perfectly flat and smooth. Then I started spraying over the chip. Spray and sand. Spray and sand.

Naturally whenever I touch the metallic paint I destroy the metallic look so when I got it perfect I gave it one final "beauty" shot.

This required me to not only spray the touch up spot, which had grown to the size of a quarter, but I had to blend it into the surrounding lip. I was lucky in that I could keep the repair on the vertical lip. It gave me a natural edge to blend up to. But I still could not mask it off in a traditional sense. I tried and it left a hard edge. (I had many attempts that were "erased" with thinner or compound) What I ended up doing was cutting a template of the curved lip that I was painting and taping it to spacers I rigged so the masking was 1/2" off the surface. This way I could angle my spray and get the area I needed to spray but it would never create a "hard" edge. It feathered out nicely. The farther away the paper was, the more feathered it was. I sprayed an area the full height of the lip and about 6" long. It is very solid in the center 2" and it feathers out the rest of the way.

My next issue was protecting the metallic. I couldn't touch it or it changes the look. It didn't have the gloss of the surrounding paint. I bought two types of some airbrush paint made for touch up put it looked really yellow-ish and on my test panels (I painted half a dozen metal test panels metallic silver-blue with extra paint and tried different clear coats and techniques) it was un-impressive and very orange-peely. Finally I went to the auto paint store and bought some Dupli-Color spray clear in a can. The paint looked pretty good on my test panels but the spray pattern from the can was over 4" wide. I could never control that for my little touch up job. So I sprayed the Dupli-Color in the airbrush bottle and then airbrushed that onto the test panel.....it worked!

So that's what I did. I finally finished up by spraying the clear. I sprayed as heavy as I dare to get it as smooth as possible. Tomorrow I will compound the surface "just a little" to improve slickness. But for all practical purposes I am done!

I wish I had taken a "before" or "during" picture. But I had no idea what a big process this would be or that it would turn out so incredibly well. If it hadn't, I would never have told you!

I was so upset with this big mess and my wife was so pissed with my complaining that one day she just erupted: "Just sell the damn car!" Well, I guess I can keep it now. Phew!

Find the chip...I dare you!



For those that are wondering, the chip is (was) pretty much dead center in the vertical section of the fender lip, facing the camera.

I did quite a bit of research on airbrushes and for this type of repair the Paasche Type H, single action brush is the best. (I used a size 3 tip-standard) It cost $49. I also purchsed an inline moisture filter and several bottles so I could have each filled with different paints, thinner, etc.

I set my air compressor at 65lbs pressure. You can buy a small hobby compressor to run the brush or even use canned compressed air.

It was very easy to learn to use since it was a single action brush. Not much different than using a spray can. Just WAY more controllable. I mastered it in an hour.

Crimson Nape Racing

I see it! It's plain as day. Oh wait, that's a spot on my screen! Wow - good job. I've got a couple spots, maybe next time time I'm in St. Louis....

OldGuy

I love when guys like us dont give up and find a way to get the job done dammit! Oh wait thats the Marines, No! IT'S RENNLIST GUY!!! Way to go Brad!!!

csertich

Thanks for the write-up. This could come in handy. I can't see the spot. Good job. What color is your car? If I missed that in the write-up, I apologize. Arctic or Polar silver?

Looks great,
chuck

csertich

Oh yeah-Bob 'spot on your screen.' Good one!

We should see each other around town one of these days, huh?

chuck

BradB

Thanks for the compliments, guys!

It's Polar Silver, BTW.

OldGuy

I am starting to git the itch to paint my whole hood. any body brave enough to do that?
its the only thing that has a ton of chips. My bumper was resprayed so its cool but the hood is
driving me nuts. No dents so I think I could do it. no problem getting paint or clear coat. I have the
brushes and compressor, now I just need to make an paint boot in one garage bay and some MUCH bigger COJONES!

Pete Lech

"I tried flattening it with Langka but it destroyed the metallic effect.."

Don't you build up the paint with color, followed by clear, and thenuse the Lanka on the clear, so it will not affect the metallic particles?

Great job, BTW. Next time you are on the Left Coast..............................

BradB

That's the best thing to do with Langka on metallic, but even then, I was not thrilled with the results.

From now on I think most of my touch ups will be via airbrush. Thinning the touchup paint that comes in the applicator tube and spraying that into the chip provides a much more even application and better color/texture match. The downside is that it is so thin a coat that you need several layers to bring it up to level. It is pretty easy to take any oversrpay around the chip off with a q-tip and thinner. Spraying through a hole in a card is a good trick.

dak911

I have had very good luck using the torn end of a paper matchstick....depending how you cut it, you can vary the size, and it soaks up some paint...better than a small brush, and freebie!
Then again.....some of us do get carried away.....not that there's anything wrong with that.....
I used to think that after I retired I would have time to finish all those "projects" I wanted to do.
Now I think, where did I find the time to work and do everything else.....I still don't have time!~!!

swmic

Brad,

Thanks for the writeup! Great job! Those touchups can be a real pain and sometimes look worse than the chip you started with. The airbrush is a nice tool. I have a few small chips I'll get to this winter on my black car. At least it's not metalic.

Shawn

mnmblu

Brad, I took a look at your garage and you need to be hospitalized for your sickness.

Man, that is the most incredible private garage I have ever seen. You are quite the fastidious individual... a man after my own heart. Oh, have you got enough polishes and stuff. I bet you never misplace anything the way you are organized.

If any of you haven't seen it, he has a link on his sig. Go the the "sanctuary page and be amazed."

I want tour when I'm in St. Louis next.

Good work on the chip. Ya gotta love a fellow **** Porsche owner.

Caveman

Thanks for the guidance. I have an annoying chip that could probably do with this treatment. Hmmm.

Cheers,

David

stedge

You ought to tighten the method description up a bit and put it on the DIY page at Pcar.com. Lots of folks could benefit.

I think it look fabulous! Great job.

Johan K

Amazing! Great job. Might even work on a 964?