I didn’t mean to hype this up by not revealing the details right away about this smarter approach to stone chip repair. It will now probably come across as anticlimactic once you realize it’s not some magic technique at all, but rather an obvious approach once you think about it.

Most small stone chips only penetrate the clear coat layer, and for my purposes that is how I will define a small stone chip, as one penetrating the clear coat but not deep enough to remove the base color coat, and I will further call these Category 1 stone chips. For these small stone chips it should be apparent that you’ll want to fill these tiny pits with clear and not with color-matched touch-up paint. It should also be obvious that you’ll never have a mismatch problem with clear – clear is clear.

Here’s what happens when you use color-matched touch-up paint for Category 1 chips. Let’s assume you have perfect color matching with this touch-up paint, which would be the exception and not the norm, but let’s just assume it’s perfect. When you fill the pit and look at it directly over it (perpendicular to the surface), it actually looks pretty good since the color matches perfectly. But now look at it from a slight angle and what do you see? What you’ll see is that the painted pit appears elevated and detached from the rest of the base color, which in fact it is, and is now rather noticeable, not only up close but at a distance too. The reason for that is a phenomenon called parallax. And that’s why color-matched touch-up paint fills will always be noticeable on a clear-coated paint job. But if you want to make that small stone chip disappear entirely, you’ll want to follow the recommended do-it-yourself steps detailed below.

Category Test for Paint Chips

This test is really simple and was something I thought of that would make an easy evaluation test for determining if the chip can indeed be filled with clear only. Once you have cleaned the tiny pit and removed any trapped wax around the perimeter place a drop of water over it and see if it indeed becomes invisible when looking at it directly. If it does, it means the base color coat is still intact and thus the chip would fall under Category 1. If it doesn’t, then the chip is considered a Category 2 because now the repair is compounded by the need to lay down a coat of base color prior to filling in with clear. In the extreme case, Category 3, the chip is down to the bare metal and rust may have already begun to form inside, which would obviously require the most amount of work for a proper repair.

Basic Process

There are several experts who have tackled the task of detailing the necessary steps of repairing paint chips and so I’ll defer to their expertise here, since I in fact learned from them. But these two authors have focused primarily on Paint Chip Categories 2 & 3, as I have defined them. Neither of them address the special case of a Category 1 paint chip. And so my contribution here, as it were, is in addressing this special case alone.

It was reassuring to me to learn that another expert was using the same exact method I was using in his own repair work business he founded here in California called "Chips Away." He uses what he calls a "spit test" to determine if clear paint will be sufficient for the repair. But to me, spit always has air bubbles in it (at least my spit does) thus making it difficult to clearly make the category distinction.

I know someone was looking forward to my completing this process so he could begin work over the weekend prior to getting a clear bra. So I’ll supply the links to the reference sources I mentioned for detailed instructions. Read them thoroughly to get a good understanding of the basic process. In my particular case in dealing with Category 1 paint chips I fill the divot with clear to the point of forming a slight mound, after which I wet-sand with 2000 grit sandpaper to level off the fill and then buff and polish per David Bynon’s instructions (reference source 1).

Reference Source 1: David Bynon: http://www.guidetodetailing.com/arti...p?articleId=27
Reference Source 2: Larry Reynolds: http://www.carcareonline.com/viewarticle.aspx?art=8

 

Ben, your insight to paint detailing is fantastic as always. I know many will appreciate your post as wiill I.

 

Thanks Statman. I'm only passing on what I've learned. I know I appreciate the things I learned and it's only right to pass it on to those who can appreciate it as well.

 

OCBen: Thanks for the great input. It is starnge how one accumulates experience-based knowledge and presumptions that accompany the experience. Your input is new to me. As recompense I will contribute my experience with "Touch-up Magics" the "tuch-up paint glob remover." It works! (Also a lot easier and safer than SP.

 

OC,

Just a little further explanation please. My car is Arena Red and as is usual has acquired a few stone chips. Now when I look at them up close they are nearly always pure white. Correct me if I'm wrong but I was under the impression that the layers run in the order: clear/ color/undercoat/primer. Are my chips all the way through the paint layers and down to the primer? The strange thing is is that they don' t feel or look that deep. Am I missing something? How would you fix these ones?

MERRY XMAS

JASON

 

Ben- as always a nice thread, with your well worded tips and thorough explanations!

 

Great post OC. Makes alot of sense and I'll give it a try on the first chips.

 

Yes, I'm still hoping for Wal-Mart to start selling OCBen in bottles... I'd get a six-pack and be a very happy camper!