Randyman2002

I was at a local car dealer the other day having a recall done and while there I walked around out on the lot. I found a guy fixing rock chips on a used car they were getting ready to put on the lot. I watched him for quite some time while he fixed chips on two late model cars.

What he was doing is very similar to the process for Dr. Color Chip, but alot less expensive. He touched the chip very slightly with the matching touch-up paint and a very small brush. He immediately wiped the spot with a rag moistened with mineral spirits.

The chip was gone! We were in the sun so it was very easy to see the finished chip location. He told me that's what they always do to fix chips and never have a problem.

Has anyone tried fixing a chip using regular touch-up paint and mineral spirits?

RetiredSFC 97

Yes I have but I let it dry some before I wiped it off. What this does is put color in the spot but it doesn't fill the hole. But it makes them harder to see.

I found this technique by accident when I was doing some touch up.

I boogered up the spot and then wanted to start over because there was some build up around the spot. What I learned was I could smooth out the edges and the color remained on the spot in the hole.

That's the best I can describe it, sorry.

Corvette_Ed

What was the name of the mineral spirits (?) that you used to do the wiping? I'm going to be doing some touch-up to mine in the next week or so and want to make sure I get the right stuff.

See5see6

The quart of paint thinner I have in my garage says "made with mineral spirits". My guess is that paint thinner will work just fine. (no promises made though) Try it on a place that is hidden first.

Virtual Geezer

The touch-up paints I've used from Dupli-Color and GM are lacquer based -- so I use lacquer thinner for the wiping step.

knewblewkorvette

Interesting info, thx for posting

guido7834

I just use a very fine brush to drop paint into the chip so it's higher than the surface. Let it sit a few days, then wet sand and compound and it's gone.

Vetteman Jack

Good information. Will have to give some of these methods a try.

rrichar2591

I use much the same method. I've found that after you let the first coat dry for a few seconds. then you can rub it and reapply another layer etc until you have a smooth finish. The only problem I've had is that sometimes the touch-up paint is not the exact same shade due to sun and weather on the original finish. It should pass an inspection from a couple of feet however. Good luck.

VETJAZZ

memmer

When you wet sand doesn't that effect the clear coat? Is there even a clearcoat on vettes?
Fred

guido7834

Wet sand gently, then the compound, and I use 1200, then 2000 grit compounds will bring the shine back. It's pretty tough to hand sand through the clear coat. Gently!

MSG C5

Yep, the dealership method is used to simply cover up the road chips in order to (re) sell the car. It makes the car look better from a distance, however if you look closely, you can still see the indentations from the chips.

RetiredSFC 97

Sorry for the late reply. I can't recall what the name of it was. It was just your typical Lowes thinner. They also make an environmental friendly thinner that may work on this application, but don't use it as an actual thinner for anything else. It's worthless.

OK everyone cover their eyes now.

I also wiped down my whole car with thinner as I was trying to get some PO's water spots out. It didn't work so good though.

True, but if you go slowly and apply more coats every other day or so, it will help more than you may think.

My problem is I have so many it would take 2 months. But I'm going to work some more on them this winter.