Mazda3 Forums banner

DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures *Updated 3/18/2012*

103K views 122 replies 69 participants last post by  tchiarella 
#1 ·
Repairing Rock Chips on your Mazda

By: Tronix102
Email: tronix@xenonflux.com
Web: www.xenonflux.com

PDF Document:
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0uvfpH04rEOYzdkYmE5OTctYmZiMi00OWQzLWFjNTgtNzUxZTJiODBiOTZh&hl=en&authkey=CKrgtMQI


[size=10pt]Tools & Materials needed:

- Touchup or color matched paint - google touch up paint
- Clearcoat (optional) - auto parts store
- Primer - auto parts store
- Rubbing Alcohol - cvs
- Small sanding block or piece of wood
- 1200, 1500, 2000 grit automotive sandpaper - auto body or parts store
- Small bowl
- Compound – 1000 grit remover, 2000 grit remover (optional) - some auto parts store has them or auto body has all this
- Orbital Buffer (optional – but makes it easier) - look online
- Paper cup
- Toothpicks

1.) Start by cleaning the chip and surrounding area with rubbing alcohol to get rid of grease, dirt, etc.

2.) Depending on what kind of paint you have you will need a paper cup to hold some. Since I have a spray can, I sprayed some in the cup. If you have touch up paint in a little bottle you don’t need a cup :chuckles:


3.) Break the toothpick so it doesn’t have a sharp point anymore and dip it in the paint and let it drip into the chip. You can do the same for this if you have a brush for the touch up paint bottle.


4.) You will want to repeat this process several times so you form the paint above the chip like in the picture below: **Note, if you want to use clear coat, use clear coat before the paint *blob* goes above the surrounding surface, and just build up clear coat to sand off like you would with just building up paint. The clear coat will be what you sand off and not the paint so make sure you only do a few coats of paint and the rest clear if you desire this.


5.) If you are worried about getting paint everywhere, you can tape around each chip:




6.) Yah I have a lot of small chips as you can see.

7.) Next comes the sanding. Make sure you soak your automotive sandpaper for 24 hours in water prior to using.

8.) Take your block of wood and wrap the sandpaper around it shown here:




9.) You will want to sand in a back and forth movement until the “blob” of paint is no longer visible and the surface is smooth again. Take your time, as this process is time consuming. Keep the surface wet, and dip your sandpaper in water frequently to clean off paint and to keep it wet.



**See picture above, I didn’t put enough paint so you can still see the chip after sanding




10.) At this stage you can either apply clear coat to the chip area and re-sand or just buff the scratches out which I did because I don’t have patience.



11.) If you buff by hand, apply compound to a micro fiber and rub back and forth until the surface is glossy again.

12.) And there you have it, a complete how to repaint paint chip guide. Some things I didn’t use was primer. If the chip is down to bare metal, you would use the same process as dipping the tooth pick in primer and putting a drop on the chip so the paint will stick.

13.) Put a nice coat a wax on after you buff since it will remove all wax that you “buff” off the car.





For all those that would like a PDF version, I have made one available here for download. http://www.xenonflux.com/Repairing_Rock_Chips_on_your_Mazda.pdf

Good luck all, I hope this helps.

Thanks to Design for this:

Here are a few things to help you out. :smokin:

1. Paint prep pen: Great for smaller chips where you don't want to scratch the surrounding paint. They come in a variety of grades.


2. Syringe: I think you need to be 18+ to get this... but it works great for thin, hairline scratches. Fill the syringe with touchup paint of choice then apply a thin, even coat across the affected area.


3. Patience, patience, patience: Touching up paint the right way can take several days. Not only do you need to wait 24 hrs after you apply the primer, but you also have to do the same for each layer of touch-up paint you apply. For deep chips, you may have to apply 6-7 coats to effectively match the top surface area. The top layer should be barely above the surrounding area, so when you sand it down it will closely match in thickness.

Hope this helps.
 
See less See more
19
#4 ·
Re: DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures

STICKY!!!!
 
#5 ·
Re: DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures

Keep in mind that if u do not have a machine polisher I highly suggest that you do not use sand paper on your car.

The cyclone pictured is supposedly going to do a faster job than a Porter Cable DA polisher so if you are not experienced at removing 1500-2000 grit sand paper haze from paint then do not try this.

Just mask off the chip with tape, and paint INSIDE the crater, then let dry. I just know that sanding can make a chip look worse if u can't fix it.
 
#10 ·
Re: DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures

yes, it's very important to go slowly and not sand completely thru the clear coat. Inevitably, you will remove some of the clearcoat when sanding.

to the OP: Great post...the forums have been needing this.
 
#14 ·
Re: DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures *Updated 12-31-07*

Man... I have a bajillion chips in my hood and bumper. I'm contemplating it, but I'm talking at least 40+ (3 years of driving to L.A. and back, and another of Irvine to Ontario and back, 118k miles x-x) chips. Would this be worth the time and effort (and getting a machine polisher) to do? Or should I just keep waiting until I get myself a body kit (or lip kit, haven't decided) and just get that painted + clear bra'd?
 
#15 ·
Re: DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures *Updated 12-31-07*

well I would say you need to know what route you're going with, if you dont get a lip or want to spend the extra money getting it re-painted, do this and then clear bra it, otherwise A repaint of the hood and bumper isnt gonna be cheap.
 
#17 ·
Re: DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures *Updated 12-31-07*

[quote author=Tronix102 link=topic=95560.msg2076902#msg2076902 date=1203210352]
well I would say you need to know what route you're going with, if you dont get a lip or want to spend the extra money getting it re-painted, do this and then clear bra it, otherwise A repaint of the hood and bumper isnt gonna be cheap.
[/quote]

Well, looking at it again, there's only like 2-3 on the hood. That I'm confident enough to handle.

The remaining 38+ though, are all bumper. I figure, either way I'm gonna have to have something painted, be it a kit or my stocker. May as well wait and paint a kit instead of painting twice. :lol:
 
#18 ·
Re: DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures *Updated 12-31-07*

Nice post, sadly my new car with 1500 miles on it got its first chip today, can't do squat till mazda sends my free touch up paint, i really like the toothpick method, the brush with the mazda paint in the past was way too big.
 
#21 ·
Re: DIY How-To Repair Rock Paint Chips COMPLETE with Pictures *Updated 12-31-07*

This is great !!! I have alot of chips. What kind of compound are you using? Can I get the same result without a buffing machine. I only have my 2 hands. And is the lowest grit sandpaper you can use?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top