Fixing a Car’s Paint
You might be surprised to learn that if you’ve got a chip in your car’s paint, it’s actually a pretty easy fix that anyone can if they learn what they’re doing. Despite what some commercials would have you believe, it’s actually not difficult at all to Touch Up Paint on a car and at most, it requires a few tools and some patience to make sure that you do a well enough job that it lasts quite a while after the job is finished.
1. Be sure that you buy the right color of paint for the spot on your car. Most cars will have some kind of indication on them where there will be a paint number that you can take to an auto body store and have them find the correct color for you. This is very important.
2. If the area that has the chip has been affected by the elements, try to get the rust off. There are cans of remover that you can buy at pretty much any store to help with this. The more rust you’re able to get off the area, the better you’ll be later so don’t skimp.
3. Once the rust is gone from the chipped spot, you have to smooth it out. It’s easiest just to get a piece of pretty fine sandpaper and do it by hand to make sure that you don’t overdo it. Use this sandpaper to make sure that there are no jagged edges so that when you finally put the paint on, it will be a seamless installation.
4. Now that you’ve slathered the area in rust remover and took a piece of sandpaper to it, you’ll need to wash it off. Make sure to get all the dirt and debris off the entire area because failing to do so will result in a paint job that is quite less than stellar.
5. Take something very small – a Q-tip or the butt of a pen will do fine – and apply primer only to the affected area of the car. Try not to get the primer anywhere near the original paint and if you do manage to spill a little, be sure to wipe it away as quickly as possible to keep from ruining the paint.
6. Allow some time for the primer that you’ve just applied to dry. This primer must be completely dry before you can actually start painting the chipped spot.
7. Now that it’s time to pain the affected area, be sure to read the instructions on the bottle of paint very carefully. The chances are that the color in the bottle probably won’t be an exact match for that of the car simply because the elements tend to make paint fade over time so the touch up color will be a little brighter and intense. Mix it and apply it to the chipped spot carefully and try to keep it inside the flaw.
8. Wait a week or two to let everything dry so that you don’t accidentally screw up the new paint job with the next step.
9. Once you’re sure that everything is completely dry, use polishes or waxes over the paint to make sure that it’s blended nicely and doesn’t stand out as much. It doesn’t seem like much but this last step can do a world of good when it comes to keeping it looking uniform.
As long as you follow some pretty simple instructions, you can hide a chipped spot in your paint quite easily. The hardest part is probably the waiting period between waiting for everything dry, but with a little patience, you’ll be able to have your car looking brand new again in no time.
