lilredaccent

I had some chips in my front bumper so I bought a tube of touch up paint from the dealer. It has a little brush and I was wondering, once I dab the paint over the chips, what do I do next?Do I have wet sand, or use polishing compound and wax? I have seen some cars where you can see all the little dabs of touch up paint on the bumper to hide the chips, but they dont look smooth and still stand out almost as if the touch up paint was a different color. I dont want my bumper to look like that so

zero_gravity

if you want the results to be perfect, you will need to strip the paint off the bumper and repaint with some professional paint. touch up is just that, touch up. its crap. and no it will not match.



in fact properly mixed paint will not match perfectly which is why repainting the entire panel is the best approach. this is due to the sun aging the original paint and other such fun factors.



to paint yourself its not the easiest thing, i've done it a few times. its also not cheap. a pint can of the paint i use is around $70, and i've been told thats cheap for the good stuff.



safety is a major concern. these paints have chemicals in them that are very hazardous and known carcinogens...this stuff WILL kill you if you do not respect it. the reducer is no better. you need a proper fitting respirator mask with P100/organic vapours cartridges. i use clothing just for that and separate it from everything else, you'll get a dust everywhere. my full getup is old work clothing, shop coat and a lab coat on top of that (someone gave them to me ), respirator, disposable gloves, hat to keep it out of my hair, tight fitting safety glasses (goggles arent a bad idea), and recently i started tying plastic bags around my shoes since i was getting a lot of the dust on them and it wasn't coming off easily.



i also leave the shop coat and lab coat in the garage to keep the crap in there. the bags on my feet i reuse, and usually toss the gloves after a days work. when i get in the house i drop my remaining clothing at the door, stuff it in a plastic bag and throw that in a closet and then right into the shower. maybe i'm being overly cautious, but toluene and xylene are nasty chemicals. why bother? i'm also a nuclear worker so i'm used to being even more cautious at work.



furthermore there are 2 major problems when painting. bodyshops have a paint booth but this is not always practical for the garage painter that wants good results. the smallest bit of dust can ruin your paint job so sealing up the area is necessary...extraction fan is a good idea, use furnace filters but be aware that you'd be causing more dust to become airborne....and ultimately end up on your work. the dust is still a major concern. its paint backspray/vapour that hardens in the air and just settles on everything. my g/f came up with a great solution...dirty cheap and thin plastic drop sheets and draped them from ceiling to floor with a staple gun around the entire work area to keep that sh*t in one spot. works great.



also another note on safety....everyone else in your home must understand that this stuff is potentially deadly. nobody can enter the area without proper respirator/equipment. it also takes time to air that stuff out. if someone goes in there and gets dosed up with toluene and other sh*t you have nobody to blame but yourself.



now the actual job...you need a good compressor, paint gun, tack cloths, regular cloths, your paint and thinner, various sandpaper grits (i use P400 and P800 the most), something to put your workpiece on, body filler - depending on your damage size you will need either glazing putty, grease/was remover, regular bondo, shorthair fibreglass bondo, or longhair fibreglass bondo, primer, top clearcoat, a buffer is a nice idea for finishing, some sort of rust eater chemical (i use some gel stuff), and whatever you choose to remove original paint coat.



removal of paint coat you can use chemical means or abrasive. bumper is plastic and more prone to scratches, so i recommend chemical. remember the paint you remove should be treated as hazardous waste and disposed of as such. same goes for the rest of your chemicals.



you MUST have gloves on at ALL times. not only can the oils from your skin ruin the paint coat prematurely, but many of the chemicals can be absorbed through your skin. there is an exception as detailed below.



fill damage as needed with your putty of choice (glazing for small, and up from there in previous order). sand until PERFECTLY smooth with the rest of the surface. i generally use P400 for this. you should use your hands to feel it out, your hands can feel more than your eyes can see. painting over imperfections does NOT hide them - it will HIGHLIGHT them. next the workpiece is cleaned thoroughly with grease/wax remover. after that dries, go over it with a tack cloth to remove any dust/crap. clean the work area with a shop vac and let everything settle for a few hours. clean again with a tack cloth.



now you can primer it. 2 coats usually. too thick and it will run and you get to waste time sanding. tack cloths between coats.



then the paint....my car is the light blue so i need 3 coats minimum because its such a light colour. remember, tack cloths in between all this crap. any dust will ruin your work. flip over when dry get both sides painted before clearcoat. clearcoat is usually 2 coats, this of course depends on your paint gun and other factors. let dry FULLY before flipping over, i did some damage to my recent project rushing it that way.



now you might be able to air the place out when you're done all this. throw out all those dropsheets used to make the booth into a garbage bag still with protective gear on, you don't want to inhale that crap. wipe up any dust and toss the cloths. i use the blue shop towels so i dont have to worry about throwing them away. then shopvac the area.



still want more than touchup pens?? yes there are easier ways. this is how to do it RIGHT and get the best results. yes you CAN get professional results but it takes time, investment and you have to take care of yoruself first.

majik

a little overboard on the reply... I think he just wants to know if he should put some clear nail polish on top of the paint to protect it.

Visionz

Daaammnn.....



Longest.Reply.Ever!

zero_gravity

sorry i was drinkin at the time. it was just sounding like the OP was looking for perfect results, and you just can't get them with touchup crap.



also didnt want to see someone try and get the higher end paint and kill themselves with chemical exposure. sometimes people do silly things if its not thoroughly explained...



but yeah longest post ever. i blame beer.

majik

damn canuckiens. I bet you were sober by the end of typing it.

pas1216

^^^ Only if he was drinking American beer!!!! LOL!!!!

Stocker

Getting back to the original question, yes your instinct was correct. A bit of wet sanding will make the touched up spots look less bad. If the paint is touch up paint is really thick, you might use a sharp razor blade first to knock off the highest spots, then sand it smooth.

zero_gravity

if i was drinking american beer i would have been sober before i wrote that

bigstrappa

i do body work and the biggest mistake is tube. Never use a paint brush... youtube it they will show you a million better ways a million different ways.



i can't type any longer due to the ever lasting face palm.



-----------sum up---------------

1: sanding

a: wash (water)

b: sand

2: clean

a: wash whole bumper or panel (water)

b: wipe (wipe around area that was sanded) with chemical cleaner

3: fill

a: spread bondo (kitty hair)

b: sand

c: bondo (can't remember the name but its like body fill looks almost like a paint and it is in a tube/small container like carmex)

d: sand

4: clean

a: clean area repaired with chemical cleaner

5: paint

a: prime (just around sanded area)

b: wet sand

c: dry

d: base coat

e: wet send

f: base coat

g: secondary coat if you are using pearl/candies

h: clear

6: make it look like a boss

a: buff

b: wait 48-72 hours

c: wax

--------------------------------------------------------

shortest sum up i could do.

i'm a body man