Fixing a chip in BC/CC

Dean Jenkins

Dean Jenkins

Promoted Users
Long, sad tale, but I chipped the paint on the fender edge.
Easy to scuff, fill it with Dolphin glaze, seal and base.
Any hope of just blending some clear over that spot? I have blending solvent.
I suspect I need to re-clear the whole fender. What a drag!
Thoughts?

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I have had luck with two small chips similar to this by mixing a few drops of my base into a few drops of clear and using a fine detail brush to fill it after scuffing that underlying epoxy. After a week or so to let it shrink back, Ieveled it with 1500, then 2000, 2500, and a quick buff. I cant say how well it will hold over time but you really have to look to find it.
 
aviator8 said:
I have had luck with two small chips similar to this by mixing a few drops of my base into a few drops of clear and using a fine detail brush to fill it after scuffing that underlying epoxy. After a week or so to let it shrink back, Ieveled it with 1500, then 2000, 2500, and a quick buff. I cant say how well it will hold over time but you really have to look to find it.
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Might try that. Worst case, it doesn't work and then I re-spray.
Wish Black SS was available in quarts, that would be better. Not willing to buy a gallon for a few drops :confused:
 
Sucks that it happened Dean. But it happens to everyone. Almost impossible to put something completely back together and not mess up something. It's a small enough area that mixing your base with the clear will hide it for the most part provided you sand/buff it afterwards. That's what I would do first before redoing the entire fender. Dab it in, wait 30 minutes, dab it in again, and so on until you think it's filled. Then sand it out and buff it.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Sucks that it happened Dean. But it happens to everyone. Almost impossible to put something completely back together and not mess up something. It's a small enough area that mixing your base with the clear will hide it for the most part provided you sand/buff it afterwards. That's what I would do first before redoing the entire fender. Dab it in, wait 30 minutes, dab it in again, and so on until you think it's filled. Then sand it out and buff it.
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Thanks. I have a lot of mil build (6 coats of clear) so the chip is deep. Would you suggest some glaze before trying the base/clear mix?
 
Dean Jenkins said:
Thanks. I have a lot of mil build (6 coats of clear) so the chip is deep. Would you suggest some glaze before trying the base/clear mix?
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I was worried to try that or epoxy because if it comes up and out to an edge you are going to see that ghost line.
 
Dean Jenkins said:
Thanks. I have a lot of mil build (6 coats of clear) so the chip is deep. Would you suggest some glaze before trying the base/clear mix?
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IDK. I think I would try and fill it with the clear/base mix. If you can glaze it and not have to hardly sand it then maybe, but IMO it will work better with a depression. If it's level there is nothing there for the touchup to sit on and you will end up with something very thin and it will look off. If you fill it with paint you have material to sand and level. Hope that's understandable.
 
  Dean,
In the catalog read blending agent, I give step-by-step how to do it.

Also, I have done if not 50 times not once like Aviator says but takes a few days with a sword brush then set time like he says.

Also if you use the blending agent follow directions and no buffing will be needed
I've walked first-time painters through this and have no clue how many times with almost total success.
I'm only a 10-cent phone call away.
 
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Dean,
I know the feeling very well. Fortunately for me it is only a nick or two along the edges and not in such a critical spot as yours.
Please let us know what you end up doing and how it turns out.
I normally do things as Chris and Aviator suggest but always open to new techniques.
 
I never ever fill chips with any type of filler,
they always ghost back with temp changes.
Best to sand flush and repaint if you want it to last and
not show.
 
I fill chips using the fuzzy end of a common cardboard match, the kind they used to give away with packs of cigarettes. They are my disposable touch up brush of choice. Dabbing, not brushing, is key. Fill the chip with base, being careful to remove any base that escapes up over the sides of the chip. A finger is usually good to get 95% of that, maybe a Q-tip with solvent to catch the rest. Once the base is dry, dab clear into the chip. It might take many "coats" to get the clear up to the level of the existing finish. Once the initial application has dried, a very little bit of color sanding will reveal if the chip is filled. If it's not, then dab more clear. If the chip is filled, more very careful color sanding and polishing will help the repair blend into the surrounding area.
 
crashtech said:
I fill chips using the fuzzy end of a common cardboard match, the kind they used to give away with packs of cigarettes. They are my disposable touch up brush of choice. Dabbing, not brushing, is key. Fill the chip with base, being careful to remove any base that escapes up over the sides of the chip. A finger is usually good to get 95% of that, maybe a Q-tip with solvent to catch the rest. Once the base is dry, dab clear into the chip. It might take many "coats" to get the clear up to the level of the existing finish. Once the initial application has dried, a very little bit of color sanding will reveal if the chip is filled. If it's not, then dab more clear. If the chip is filled, more very careful color sanding and polishing will help the repair blend into the surrounding area.
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Excellent. I will be giving that try real soon.
 
crashtech said:
I fill chips using the fuzzy end of a common cardboard match, the kind they used to give away with packs of cigarettes. They are my disposable touch up brush of choice. Dabbing, not brushing, is key.
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Wow, that goes waaay back! Used to be all over the place, now I don't see those match books around that much.
I remember the painter would go around a used car with the matches and a can of Lucite of a color that was close. Sometimes the car looked worse. That was early 1970's!
 
I had to buy them online because they aren't really a thing anymore. but they are really good for this kind of task, been doing it this way since the 80s...
 
Since I am on a roll, metallic bases don't typically touch up well. What can help is to under-reduce or not reduce at all the base that is to go into the chip. This seems to help metallic orientation in the touched-up area. YMMV. Solid colors, though, they can be touched up really well. It won't be 100% invisible, but unlikely to catch anyone's attention if done properly.
 
I too dab chips with base and then later, the clear. I use a fine tipped brush and dab it on real wet so it flows out, allowing for the correct flash times in between.

Then I dab in the clear in multiple coats until it builds up. I have tried sanding and buffing before but it still leaves a line around the edge of the chip where the clear isn’t blended.

Just dabbing the base on and then the clear will make the chip very inapparent.

It’s even easier with single stage. My sander caught the edge of a truck hood and sanded right down to the primer beneath 4 coats of single stage along a 2” section of the edge. I dabbed more mixed paint on real thick to let it flow out and you cannot tell it’s there unless you look at it from about 4 inches away.

The trick is to dab and not brush as was mentioned earlier. Brushing gives you brush marks, dabbing just creates little pools of paint that flow out and flow into each other and create a smooth finish. Load up plenty of paint on the brush tip so it can transfer enough to actually flow out.
 
I appreciate all the ideas. And I took @Barry up on his offer of a call.
Plan is to carefully paint the exposed primer with black base, unreduced, taking care to not get it on the clear surface. Let it dry a day.
Then start dabbing on activated clear over a series of days. Not a problem since I have other stuff to work on.
The tricky part will be mixing tiny amounts of clear and activator correctly. I think the best way will be hypodermic needles for measuring - very accurate. I got a little cheap plastic artists pallet board with little indentations at the craft store and that should work for mixing tiny batches.
After the clear is built up and cured, then lightly finger sand with ~1200-1500 grit and buff if needed.
I'll post pics.
 
Dean Jenkins said:
I appreciate all the ideas. And I took @Barry up on his offer of a call.
Plan is to carefully paint the exposed primer with black base, unreduced, taking care to not get it on the clear surface. Let it dry a day.
Then start dabbing on activated clear over a series of days. Not a problem since I have other stuff to work on.
The tricky part will be mixing tiny amounts of clear and activator correctly. I think the best way will be hypodermic needles for measuring - very accurate. I got a little cheap plastic artists pallet board with little indentations at the craft store and that should work for mixing tiny batches.
After the clear is built up and cured, then lightly finger sand with ~1200-1500 grit and buff if needed.
I'll post pics.
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Dean for tiny volumes like that I use a table spoon. 1 tbsp clear and 1 of activator, mix it in a tiny cup.
 
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