Expert advise needed on rock chip blob repairs

[dquarasr2]

Expert advice needed on rock chip blob repairs

I am starting to work on the numerous paint chip blobs on my hood, headlight covers and fenders. I have dozens if not hundreds of chips to work on.

I have tried the pencil technique, gluing small circles of sandpaper on the tips of the pencils.

Problem is that I am ending up with circular divots when I am done. At first I tried the eraser end but it seems that the erasers "give" too much, allowing the sandpaper to also sand the area around the "high" of the blob.

Then I tried the flat end of the new pencils, and it worked much better but I'm still ending up with a circle that is lower than the surrounding paint.

In the first attached picture you can clearly see the two divots in my first attempt to repair side-by-side chips. In the second, it's better but you can see where it is still showing a circle.

FYI, I'm using 400, then 800, then 1500 wet, then some cutting compound (by hand), followed by a polish and wax. it's coming out shiny but with a visible "valley" where the blob was.

Advice on this technique is most appreciated.

EDIT: Oh, BTW, I tried one free hand, just my fingers and the sandpaper and it came out really nice, but of course I ended up sanding a much larger area where it blended in better. Is this the way to go?

 

[Old Guy]

The following comments are based upon the assumption that you are using a touch-up paint to fill the chip and dealing with trying to blend the touch-up paint blob into the surrounding paint.

I have had some success with a product called Langka. You wrap a soft tightly woven cotton cloth around something like a credit card and then apply the Langka to the cloth. You then rub the paint blob with this. The Langka softens the paint blob allowing for its gradual removal until it is level with the surrounding original paint. The Langka will not soften the original paint, only the touch-up paint.



A couple of points:

1. The older the paint blob, the longer it takes to work down.
2. If the paint blob is too fresh, the Langka can tear out the touch-up paint, in which case you start all over again. Tear out is a particular problem with trying to fix scratches, even with aged touch-up paint.
3. A lot of paints have a metallic component. The Langka removes the some of the metallic component giving the fixed area a darker appearance than the surrounding area. This was particularly noticeable on a metallic silver car that I have (not an NSX).
4. The Langka leaves the base touch-up color level with the surrounding clear coat. As a result, the fix will look ‘different’ than the surrounding paint. A particular problem for those with tinted clear coat. If you try to apply clear coat on top of the fixed area, it will be a clear blob on top of the fix since the fixed area is level with the surrounding finish.
5. As a suggestion, trying thinning the touch-up paint with tiny amount of solvent. This increases the drying time and allows the paint to flow into the chip area with less ‘blobbing’. I have used acetone with success with some touch-up paints (but have no experience with thinning Honda touch-up paints).

The Langka fix will not be invisible. However, it does look better than a chip or a chip with a blob on top. The Langka also has the advantage that you don’t have to worry about scratching the surrounding finish with abrasives. If you goof, you just start over again.


I started out doing some chip fixes on my NSX using Langka. However, the closer I looked, the more fine chips I found (looks like the front end was in a sand storm!). I finally elected for a re-spray on the bumper, hood and front fenders to be followed by plastic wrap this spring.
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Good luck with whatever you try.<O</O

 

[kookoo4nsx]

I'm of the opinion that these rock chips are "beauty marks". If it bothers you that much and as you stated and perhaps you have hundreds, why not just bite the bullet and repaint the hood? If a whole car costs 4-5k to paint CORRECTLY, I can't see how the hood would cost more than $7-800. I'm sure others here can add some information on paint cost.

I know this was not what you asked but do you really think your eyes will be happy when you see a few dozen touch ups?

 

[dquarasr2]

Old Guy:

I have the Langkda kit. I was underwhelmed the first time I tried it. I am trying to repair some very badly done blobs from years ago done by previous owners. That said, your suggestion does prompt me to break out the kit and re-evaluate trying it again, maybe this time with more patience and better technique.

I am not trying to repair new chips. I did do a couple of new chips in the bumper cover with fresh touch-up and those came out virtually undetectable. I am very pleased with the results on those. Not so much on the old blobs that have WAY too much paint in them, or in some cases, not enough. For the latter, I will have to sand the blob down flush then touch up to bring the blob valleys up to the surface of the surrounding paint, then sand smooth.

It's the older existing blobs that I am tackling now.

Kookoo, I have thought about painting the hood and fenders but I figure it's only original once and I'm trying to avoid paint work. The bumper cover was repainted b/c someone backed into the car at a gas station; at least I got a free paint job on the bumper out of it. I am planning to keep the bumper pristine by doing new chip repairs and I feel confident I can do those to very good effect.

Sometimes I view the chips as badges of courage, other times it p*sses me off, especially how poorly they were originally handled, and how great the car looks from the side mirrors back. So, I am trying my hand at improving the look of the front of the car. Especially since I've recently refinished the wheels and did paint correction on the whole car. Before the chips didn't bother me but now that the paint is looking much, much better than it has in years I have decided to tackle the acne.

Thanks to you both for your comments and feedback.

 

[RobD]

I'm of the opinion that these rock chips are "beauty marks". If it bothers you that much and as you stated and perhaps you have hundreds, why not just bite the bullet and repaint the hood? If a whole car costs 4-5k to paint CORRECTLY, I can't see how the hood would cost more than $7-800. I'm sure others here can add some information on paint cost.

I know this was not what you asked but do you really think your eyes will be happy when you see a few dozen touch ups?

+1.....while I also can appreicate original paint but I think it kind of loses its value and appeal when you state you have dozens and maybe even hundreds of chips....get it painted and clear bra it....you'll never have an issue again!

 

[LJSB]

This looks interesting!

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