Dealing with filled rock chips

[hockeyplaya13]

My wife drives an `02 Sentra that is in rough shape. I have not gotten around to detailing it yet and finally am ready to take it on. It`s honestly a lost cause, with clearcoat failure on the mirrors and door handles and the window trim peeling badly. Rock chips all over, etc. But I see it as a development project and a chance to see what I can do with it. My question is how to tackle these rock chips that seem to have been filled in before. Maybe by her dad, idk. But not a professional job by any means. Should I just polish right over them, or should I sand them down a bit first? I know I`m not gonna make them perfect, but how can I make them as "better" as possible? Also, there are some chips without paint that have a little rust. I know Dr. Colorchip is widely recommended, but what should I do about the rust? I`ve heard tell of some rust converter primer things- any specific product names to look at?

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[Merlin]

My wife drives an `02 Sentra that is in rough shape. I have not gotten around to detailing it yet and finally am ready to take it on.

It`s honestly a lost cause, with clearcoat failure on the mirrors and door handles and the window trim peeling badly. Rock chips all over, etc.
But I see it as a development project and a chance to see what I can do with it. My question is how to tackle these rock chips that seem to have been filled in before.

Maybe by her dad, idk. But not a professional job by any means. Should I just polish right over them, or should I sand them down a bit first?
I know I`m not gonna make them perfect, but how can I make them as "better" as possible? Also, there are some chips without paint that have a little rust.

I know Dr. Colorchip is widely recommended, but what should I do about the rust? I`ve heard tell of some rust converter primer things- any specific product names to look at?

I`d do a light polish and clean the surface really well first.
For the rust spots, I might suggest testing a little IronX.
But you may want to call Dr. CC and ask them about the rust spot areas.

To tackle the filled rock chips I might suggest "sand them down a bit first" but be careful.
KXK Dynamics R.I.D. STIX might be a good suggestion for cleaning up the ones already filled.
Sadly, pictures never really do justice to what the paint surface truly looks like.

I`ve had good results with Dr. Color Chip. With what you are showing in the pictures it`s going to take you a while.
I might suggest getting the Dr. CC "kit" with the squeegee it should help speed up the "hole filling" process.
I`ve had good results with Dr. CC. Remember Dr. CC is a "repair". I call it the 3-foot rule.
The only way you are going to get it to look "Perfect" is a respray.

 

[hockeyplaya13]

Gotcha, thanks. Yeah, I`m definitely not going for perfect. This car has taken a beating and these chips are but one of its ailments. But if I could the chips less offensive, that would be nice. Plus I just want to learn how to deal with this type of issue on a car that I really don`t care much about . If I make it worse...it won`t affect the value of the car haha. Plus there are a million chips to experiment on so it`s the perfect practice car. I want to improve it more from the standpoint of practice than achieving a great aesthetic on this particular car.

 

[William_Wallace]

I have had mixed results taking on rock chips especially when they are somewhere very noticeable. I used automotivetouchup.com and order the base color and clear. Then mix the 2 together then fill in chips. Good luck be happy if you can improve the situation and take what you can get don’t keep chasing the perfect look

 

[bolts]

I have had mixed results taking on rock chips especially when they are somewhere very noticeable. I used automotivetouchup.com and order the base color and clear. Then mix the 2 together then fill in chips. Good luck be happy if you can improve the situation and take what you can get don’t keep chasing the perfect look

There is a guy on the tube I follow he has pretty good videos. Car craft auto detailing
He has a video on rock chips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9zqVbcZDQ
not sure if can post links here or if this works

ospho or rust neutralizer for the rust if not sanding it out

Ive mixed base/clear and dabbed in the chip, light sand then polish but it only makes it look a little better but probably better than undone

 

[Accumulator]

If the rust is too bad to do chemically (with a pinpoint application medium) I grind it away (very, *VERY* carefully ) with a tiny diamond burr on a rotary tool. IME it`s easy to avoid an "oops!". IF using the DrColorchips, I`d sure use it like conventional touchup paint instead of their "smear it all over" method. It`s good stuff (if used that way) though pretty fragile with regard to subsequent polishing.

 

[hockeyplaya13]

If the rust is too bad to do chemically (with a pinpoint application medium) I grind it away (very, *VERY* carefully ) with a tiny diamond burr on a rotary tool. IME it`s easy to avoid an "oops!". IF using the DrColorchips, I`d sure use it like conventional touchup paint instead of their "smear it all over" method. It`s good stuff (if used that way) though pretty fragile with regard to subsequent polishing.

Thanks, Accumulator. Any thoughts on how to deal with the whatever touch-up paint is already filling some of them? Doesn`t seem to be a color match and was not sanding down. I could always just sand it down and make it even but the color still won`t match. There` are probably half a dozen spots like this on the roof and a dozen or more on the hood.

 

[Accumulator]

Thanks, Accumulator. Any thoughts on how to deal with the whatever touch-up paint is already filling some of them?

I`d remove that touchup paint and redo `em from scratch. I use Langka`s Blob Eliminator solvent for that, but only because I already have it on the shelf; regular lacquer thinner oughta work fine, but note that it`ll [mess] up many kinds of repaints (if that`s a factor), and not only the obvious lacquer-based ones, so go slow and careful.

IF it`s a repaint or a lacquer finish, I`d still try that, but I`d be using a tiny disposable brush to apply/work the solvent. BTW, I do like those things, have a few different ones..sometimes I get out a tiny artist`s brush, other times I use the disposable ones. And don`t forget *pinstriping* brushes, which some here swear by.

And/but, remember to aim for "better" instead of "perfect" (or even "really good" ) when it comes to the color-matching. And FWIW, even though so many touchup paints come from the same place, I`ve found that sometimes one brand matches one color best while a different brand best matches some other color...total crapshoot!