Paint chips - my 4th of July project

nikro000

Member
My ford focus has a nice yellow color, but there are a few paint chips and deep scratches. I know, I should leave the repair to a professional, but it is my daily driver and in the desert those chips are as common as house spiders. So I would have to have the car in a body shop quite often to keep up with it. No can do. Still I want to do this right. I have ordered touch up paint (pen and bottle), primer and clearcoat, filler, I have sanding paper and rubbing compund and I have read a gazillion pages on the internet so I feel REASONABLY well informed.
The stuff should come tomorrow and I have alredy told my wife that the 4th will be dedicated to repair the scratches on her and my car (her's first to get some practice :wink:)
Still I would like to know if someone is in the same situation as I am and has firsthand experince with this stuff.
In detail:

1) Is clearcoat enough to cover superficial scratches?
2) Scratches in general - filler or not?
3) How long for the paint to cure before applying clearcoat (information differs on this)
4) Any warnings? Anything that has gone badly wrong for you when you did your touch up?

Any comments are appreciated.
 
The one thing that has always worked for me with paint chip is the make sure that the hole is real clean....apply the paint and let dry...about an hour...then apply again so that you get the paint above the surface of the car....then with some 3000 grit sand paper....spray a small amount of water on and sand very gently so that the bump levels with the rest of the car....As for the clear I would not worry about that...as long as the holes are small....

Once you have it sanded down then use some light cut compound to get the sand marks out...then polish and wax
 
The one thing that has always worked for me with paint chip is the make sure that the hole is real clean....apply the paint and let dry...about an hour...then apply again so that you get the paint above the surface of the car....then with some 3000 grit sand paper....spray a small amount of water on and sand very gently so that the bump levels with the rest of the car....As for the clear I would not worry about that...as long as the holes are small....

Once you have it sanded down then use some light cut compound to get the sand marks out...then polish and wax

Thanks beemerboy - you already helped me out twice today!
 
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