2002 Maxima SE
New member
Well, I am 24 hours into my repair. I have been documenting with a disposable camera that had a few pictures left. This weekend I should have pictures posted of the entire project from start to finish.
First I washed the area with dawn and cleaned again with denatured alcohol. Next, I sanded the interior of the chip (size of a nickle) which was down to the plastic on the bumper with 320 grit sand paper. I removed one island of loose paint in the center. I then feathered the edges with 800 grit sand paper. This was done using sand paper cut out with a hole puncher and glued to several pencils. After the sanding I washed the area again with dawn and used an alcohol swab.
I taped off the area around the nick then overlayed that with newspaper with a hole cut in it. I taped the newspaper back and now I have my canvas, the only exposed area is the nickle size chip. I took two passes with automotive primer at about 10inches, set up my portable heater and allowed it to dry for 45 minutes. I then returned and made two more passes and allowed it to dry overnight.
This morning, I am going to sand the primer down to just inside the chip with 800 to 1000 grit sand paper then use the airbrush to lay a few layers of paint. Afterwards, more sanding with 1000 to 1500 and wet sanding with 1500 followed by polishing with 3M Swirl Remover for Dark Cars. Lastly, a wash and then coat the car in PUPP.
First I washed the area with dawn and cleaned again with denatured alcohol. Next, I sanded the interior of the chip (size of a nickle) which was down to the plastic on the bumper with 320 grit sand paper. I removed one island of loose paint in the center. I then feathered the edges with 800 grit sand paper. This was done using sand paper cut out with a hole puncher and glued to several pencils. After the sanding I washed the area again with dawn and used an alcohol swab.
I taped off the area around the nick then overlayed that with newspaper with a hole cut in it. I taped the newspaper back and now I have my canvas, the only exposed area is the nickle size chip. I took two passes with automotive primer at about 10inches, set up my portable heater and allowed it to dry for 45 minutes. I then returned and made two more passes and allowed it to dry overnight.
This morning, I am going to sand the primer down to just inside the chip with 800 to 1000 grit sand paper then use the airbrush to lay a few layers of paint. Afterwards, more sanding with 1000 to 1500 and wet sanding with 1500 followed by polishing with 3M Swirl Remover for Dark Cars. Lastly, a wash and then coat the car in PUPP.
