My car has the usual assorted rock chips on it, and I'm planning on hitting them all with a touchup paint pen. Before I do, I want to make sure that none of them have gone down to bare metal. They all look kind of white as opposed to the grey paint that's on the car. Am I looking at primer or bare metal?
How to determine if chips are down to bare metal?
- Thread starter MattB
- Start date
Well, I don't know then... The voltage tester has thin +/- "needles" so you might give it a try, if the chip is 1-2 milimeters in diameter, you could easily test it (at least my tester "needles" are small enough to fit such area).
Why you want to find out that thing?
If your'e not sure, I suggest touch up with primer anyway, it won't be worse. Then you just touch up with paint and clearcoat
Why you want to find out that thing?
If your'e not sure, I suggest touch up with primer anyway, it won't be worse. Then you just touch up with paint and clearcoat
yeah sure if its only a few days... wax should work...
just prep the area with some Alcohol before touch up...
here a summary of what i do...which you can prob find in better detail on this site:
use a small pointed toothpick to touch up the area. build up layer slowly.
If the chip is somewhat deep… I start with the builder primer (saves time building layers)
Finish leveling with touch up paint.
Wait a few days till it dries hard.
Level with meguairs unigrit
Buff out with UDM or PC.
just prep the area with some Alcohol before touch up...
here a summary of what i do...which you can prob find in better detail on this site:
use a small pointed toothpick to touch up the area. build up layer slowly.
If the chip is somewhat deep… I start with the builder primer (saves time building layers)
Finish leveling with touch up paint.
Wait a few days till it dries hard.
Level with meguairs unigrit
Buff out with UDM or PC.
sk55 said:
Yeah it would be a week at most, but I may see if the dealer can overnight the paint to me. Thanks for the instructions on how to touch it up properly.
And this may be a stupid question, but what does bare metal look like? I've been looking at the spot this morning (very hard to see unless you're looking for it, and it's kind of greyish). Very similar to the light grey color of the car, so I'm not sure if it's paint, metal, or primer.
Its tough to tell sometimes…
But being an Electrical Engineer I would use the voltmeter idea as suggested above…
But having had 91 acura legend eaten away with rust… I tend to be on the cautious side… once rust sets in… you basically have to replace the whole panel… or in my case just repaint and watch the paint bubble in a few months...
I keep it simple…when in doubt I cover it with a little grey primer (they sell great little touch up kits at walmart, if ur in a bind)
Just use the toothpick method…its fast and you can get a clean looking protective coating on pretty quickly..
But being an Electrical Engineer I would use the voltmeter idea as suggested above…
But having had 91 acura legend eaten away with rust… I tend to be on the cautious side… once rust sets in… you basically have to replace the whole panel… or in my case just repaint and watch the paint bubble in a few months...
I keep it simple…when in doubt I cover it with a little grey primer (they sell great little touch up kits at walmart, if ur in a bind)
Just use the toothpick method…its fast and you can get a clean looking protective coating on pretty quickly..
sk55 said:
I tend to be on the cautious side as well...my previous car had a nagging rust issue in the trunk that could never seem to be fixed properly. I think I'm going to have the dealer overnight the paint to me so I can get it taken care of by mid-week. I'll definately use the toothpick method.