Repair stone chips
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
When you have stone chips, you probably want to fix it. However, it is not like you can just spray paint your car again. Certain stone chips are more easy to repair then others. With a lot of practice, it can give a very good end result.
Contents
Where do stone chips come from
Stone chips are very common on cars. Just be driving on the road you can fairly easily get stone chips. If the car in front of you drives over a small stone, it can ‘throw’ the stone backwards. The stone is going the opposite direction of you, the impact of the stone with the car is “speed car + speed stone”. This increased speed causes the stone to easily inflict serious surface damage. The rough and hard stone will literally chip away a piece of the paint. Leaving a small hole in your paint.
The risk when not treated
When a stone chips isn’t repaired, it can result in small patches of rust that can get underneath the paintwork. Besides the fact that the surface isn’t 1 smooth whole anymore. The chip can start to trap dirt, because of the shape of the hole, it is difficult to clean it properly. The dirt can over time start to damage to surrounding paintwork.
A guide into stone chip repair
The guide below isn’t the only and/or perfect way of repairing stone chips. But it will give you a good point to start with. The most perfect technique depends on the size of the damage, the place and depth of the damage and what you are trying to repair (colored paint or clear coat).
- Wash the area thoroughly
- Clay the area properly
- You can use a cotton stick to try to clean out the hole as good as possible
- If you have experience with wetsanding, you can wetsand the surrounding area
- Very carefully wax the surrounding area, but take great care that NO wax gets into the hole (the wax will prevent any paint from sticking to the surrounding area)
- Use a very small brush (a nail art brush is very suitable for this) to drop a very small drop of paint into the hole
- Try it with as little paint as possible, otherwise it might not dry evenly
- Leave the paint to dry
- Don’t forget to add a drop of clear coat if needed
- Wetsand and or polish the area after the paint is dry
- Polish the entire area to get a nice and even result
Orange peel is the term for the unevenness of a layer of paint on top of a surface. When you look closely, the surface resembles the skin of an orange. Many detailers consider orange peel unwanted, ugly and a fault of the painter. Orange peel can be found in the clear coat and also in the colored layer of paint....-
Detailing a motorbike isn't all that different to any other surface. The main different will be the technique and the tools used because of working in small spaces. Motorbike cleaning requires more effort then most other vehicles, due to small crevices and tight corners....
-
The term protection is used in autodetailing to refer to a product that is used to prevent damage to a surface, regardless if that damage is caused by liquids, solids or even gasses. These forms of protection come in many forms and shapes....
-
Polishing pads can get very dirty. After use they contain polish residue, oils, very small paint particles, possibly dirt and mineral deposits. Cleaning polish pads properly prepares them for use the next time and prolongs their life....
-
Applicators are products that are used to spread, apply, rub or buff a certain product to a certain surface. These can also be referred to as an applicator pad. There are many several differen shapes, sizes and material that are used for this....
-
Paintwork protection comes in two generic types: sealants and Waxes. In saome cases there are products which combine the two of these. The paintwork on you car is there not only to look nice but to protect the underlying metal work as well. However, paintwork requires protection of its own as well....
Links to this article
There are no external links to this article. Yet.