I need help. I painted my car using Pro Spray products with base coat clear coat in GM Techno Gray Metallic. I am very pleased with the final results considering I am not a painter and it was done in my garage. All cutting and polishing was done with 3M products with no silicones and I have not waxed the car.

While installing the passenger side drip rail, a small knik in the rail caused a paint chip to pop off. It is on the rear roof panel just behind the seam with the front roof panel. The chip is about 5/16" in diameter. I have purchased another drip rail which has no kinks. The chip will be about 1/2 covered by the drip rail when installed.

How do I fix this?
The paint has a light metallic to it and I do not have confidence that I can paint the entire roof panel and have a match with the rest of the car. It seems I have two options.

The chip fits back in place as seen in one picture. Can I put the chip back in place using either very thin super glue and then scuff and re-clear the entire panel?

Should I use a small brush to touch up the chipped area and then reclear the entire panel?

My only other option would seem to be to go to a body shop and see what they would charge to fix it. being on a budget this idea sucks, but on the other hand after all these years of work I want it to look nice. The car is an 87GT so the rear panel would include the sail wings. It has a 388 Chevy in it and new everything.

I am in Southern Oregon and would appreciate the best thoughts of experienced painters who understand I am a novice.

Thanks for all advice in advance.

To be honest, metallic silver is one of the toughest colors to touch-up. You could try to wetsand the area and airbrush the chip but you could actually end up with too heavy of a silver in the area which would cause a dark spot. Honestly, the only safe way to do it is repaint the panel.

You'll need to first sand & fill the chip. Use a catalyst-hardened putty. http://gafieroclub.org/bbs/index.php?topic=469.0 Prime & sand smooth. Tape off the entire panel, several feet back (& cover the rest of the car). Sand the clear with 1000 wet well back into the area you're blending in. Shoot the color, just the tiny area until it's covered (waiting between coats as you normally would). Once covered, shoot a blend covering the area with the same mix & pressure you originally used to paint it. This will give you color about 6" to 12" out. Using a blending agent (the one recommended by the clear manufacturer) in a separate gun, lightly dust a coat over the area that the clear will be blended. Shoot the first coat of clear, then immediately dust a little blender on the edge. Repeat until you have enough clear to cover, each time clearing out over the overspray edge of the previous coat. You'll only need 2 or 3 coats of clear. Make sure you melt in the edge of each coat with the blender. Once it's all dry, you'll be able to sand & buff it as you did before.
NOTE: there will be folks here that will tell you it's impossible to blend the clear. I'll let you decide if you want to try it or if you want to sand the entire panel, clear it, & sand & buff the whole thing again. Blending works fine for me.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

To resist the influence of others, knowledge of one's self is most important.

quote Originally posted by Tha Driver: You'll need to first sand & fill the chip. Use a catalyst-hardened putty. http://gafieroclub.org/bbs/index.php?topic=469.0 Prime & sand smooth. Tape off the entire panel, several feet back (& cover the rest of the car). Sand the clear with 1000 wet well back into the area you're blending in. Shoot the color, just the tiny area until it's covered (waiting between coats as you normally would). Once covered, shoot a blend covering the area with the same mix & pressure you originally used to paint it. This will give you color about 6" to 12" out. Using a blending agent (the one recommended by the clear manufacturer) in a separate gun, lightly dust a coat over the area that the clear will be blended. Shoot the first coat of clear, then immediately dust a little blender on the edge. Repeat until you have enough clear to cover, each time clearing out over the overspray edge of the previous coat. You'll only need 2 or 3 coats of clear. Make sure you melt in the edge of each coat with the blender. Once it's all dry, you'll be able to sand & buff it as you did before. NOTE: there will be folks here that will tell you it's impossible to blend the clear. I'll let you decide if you want to try it or if you want to sand the entire panel, clear it, & sand & buff the whole thing again. Blending works fine for me. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver" To resist the influence of others, knowledge of one's self is most important.

Good God man....that is one hell of an explanation. I didn't want to get that in depth with my comment because of his last line

quote .....who understand I am a novice

quote Originally posted by IMSA GT: Good God man....that is one hell of an explanation. I didn't want to get that in depth with my comment because of his last line [QUOTE].....who understand I am a novice

Yeah well it's easy enough to blend in the clear if you follow those instructions - even for a novice. Sure saves a LOT of time over re-painting the entire panel, plus it doesn't build up the paint as much which would make it even easier for it to chip installing the drip rails.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Headline (real): "Optimist club going better than hoped".

[This message has been edited by Tha Driver (edited 09-22-2010).]

Take you all of an hour to scuff sand the entire panel, sand the chip out and spray base color on the spot, then a couple of coats of clear on the whole panel. If its a driver, you can just dab paint in the chip with enough coats to make it higher than the surrounding paint, then block sand that spot with #1000 grit and rub it back out. You will prob be the only one to know its there. I touch up my show cars the same way. You already have the color and clear and wont have to go thru the hassle of blending it not to mention the blending clear costs $45 @ qt. When you finish using maybe an ounce of it, what are you going to do with the rest? Silvers and golds are by far the hardest to match when you spray them...even if you use the same can of paint you just painted the part with. I only get maybe 50% of the matches on those colors myself.

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Owner / Operator Custom Paint and Body...
specializing in Corvette & Higher End Autos for 45 years
Ferrari, Mercedes and Porsche Body Repair Approved
____________________________________________

toys: '66 custom Dodge 'Super Bee'
power by 413 SuperStock V8
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1977 Cessna 172XP Hawk HiPerf

I had a dream about this thread last night...

Yeah here we go again...

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Take you all of an hour to scuff sand the entire panel, sand the chip out and spray base color on the spot, then a couple of coats of clear on the whole panel.

Yeah then you have to wet sand & buff the WHOLE panel. Not only that, but you shouldn't just SCUFF the WHOLE panel you should wet sand it with 1000. Then you have to tape off the WHOLE panel. Then like I said you have a thick paint build-up which is easier to chip.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: If its a driver, you can just dab paint in the chip with enough coats to make it higher than the surrounding paint, then block sand that spot with #1000 grit and rub it back out. You will prob be the only one to know its there. I touch up my show cars the same way.

Hell if you're going to do that you might as well just glue the chip back in & let it ride.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Silvers and golds are by far the hardest to match when you spray them...even if you use the same can of paint you just painted the part with. I only get maybe 50% of the matches on those colors myself.

I'm not surprised...

[This message has been edited by Tha Driver (edited 09-22-2010).]

quote I'm not surprised...

Nor am I. Can you two guys EVER stop?

quote Originally posted by Tha Driver: Yeah here we go again...

At least you take the time to correct him... You are not alone in your frustration.

glue the chip back in, block it off with some 1000, Overfill the cracks with Clear, let dry, block off with 600, then 1000, then 2000, buff it. you will never match that spot by "dabbing? paint in the chip ! It's a driver, don't make yourself crazy.

glue the chip back and touchup around it. call it good.

Try dropping a gauge on a motorcycle fender with all airbrushing and custom paint and metalflake... you CANT touch anything up. Ruined a $8900 paint job myself that way.

My solution? fix the paint so it does not rust, slap a bullet hole sticker over the damage.


P.S. where did you find a new drip rail??? Last I knew it was easier to find a new 88 fiero in a dealership still waiting to be bought than it was to find a drip rail even in beat up condition.
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Best RV, Camper, and Trailer dealer in West Michigan. http://www.cliffstrailersales.com and he's a fiero owner too!

[This message has been edited by timgray (edited 09-22-2010).]

Do it the right way. Buy a new roof, pay a shop $1000 to mount and paint it....prob solved, lmao.

You cant really put the chip back in. Its hardened and wont stick very well because it wont soften up to stick. You could do that easy with laquer in the old days. Dabbing some liquid paint wont match perfect but it will stick. I can scuff a whole panel like a hood or roof with a gray scotchbrite and tape it off in 15 mins. Its new paint and scuffs easily...it dont need sanded.

not surprised driver? I suppose you can always match any silver or gold paint perfectly too.? The only way is sheer luck. Sometimes I get lucky. Thats why most of the time you have to blend the base color into the adjoining panels. Even the knumbskull insurance estimators know that....why they pay for it.

I personally dont give a rats azz about what you do. I gave the guy my advice from my experience. Since you can do anything under the sun, I still cant figure out why you cant find a high paying job painting. I hear Maaco pays $25 per car if your still looking.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 09-22-2010).]

quote Originally posted by timgray: P.S. where did you find a new drip rail??? Last I knew it was easier to find a new 88 fiero in a dealership still waiting to be bought than it was to find a drip rail even in beat up condition.

I posted a request on the Mall. It is only new to me but the rail I bought from another member is in great condition and kink free. It was shipped in a large flat container via FedEx with no problems.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: not surprised driver? I suppose you can always match any silver or gold paint perfectly too.? The only way is sheer luck. Sometimes I get lucky. Thats why most of the time you have to blend the base color into the adjoining panels. Even the knumbskull insurance estimators know that....why they pay for it. I personally dont give a rats azz about what you do. I gave the guy my advice from my experience. Since you can do anything under the sun, I still cant figure out why you cant find a high paying job painting. I hear Maaco pays $25 per car if your still looking.

Well yeah I have no problem matching any color that I've just painted (which is what you said you had problems with). Silver, gold, pearl, whatever.
Never was looking. I can't work in a high-paying job because I did body/frame/paint for 35 years & I completely wore out my body. I can't work full time for months on end at a regular job on a concrete floor, without major back, knee, other joint problems. My wrists hurt constantly. Yes CONSTANTLY. But you wouldn't know anything about that 'cause you had your minions doing all the hard work in your shop while you made $200,000 a year. Funny how the people I worked for over the years always had money to buy boats, enclosed car trailers, live in big houses, & go on vacations - all the while saying they didn't have the money to give ME a paid vacation even though they promised it when I started working. You sound just like them.
I'm sure you ARE familiar with Maaco - apparently they do the same kind of jobs you do (scuff & douche like you said you did on your "show winning" Charger).
Unbelievable.
The OP even mentioned that it's a fastback & he didn't want to paint the WHOLE panel again in the original post... (& I don't blame him.)
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

I never have had any 'minions' working for me. I do ALL the work, from frame pulls to buffing. I install bumpers, fenders, doors and roofs ALL by myself. Ya that means i hold a fully assembled steel door up in place while I start the bolts. Same with STEEL bumpers. I barely have any pains except just from age.

Now just for a minute, lets say I agree with you about blending the spot in. I was talking to some of my other shop owner buddies over a beer last nite and one brought something obvious up. Your going to blend in a few coats of basecoat color, then add a few clearcoats....and each coat extends past the previous coat right ? This is the way the product itself instructs you do it. So to blend the spot, you will have to 'bag' or cover the car and mask off the panel your blending to keep the overspray off the rest right ? Now by the time you sprayed your blender, the area you spotted is probably nearly 2 feet across. You already have the whole panel masked so its not any extra time, the material is already in the gun (base and clear), so why not use a few more ounces and take 2 more minutes to just clear the whole panel and be done with it. YOu dont have to worry about a blend line showing, you got an even gloss completely across, and theres no chance you have to do it again. If you do spot it in and it dont blend, you have to start over again and by the second time trying, you repainted the whole roof anyway using twice as much paint and at least an extra days time......Whats the point ? At $75 @ hour, its just not worth the time to hassle trying to cut corners to save a few minutes and a dollars worth of paint.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: I never have had any 'minions' working for me. I do ALL the work, from frame pulls to buffing. I install bumpers, fenders, doors and roofs ALL by myself. Ya that means i hold a fully assembled steel door up in place while I start the bolts. Same with STEEL bumpers. I barely have any pains except just from age. Now just for a minute, lets say I agree with you about blending the spot in. I was talking to some of my other shop owner buddies over a beer last nite and one brought something obvious up. Your going to blend in a few coats of basecoat color, then add a few clearcoats....and each coat extends past the previous coat right ? This is the way the product itself instructs you do it. So to blend the spot, you will have to 'bag' or cover the car and mask off the panel your blending to keep the overspray off the rest right ? Now by the time you sprayed your blender, the area you spotted is probably nearly 2 feet across. You already have the whole panel masked so its not any extra time, the material is already in the gun (base and clear), so why not use a few more ounces and take 2 more minutes to just clear the whole panel and be done with it. YOu dont have to worry about a blend line showing, you got an even gloss completely across, and theres no chance you have to do it again. If you do spot it in and it dont blend, you have to start over again and by the second time trying, you repainted the whole roof anyway using twice as much paint and at least an extra days time......Whats the point ? At $75 @ hour, its just not worth the time to hassle trying to cut corners to save a few minutes and a dollars worth of paint.

But you don't have to tape off the WHOLE panel, just a few feet back (3' is plenty). If you DO paint the entire rear clip, you have to tape it all off, sand it (I still say scuffing is second-rate work), paint it, sand it again & buff it. Maybe YOU can do all of that in "all of an hour", but I don't know anyone else who can. Then when you're through you have 4 coats of color & 4 or 5 coats of clear built up on the WHOLE panel, & then you're going to have to put the drip rails on over the extra build up of paint on BOTH sides. I just don't think it's the best way to do it, not to mention all the extra time involved.
You know Roger, you put me down 'cause I'm not rich or don't make as much as you do. It occurs to me; this is the type of attitude that makes the rest of the world hate us. Just because I didn't have the same opportunities (or luck) that you had, doesn't mean I'm any lesser person. I've worked HARD all my life, unfortunately for other people. I come from a poor family & did not have the opportunity to attend college, nor the money to open my own shop. I've had a LOT of bad luck (just ask anyone who knows me, & they'll tell you I have the worst luck of anyone they know). I'm not crying about it, but I don't like being put down for it either. I DO know what I'm doing when it comes to paint, body, custom fabrication, fiberglass, etc. You're VERY LUCKY you don't have the same health issues I have, just like I feel fortunate to not have any worse ones.

I would suggest visiting a body shop and see what their painter would suggest. Tell him that you had someone paint it for you and how the chip happened. The guy that painted it isn't available for some reason ( make up something good ) and he's out of the picture and you need some advice on the best way to get this taken care of and what it would cost for him to do it. It just might be worth having him fix that. If I had to repair it I'd expect to charge around $75-100 using your leftover materials. It's not that hard to repair but experience is important when it comes to doing a repair like this.

Also keep in mind that if you try to do the repair and you mess it up it won't cost you much more than time if you have enough materials left. It's already in need of repair and if you try and fail....what are you out but some time? It'll be a good learning experience. If you can't get it to look good then you can go to a pro painter and get it fixed up. I'd suggest trying to blend it in yourself.....it can't hurt ( much ).

Good luck...

Mark

My point Driver is not to put you down because of your luck or health. My WHOLE point is that you ALWAYS claim to be the ONLY professional who can give anykind of good advice. IF you were as good as you claim to be, any quality shop would be beating a path to your door. You wouldnt even have to work, theyd hire you as a manager. The fact that you cant get them to hire you speaks volumes about your true apparent abilities to them. In my case, I had no luck and no help from anyone. I started as a masker for $3 @ hour for a custom shop after teaching myself how to paint bicycles in Jr High. No one has given me a cent or any kind of support. My work got me the dealers and customers I have. I never even have advertised....or even put up a sign. Word of mouth from satisfied customers was more than enough... I made my own luck. Im retired, but still do some work for customers that wont go to anyone else. I live on those odd jobs and social security now so you prob make more than me.

Finallly, yes, you HAVE to mask a whole panel, plus bag the car if you dont want overspray on the rest of the car. Urathane carries pretty far wet and just spraying a mirror will get overspray on a rear bumper if not covered. I touched up a small spot about 4" square on a door jam in my car. I figured the little bit I was spraying would be fine without the plastic bag. I had to sand and rebuff the hood and decklid that got covered with overspray from 10 pnds of air pressure. The days of just putting some 18" wide paper around where your spraying is long gone.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: My point Driver is not to put you down because of your luck or health. My WHOLE point is that you ALWAYS claim to be the ONLY professional who can give anykind of good advice.

No; I give advice for the BEST way to do something. Anyone else who wants to can chime in on other ways to do things, & if they're way off base I try to help the OP by correcting them.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: IF you were as good as you claim to be, any quality shop would be beating a path to your door. You wouldnt even have to work, theyd hire you as a manager. The fact that you cant get them to hire you speaks volumes about your true apparent abilities to them. .

CAN'T GET THEM TO HIRE ME??!!?? I'm not LOOKING for a ****in' job, azzhole ! I could find one if I wanted to drive every day, & contribute to our dependence on foreign oil (& pollution) ... And I damn sure don't want to MANAGE a shop!

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Finallly, yes, you HAVE to mask a whole panel, plus bag the car if you dont want overspray on the rest of the car. Urathane carries pretty far wet and just spraying a mirror will get overspray on a rear bumper if not covered. I touched up a small spot about 4" square on a door jam in my car. I figured the little bit I was spraying would be fine without the plastic bag. I had to sand and rebuff the hood and decklid that got covered with overspray from 10 pnds of air pressure. The days of just putting some 18" wide paper around where your spraying is long gone.

No, you have to mask back a little further than you're spraying, then cover the rest of the car with plastic (which you have to do anyway). I have to spot in around a windshield on a Hang 10 (repairing another shop's "scuff & douche" job). I'll try to remember to take a few pics to show you what apparently you don't know.

[This message has been edited by Tha Driver (edited 09-24-2010).]

i have a very respected shop here in michigan i would wet sand till its feathered and scuff a foot back from it tape it spot the color and spot the clear making sure to step the clear out each coat and then use blender to melt the edges in let dry then wet sand and rub it color should match perfect and you will never no u spotted it !!! dont go thru scuffing the whole roof and re clearing it u said its a daily driver spotting will work fine

Id like to know how you keep urathane overspray from sticking to good paint 6-10 feet away from where your spotting it. It stays wet for a long time and sticks to anything. Ive seen overspray harden on another car sitting in the parking lot if I have the shop door opened. It even gets in my house thru the adjoining door when I open it after spraying anything. You should try getting hard overspray off nice diecasts.

In the end, it boils down that I simply I wont take the chance cutting corners on a high end car like a Ferrari or Porsche. Panel damaged gets panel painted (or cleared as a minimum). On someones personal driver or a used car, ill blend em in all day long because they dont care what it looks like a month later. Like ive said before, Ive not seen a urathane blend I couldnt spot. Ive had paint company experts demo it here and looked at ones another guys has tried. I talking laquer now, but even a good blend job on a lot of those start to leave a line or circle after a number of years. I simply dont have to worry about even 20 years later doing that when I do it my way.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 09-24-2010).]