If the stone chips on your car’s paint don’t bother you, then probably you’re too lazy or don’t care about your car at all. However, if you do care about your car right now, I’ll tell you not to call someone else to fix your problem.
Why don’t you just learn how to repair stone chips on metallic paint of your car. You think it’s hard? Pfft! I’ll make things easy for you, mate.
I’ll give you both causes and cure of the stone chips problem. So, what’s keeping you waiting? Today’s the day you solve your problem.
How Stone Chips Take Place on the Paint?
Tell you what, when it comes to stone chips, you often can’t do much to stop that. But knowing the reason is important.
The most commonplace in the car that you’ll see stone chips is on the bonnet. Usually, there are gravel and debris which stick with the tires of your car. Actually, when a car is at a higher speed, you’ll find gravel and debris increasing unbelievably, and you know that result when it hits.
It’s quite tough to avoid the stone chips, but it’s not impossible to get it fixed. However, you better do it soon, because things might get worse in the rain.
How to Repair Stone Chips on Metallic Paint?
The three things that you’ll need to deal with stone chips are the closest paint match, time, and the steadiness of your hand. After that, all you need is follow some simple steps as I’ve mentioned below –
Step – 1: Clean Up the Area
Take some soap and water first. Get some white spirit or alcohol and rub the area with them. It’s quite helpful to get rid of the grease. After cleaning the part, let it dry.
Step – 2: Sand Down the Edges
Check out if there’s any raised edge. If you see any, sand it down. You can get rid of the edge with a T-cut as well. Another option to do that is by using very fine grain wet and dry sandpaper. To avoid damaging the adjacent clear coat, make sure you don’t rub it too hard.
Step – 3: Apply the Base Coat
Now it’s time to use the primer or base coat. Don’t think about anything less than a fine brush to do that. You can use a paint pen as well if you like to. Once you’re done, let it dry.
Step – 4: The Paint
Generally, car paint you see on a ride has multiple layers. So, to match up with your current paint job, you need to mimic the same. Maintain thin layers while applying the paint. Once you’re done with one layer, do the other after it’s dried out. Keep it all within the area where you see the damage.
Step – 5: Light Sanding
Now when the paint is finally dry, gently sand it to make it even with the surrounding area. Take nothing but the fine grain and wet sandpaper to do that. But don’t let the other areas get scratched.
Step – 6: Applying Lacquer
The final step is the application of a topcoat or lacquer. This is basically used to seal the repair of the stone chip. Don’t touch it before it’s completely dry.
How to Understand If It’s a Bad Idea to Go for a DIY Repair?
All this time, I’ve told you how to fix up the stone chips on your metallic paint. But there will be times when you better leave it to the hands of the professionals. So, there are three scenarios when you shouldn’t think of going for a DIY repair.
Scenario – 1: Seeing the Base Metal
Don’t think of a DIY repair if you can see the base metal through. This damage is too deep for you to handle all by yourself.
Scenario – 2: Seeing Rust on the Damage
The next scenario is when you see rust on the damage. No matter how high-quality paint you put on that, the paint won’t survive there. So, let the professionals deal with that.
Scenario – 3: Multiple or Bigger Stone Chips
The last one is when you see too many chips or a very large one. The repair method I’ve shared with you is for when you have to deal with one or two small stone chips. But a bigger one or seeing too many on your bonnet is something that you shouldn’t handle on your own.
Final Words
Admit it, you can’t control everything in your ride, and that includes damages like stone chips as well. No matter how careful you are with your four-wheeler, yet you can’t save it all the time. But knowing how to repair stone chips on metallic paint can surely save you some bucks this time. However , there’re some great paint chip repairs kits available on the market that would fully satisfy the requirements , you can also try them on. Some also face problems on removing paints from rims , we’ve provided a distinctive guide on choosing the best paint remover for your rims. You can check it out if you’re having the same issues.
