Thread: Paint repair tip.

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Okay, just dinkin' around earlier today, and used an old "trick" that I don't recall seeing on the site before.

This will come in handy for any of you that have a "high spot" in your paint that you want to "knock down". What I'm talkin' about here are little "pimples" that are usually caused by a speck of dirt under the paint film. Or it could be that you're obsessing about some of those rock chips on the nose of your rig and you're dropping some touch up in the "crater" to fill it in so it doesn't look so bad. In filling these chips you may have had mixed results, not full enough to really hide the chip because you were too afraid to "overfill" it. Or you did overfill it, and it looked like a colored wart. Then you might have tried sanding it down, but that removed some paint from the surrounding area too...........and you were really worried about sanding through to primer!!!

So here's a way to knock down those "nibs". Be aware, if you're doing this to a dirt speck under the color, you may end up exposing the chunk by removing too much paint, so there's a learning curve on thes buggers. As for the chips on the front (or anywhere else for that matter), the goal IS to overfill the crater so you can smooth it back to match the surrounding material, without damaging that surrounding paint.

This will require just two "tools"; a single edge razor blade and a piece of abrasive sheet (sandpaper to some of you). Now I'm not much of an artist, but I've made a crude line drawing to help illustrate what I'm describing here (see below). Take the razor blade and strop it across the abrasive sheet while you have the sheet on a flat surface. Only do one side, stroking in one direction while holding the blade at approximately a 30-45 degree angle. A couple passes across the abrasive will form a "curl" edge on the blade (see exagerated rendering). Now you have a great little tool that will act like a plane to shave down that high spot in the paint. With a little practice you'll get a good feel for when to stop once you're even with the surrounding paint film. It takes some care to make sure you hold the blade edge parallel to a flat surface so that you don't do any gouging with the corners. On a crowned surface you may have to work back and forth across the "face" of the "bump" to get an even cut. Usually this works pretty quickly, so don't zone out or you may go farther than you intended. If you feel the "cutting" edge becoming less effective, just strop it again.

Follow with a little rubbing compound and, if you did it right, it will be very difficult for anyone to see where you did your repair.

Experienced paint folks are probably aware of a small device available commercially to do the same thing. It resembles a small file, about 1" square mounted to a block. But hey, you've already got a box of these blades right?

Should have mentioned to use 220 grit or finer for the abrasive, and while it's probably obvious to most, use the "curled" edge down to make the cut.

Thanks for the tip Bob, I'm going to be doing that soon to my daily driver soon. I just need to finish up on painting the inside of my house first. I have the main part done, living/kitchen/dinning room hallway and all the bright work, next is the baths and bedrooms.

Glad to see ya back here ol' friend!!
Larry M.

BOB,
I have always took the blade across the windshield , or side glass, It keeps the blade edge sharpe with that rounded edge ,with less jaggies that sand paper will give you sometimes.
But be warned like Bob said , it takes some skill as if you try it with too much pressure or wrong angle, the blade will do some damage.

I have used the file you mentioned , and absolutley hate it , that little tool will tear some paint up ( used it one time and threw it across the shop ), they sell it more for scraping the tops of runs in clear to get flat for rubbing out .....LOL
Its a 1" square fine vixen file on a wood block.

A single edge razor blade can be your friend if you learn to use it well .

3M makes what is called a sanding eraser stone ,1" x 3" x 1" , it comes in several fine grits, soak it in water till saturated then use . You can use the corners just like an rubber eraser for those rock chips too.

Spray

Originally posted by Larry M
Glad to see ya back here ol' friend!!
Larry M.

Thank you my friend!

Originally posted by SprayTech
I have used the file you mentioned , and absolutley hate it , that little tool will tear some paint up ( used it one time and threw it across the shop ), they sell it more for scraping the tops of runs in clear to get flat for rubbing out .....LOL
Its a 1" square fine vixen file on a wood block.

Spray

Yeah, I don't know many painters who like them. But, hey, YOU don't get runs anyway. Right??

Well knock on wood .....Havent had one in a loooooong time !

Now my helper .........Ah he gets a tad in a hurry , and tries to paint like I do , I'm a hoser and spray my clear back to back with no flash time...
Takes alot of gun time to lay it heavy and slick with the no side curtains ...........But when he goes at his speed , he can lay a nice job !!

Had him try his hand a spotting a pearl white Tri-stage last week , and he darn near did better then me , guesss I tought him good !

I used to work for an old time painter (26 years ago ) and this guy would hang a big run in Single Stage Enamel , and he would lick his hand and wipe across the run and let flash a few minutes and then lay another coat , and when it was dry it was hard to see, I tried that trick and all I got was a MESS and a hand with alot of paint on it ........Ha Ha HA

Ya,,well you probably didn't have enough moonshine in your spit LoL

I think you guys are talking about a nib file. I didn't mind them too much for dirt specks but haven't used one in a long time. Use to use it at the dealership I worked for 15 years ago. The only time you could get a clean paint job was when it was raining outside. For little hangers I prefer dulling the corners of a razor blade and shaving the run by scraping with the blade. One trick I sometimes do if it is starting to run is to take the sticky side of the tape and carefully dab the run while its still wet. Of course we never have to use any tricks like these because all our paint jobs are perfect. I use to really hose the clear when I started painting. Now with todays clears I don't think its needed as much. Plus you are asking for trouble if you rush it. Can possibly get solvent popping or a big run. But on the last coat of clear, like to put on a good wet coat.

a razor blade is a painters best friend. shaving sags or shaving the edges of grafixs. you can nick the top off a piece of trash and it will disapear. i rub it on my jeans to keep the edge turned up. you gotta learn to spray and buff. razorblading is just part of it.

For touch ups and removing the blob after fixing a stone chip I have used the Langka solution with excellent results. It works best with factory touch up paints, but will also work with the left over paint you have from when your car was painted, you just have to wait longer before you use the Langka. You can check it out here

http://www.langka.com/

Pat