Paint Touch Up and Hole Filling

[Ryoen]

Not a question about where to buy the paint, but how to do it properly:So, I was washing my car this morning, and I seemed to have gotten a little aggressive with my power sprayer. I somehow managed to blow a chuck of the paint off my car underneath the driver side door.So yeah, pretty nasty looking. Its about a half an inch, by one and a half inch in size. My question here is, is the area too large to use touch up paint ? And also, how should I properly prepare the area to be painted, follow instructions on the bottle?Next question:This has been bugging the heck out of me ever since I got the car. Is there anyway I mask this screw hole? It was made there to hold the dealer's plate I bought my Vibe from and I would love to get rid of it. It would be one thing if it was a real plate holder put there, but the dealer just took two screws and drove it into the front bumper.

[MRCN RCE]

welcome to genvibe. i'm not so sure about the paint issue, but that's a problem with vibes, the paint quality leaves a lot to be desired someone here will be able to help you out. we've got a lot of pros on this forum i'm in the same situation with my front bumper. go here for a post i did about fixin it:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=30145

[VivaVibe]

Quote, originally posted by Ryoen »...I seemed to have gotten a little aggressive with my power sprayer. I somehow managed to blow a chuck of the paint off my car underneath the driver side door... is the area too large to use touch up paint ? And also, how should I properly prepare the area to be painted, follow instructions on the bottle?First off, why on earth are you using a power sprayer on your car? Stop while you still have paint! Even a hose nozzle sprayer can be too harsh.The damaged area is prone to kicking and it's on the cladding which probably flexes somewhat. So it's not surprising that this could happen. It's fairly common in most cars regardless of paint quality.You can buy the touch up paint in a spray can. I'd say clean the area and lightly sand, then spray with several light coats. I believe Whelan can tell you how to properly blend it in. Follow with some clear coat, then polish and wax about 2 weeks after.Oh, and recently saw a post about someone selling screw hole covers. They might work for your bumper.

[Whelan]

OK few steps you can follow here.For the hole from the license plate, get some Bondo or plastic epoxy and fill the hole. Do that first!Once you have it filled even if it's not level with the rest of the body who cares, now you can wetsand it down with a 1000 then 2000 grit wetsand paper. Once this is done, give the other areas a good 2000 wetsanding. This will even off the flaking and such.Since it is plastic polymer paneling you will not need to use a lot of paint.http://www.paintscratch.com is the source for body matched spray paint, great stuff to use.When painting follow these rules:1) After sanding prep the area with a quick rag of paint thinner to clean the area well.2) Tape and newspaper go a loooong way in protecting other parts of the car.3) 3-5 Coats max on the area you are covering. Go over lightly and make only two passes per coat. Do not worry if you don't cover the whole area in one shot, let it sit for a good 10-15 solid and reapply again. go in left to right strokes as well to ensure a uniform application. 4) Get the clearcoat they offer as well. The clearcoat you can get from Home Depot as a Rustoleum but I would stick with an Automotive brand to ensure a good gloss. Dealing with a light color like silver, painscratch.com can really match well since you give them the paint codes and what not. One can should be enough. The clear coat is the most crucial part.5) After the first 2 applications of clearcoat, let them dry completely, then wetsand with 2000 paper very easily to smooth out the ripple effect. Then wipe clean with a wet rag, dry and apply one more coat nice and easy.Viola!!!

[Ryoen]

Wow thanks for the replies. I should have included this in the original post, but, the area around the screw hole has been pulled up some from the drilling. Should the sanding take care of that also? The best way I can describe it is the two holes look like two tiny volcanos if you are looking down at it. Also, when protecting the rest of the car with newspaper. Should I get the paper as close to the damaged area, or 5-6 inches around it?

[Whelan]

I would go as close to the area where you are working with papering.I would also do the epoxy bondo work first, then sand so it keeps it uniform. Also please note it does take some paint and bondo and bodywork experience to do this properly or else you will not get the desired results. If you are unsure of yourself, do the safe route, get all the prep work done for the painting, bring it to a shop and have them do some blending. Shouldn't cost more than $100.

[Ryoen]

Hmm, I have looked into finding a body shop to do this for me. I haven't called any for estimates mostly due to them only being open on the weekdays. I have an odd work schedule, which makes it difficult find a place that can do this.If only my car was made of wood, I could fix this in no time XD