When you take your car in for auto body work, the mechanic will have a lot of work to do. Each minute that the mechanic spends prepping your car to make the repairs is money that you will owe when the repairs are finished. So, is there anything that you can do to make the mechanic's job a little easier and lower the cost of the repairs for you? This blog is all about preparing vehicles for auto body repairs. Here, you will learn what prep-work you can do at home so that the repairs are completed more quickly and the cost is less.
Paint chips on your car's body are pretty much unavoidable. But, this does not necessarily mean that you need to live with them. There are many different solutions to paint chips, but this article explains how you can do it yourself. Of course, some paint chips are not going to be very easy to fix.
Is Your Paint Chip Fixable?
Most small paint chips can be easily fixed. But, if there is rusting, then it is going to be a far more complicated process. If possible, you always want to repair your paint chip before any rust starts to form. Of course, it is possible to repair paint chips once there is rusting, but the job is more complicated because it requires sanding, priming, more paint, and much more labor. But, when paint chips are just small, and there is no rust, they can usually be fixed with a few basic supplies.
Simple Repairs
The first thing you do is prepare the damaged area. You want to clean it as well as possible using some denatured alcohol. You can use a cotton swab, soaked in a little bit of alcohol too lightly rub over the chipped area. This should help remove any dirt or wax within the chip.
Next, you have to paint and prime the chip. You want to apply a very small amount of primer directly into the chip. That is, you just want to get the area of the chip where the paint is removed. you don't want the primer getting onto the old paint. So, you can use a toothpick, or even a cotton swab to spread the primer. Let the primer drive for at least an hour before moving onto the next step.
Finally, you have to apply the actual paint. Touch up paint is sold in small, easy-to-use bottles. They have a brush built into the lid, very similar to a nail polish brush. Obviously, when you are working within such small areas, you aren't exactly brushing the paint on, you are really just dabbing it. Test the paint to make sure it matches in a discrete part of your car body before applying it to the chip. Most paint jobs will require two or three coats. Just make sure that you wait long enough between each coat for the paint to dry completely.
This simple repair of small paint chips will prevent them from rusting and becoming larger. Contact a shop, like Olson's Auto Body, for more help.
Share