I’m sure we’re all well acquainted with the little stone chipping that spring up and breed across the bonnet of our lovely little roadsters. Being so low, they are quite vulnerable to the micro comets. I always seem to find a new comer on my weekly clean.
Does anybody have any tips on the best course to take? See a professional? Try and tend to them myself? Or should I accept the imperfections that are close to guaranteed when you tread the tarmac in such a low lying car… any thoughts?
Biggest problem with touching up stone chips yourself is the brush that is fitted in the lid of most touch up kits. However much you try to apply a small amount you end up with way too much. Start off with 1mm wide and 0.5mm deep chip and finish up with a 4mm wide and 2mm high mound of paint proud of the surface. I’m sure you have been there!
I came across an excellent product called ‘Fine Tip Paint Application Spears’. The ones I have are branded ‘HUBY-340’. Search ‘paint spears’ on eBay and you can find a pack of 25 double ended ones for £4.99.
Using these is rather time consuming. They don’t soak up a lot of paint and it’s more like colouring in with a felt tip pen. Even a small chip will take a few layers to fill to the required level. More importantly though you can fill chips rather than having a bonnet that looks like it is covered with mole hills.
Give it a try. If you can do a decent DIY job it’s a double winner, save money and pride in a job well done.
I think there’s always going to be a large amount of reluctance in me to do it myself given the horror if it didn’t go to plan…! That said, you’re right to mention the pride of a job well done.
Just the very Spears you mentioned - now forgive me if this seems like a silly comment - the only experience I have with applying paint to a vehicle is on a plastic piece covering the towing eye. Conveniently, it could be removed and sprayed in an area well away from the pride and joy itself.
Touching up stone chips would require a different paint altogether - is this something I should source from Mazda themselves? Further to that - is it something to be completed outside,and in a day? I live in the pennines you see, sun on one day by no means guarantees the same will follow tomorrow!
For those minute stone chips I have found that using a tiny amount of touch up paint on the end
of a cocktail stick, and by just touching the chip, enough paint is transferred to the blemish. It can be built up
with several applications in a similar way.
I’m assuming you can still pick up some of the imperfections upon closer scrutiny? At the minute, I have one particularly ugly one one my driver’s side wheel arch. It appears that as the stone hit it it skipped a couple of times, leaving a decent size chip (for my eagle eyes) and a few stragglers in it’s wake.
It has exposed bare metal which is a worry for the long term consequences - though not right now as its only 18 months old.
Cocktail sticks are a good alternative but the paint spears do actually soak up a bit of paint and hold the paint where it will still run off a cocktail stick.
I’m assuming the stone chips are obvious because the primer is showing. It will always be difficult to fill everything perfectly level but this isn’t really necessary. Just getting some paint in there to hide the primer will make it look so much better. You will have to look very close to see the finished result. Blobs on top will always be obvious.
Genuine Mazda paint will usually be supplied with an additional lacquer. Check out eBay and you will find paint mixed to any colour with the lacquer combined with the paint. Technically this may not be as good but for stone chips I find it does a great job.
Weather isn’t a problem. As long as it isn’t chucking down. Wipe the area dry and touch your chips in. You will be using so little paint it will dry in minutes. I would say it should be ready for a polish over in half an hour.
I have a Mark 4 N.D in Soul Red which is quite diff to touch up as you have to put lacquer on after to match,but i have found the perfect simple way to touch up small chips ,i have had about 4/5 on my car and what i do is i purchased a chip stick basically like a lipstick but more solid firm wax,if cold i slightly warm it,then rub it hard into the small chip,the square corner of the chip edge pulls the wax stick into the chip so basically it is full of hard wax,then i also have a tin of coloured car polish which is basically red,i rub that very generously over the chip then leave to go very dry either all day or over night roughly,then i rub a little more red poilish over it to slightly soften,then about 10 mins later polish it all off,it basically fills the chip hole and makes it totally imposs to see at all,although spread over little time it only takes coiple of mins to do,result no chip at all.
Chipex do a good touch up kit which includes a rubbing solution. You apply the paint quite liberally so it sits proud, wait until dry then use the rubbing compound which flattens the paint and blends it with the surrounding area. For most colours it works a treat. I’ve touched up numerous chips on my NC and you wouldn’t know there had been any there. I would guess you should be able to buy some rubbing solution from a paint supplier but if you buy the kit from Chipex you get the paint, rubbing/blending solution, cloths and applicators. You’ll have enough to do loads of stone chips.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Chipex. It was recommended to me and I’ve found it to be very good. Others may have had different experiences.
Hi Simon - sounds like a good trick you have there! I too have an ND, but in white. I suspect on my little past experience that a white car is somewhat more forgiving than a red on, as the colour is not quite as deep.
Could you possibly tell me the wax you use to touch up the chips? I could pick some up myself and give it a go.
I know it’s only a chip or two (or more) but these small imperfections are easily spotted by my eagle eyes when I polish the car. All the imperfections, however small, seem huge! As I’m sure you understand yourself
With you 100% on all of that. Good to hear that the technique works on a Soul Red ND, after one myself!
Many stone chips are only scuffs of the lacquer. Colour match polish will do the trick on most of these. The chip sticks followed by the polish will remove worse scuffs. A small amount of touch up paint in anything down to primer or metal will do the worse ones.
Bought a three year old black Nissan Juke last year. It had been polished with ordinary white polish when we got it and the paintwork looked rather tired with many minor scuffs and chips. A good polish with black ‘Colour Magic’ polish sorted virtually everything. Just one chip on the bonnet that needed some paint and a scuff on the bumper that took a little use of paint restorer (Autoglym version of t-cut) and a chip stick followed by more polish.
Here’s the way I look at it. The bumper scuff is around five inches long on the front corner. It was clearly visible when approaching the car from a distance. I’ve got it to a stage where it is totally invisible when you stand next to the car. No one would ever see it unless I pointed it out and they bent down to look very closely. That’s good enough for me.
Start with a colour match polish and then walk around the car and look from a distance of around a metre. If you can see nothing you are finished.
Anything else, try the chip stick. Anything else move on to paint.
Not worth painting them as it always looks a pig’s ear afterwards. Get a wax crayon the right colour (err on the darker side) and fill the chip, then wax over with your usual stuff. It can last years.
I had some lacquer peel right under the headlght (Mk3) and everytime I looked at the front I could spot this glaring at me (1st picture)
I had a touch up kit with lacquer so set about preparing the area by removing the flaky stuff, it was only around 1 inch long piece missing lacquer. I then gently flatted the area down with wet n dry to make a key for new lacquer, then applied lacquer in around 4 layers then flatted the area again once all dry. After that I used Autoglym scratch remover and SRP to buff the area up, plenty of elbow action and all sorted.
I went back out to take the final picture and had a job finding the area that I’d just touched in, see pictures.
I fixed a deep gouge in the bonnet in a similar way with paint and lacquer.
Yes Mick, not too far away now? I’m struggling to get the front bumper as I want it though? A coat of primer showed up the " ripples " in the filler? Everywhere else is coming along nicely so will persevere, the last thing I want is any signs of the many holes left by the badge and number plate plinth, showing through? You’re right about other stuff getting in the way too? I’ve spent the weekend rejigging the garage to accommodate the old fridge freezer, today I’m sorting mother in laws, carport downpipe after removing a water butt. Tomorrow I’m sorting Mrs B’ s Audi out, it’s going to Sytner, Leeds for a recall, MOT and major service so we’re dropping it off at 07.30, then I have to get her to work in Bradford, then get home and do the reverse at the other end of the day. Wednesday, I’m in hospital and so it goes on! How did I used to fit all this in and work?
