[Domitian]

So I was backing into a parking space and hit a sign that was already bent over from other cars backing into the same parking space. As I was too cheap to get PPF on my entire car and only got it done for the front end, It made the scratch in the below photos unfortunately, right through the Rapid Blue paint.

How should I fix this? Would basic touch-up kits like this one (https://scratcheshappen.ca/shop/touc...ue-gmo-wa632d/) work?
Or does the body shop have to get involved?

[PostalLDMC]

You're going to need a little Bondo to fill the hole it looks over 1/32 deep. You can't use just the filler in a tub it won't work. Just tape the area the best you can so when you sand>lightly< you don't scuff more of your paint. Then you can use the GM touch up paint really sparingly. It will take about 3or 4 lite coats. Just enough to cover and match the color don't get to much on. Good luck.

[NovaSS4spdFan]

To begin with, the repair will always be conspicuous so accept that. Don't reshoot the bumper; even that small area.
Because you created a cavity the temptation to fill it in will be there. Don't because you will need to block sand and feather it.
If it were mine, I tape around it and apply one fill in of the factory touchup at a time using the bottom portion of a match (not stick type) rather than a brush. One coat a day( sounds too long, right) over a period of perhaps 5-6 days. If you haven't filled the cavity and it's still within the boundaries of the scar, repeat. When you feel a ridge, obtain some 2000 and 3000 grit wet or dry, CA glue a mini disk of the sandpaper to the top of a pencil eraser and gently wet cut( soapy water), wipe with a micro fiber towel often. Repeat.When it looks level, apply the clear- two coats.
You're going to see it, but it shouldn't detract from the value of the car. Of greatest importance, you won't have a Carfax report from a body shop that collected insurance money. That would hurt the car value.

[Deacon Blues]

To add to the already great advice in this thread, I have used these tools to great effect when I've got minor/thin scratches on my cars/truck. I find much greater control and distribution than what you can get with the paint pen in a standard touch up kit.


https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Shop-F...s%2C121&sr=8-4

[Domitian]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Originally Posted by NovaSS4spdFan

To begin with, the repair will always be conspicuous so accept that. Don't reshoot the bumper; even that small area.
Because you created a cavity the temptation to fill it in will be there. Don't because you will need to block sand and feather it.
If it were mine, I tape around it and apply one fill in of the factory touchup at a time using the bottom portion of a match (not stick type) rather than a brush. One coat a day( sounds too long, right) over a period of perhaps 5-6 days. If you haven't filled the cavity and it's still within the boundaries of the scar, repeat. When you feel a ridge, obtain some 2000 and 3000 grit wet or dry, CA glue a mini disk of the sandpaper to the top of a pencil eraser and gently wet cut( soapy water), wipe with a micro fiber towel often. Repeat.When it looks level, apply the clear- two coats.
You're going to see it, but it shouldn't detract from the value of the car. Of greatest importance, you won't have a Carfax report from a body shop that collected insurance money. That would hurt the car value.

So both you and Postal mention taping, and applying multiple coats.
Are we talking about the green painters' tape here?

Also, about applying multiple coats -> the touch up kit includes both clear coat and paint, so do you mean applying clear coat and paint once a day, and then the next day putting clear coat on top of the earlier paint, and then paint on top of the new clear coat?

I will get the Bondo too thanks for the suggestion.
By the way, isn't it odd that below the paint the metal is black? shouldn't it be a steel colour? Maybe there is an additional substance between the paint and the underlying steel.

[cdrptrks]

The bumper covers are made of plastic not steel.

I agree on layering paint base (color) coat layers over time to fill it instead of using Bondo since it is such a small area. You can also use toothpicks or these to apply the touchup paint precisely: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6D0207

The official Chevy touchup paint for my car looked fine when I applied it in the garage but it clearly does not match when viewed in the sun and I found others with the same complaint online. This paint is a perfect match in the sun and the 2oz bottle I bought years ago is still perfectly preserved because it has an airtight seal. Other touch up paints I have previously bought from other sellers have not sealed well so they dry up over time and constantly release bad smelling fumes from the container. I would not recommend the 1/2 oz bottle from the seller I linked above because I bought 1/2 oz of primer in the same order as my 2 oz color bottle and the primer was already dried up the first time I tried to use it this year.

[Deacon Blues]

Originally Posted by cdrptrks

The bumper covers are made of plastic not steel.

I agree on layering paint base (color) coat layers over time to fill it instead of using Bondo since it is such a small area. You can also use toothpicks or these to apply the touchup paint precisely: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6D0207

The official Chevy touchup paint for my car looked fine when I applied it in the garage but it clearly does not match when viewed in the sun and I found others with the same complaint online. This paint is a perfect match in the sun and the 2oz bottle I bought years ago is still perfectly preserved because it has an airtight seal. Other touch up paints I have previously bought from other sellers have not sealed well so they dry up over time and constantly release bad smelling fumes from the container. I would not recommend the 1/2 oz size from the seller I linked above because I bought 1/2 oz of primer in the same order as my 2 oz color bottle and the primer was already dried up the first time I tried to use it this year.

All of this is great advice, and indeed, I can attest that Chevy black does not seem to match perfectly in my experience. A shade lighter, although cutting with compound and polish did help a lot. Still more "gray" than I'd like. I'm interested to try the site you recommended, I have some scratches to fill on my Silverado after a rough winter.

[Domitian]

For some reason I was under the impression clear coats went under the color coat, an idiotic assumption. Clear coats go on top to protect the base coat.
With that in mind I reread Nova's post and it now makes sense.
I will layer up the base and then clear coat and post photos no matter how it goes.

Also a relief to hear that the rear bumper cover is plastic - I was already panicking about the possibility of rust

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Domitian

For some reason I was under the impression clear coats went under the color coat, an idiotic assumption. Clear coats go on top to protect the base coat.
With that in mind I reread Nova's post and it now makes sense.
I will layer up the base and then clear coat and post photos no matter how it goes.

Also a relief to hear that the rear bumper cover is plastic - I was already panicking about the possibility of rust

The front bumper is plastic, too, and in the right light at the right angles you'll see that the bumpers have a slightly different hue from the fenders (that are metal). Nature of the beast unfortunately.

The touch-up advice in this thread is great, I've got nothing to add except be patient, don't rush the job and don't panic either

[Ray3768]

I seem to be getting some decent results with a touch-up paint kit bought from paintscratch.com. The kit includes a base coat paint pen, a clear coat paint pen, a small bottle of lacquer thinner, and a plastic squeeze pouch of rubbing compound. Their website has plenty of instructions and some youtube research proved helpful. The first week I had my car the driver's door managed to get away from me and lightly tapped the other car in my garage. That car has a cover on it and my first thought there's no way that damaged anything. Then of course I get out of the Camaro and discover that the edge of my door is chipped. That's some great paint you got there GM.

In addition to the touch-up kit, I also bought some 2000 grit wet/dry sand paper and a larger container of lacquer thinner. I already had some 1000 grit wet/dry paper in stock.

On Saturday, I applied some of the base coat to a white paper plate (white because my primer is white) to check the color match. It is spot on. The paint pen tip was cleaned in lacquer thinner.

Yesterday afternoon I began the repair. Some blue painter's tape was applied to limit the work area. A small strip of 1000 grit paper was wet and I gently scuffed the area of the chip. The sanding debris were washed away with some ammonia glass cleaner on a folded up paper towel. I hit the work area with a small heat gun to evaporate any remaining glass cleaner.

I pressed the base coat paint pen tip on my paper plate to discharge some paint. The paint was applied to the chip with a tooth pick, just enough was used to fill in the chip. The heat gun was used to accelerate the drying so a second coat could be applied. The second coat was dried with the heat gun as well.

At this point the base coat was not real smooth. I went against all advice and gently sanded the base coat with dry (the base coat is water based, wet sanding would remove the base coat) 1000 grit paper to smooth it out. From what I've read, sanding the base coat, especially when it's metallic paint, is not good. It looked okay to me so I applied three coats of clear with a tooth pick, drying them with the heat gun in between applications.

The three coats of clear stick up slightly above the factory clear leaving enough material to be wet sanded with 1000 grit then 2000 grit. This should knock it down to the level of the factory clear coat. A final polish with the kit supplied rubbing compound should make this repair nearly invisible. I decided to let the clear coat dry overnight so the final sanding and polishing has not been completed yet.

Sorry to hijack the OP's thread, but I felt this info may be helpful. Finally, here are some pics of the progress. Note that the last picture makes it appear to be complete but it is not.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Ray3768

I seem to be getting some decent results with a touch-up paint kit bought from paintscratch.com. The kit includes a base coat paint pen, a clear coat paint pen, a small bottle of lacquer thinner, and a plastic squeeze pouch of rubbing compound. Their website has plenty of instructions and some youtube research proved helpful. The first week I had my car the driver's door managed to get away from me and lightly tapped the other car in my garage. That car has a cover on it and my first thought there's no way that damaged anything. Then of course I get out of the Camaro and discover that the edge of my door is chipped. That's some great paint you got there GM.

In addition to the touch-up kit, I also bought some 2000 grit wet/dry sand paper and a larger container of lacquer thinner. I already had some 1000 grit wet/dry paper in stock.

On Saturday, I applied some of the base coat to a white paper plate (white because my primer is white) to check the color match. It is spot on. The paint pen tip was cleaned in lacquer thinner.

Yesterday afternoon I began the repair. Some blue painter's tape was applied to limit the work area. A small strip of 1000 grit paper was wet and I gently scuffed the area of the chip. The sanding debris were washed away with some ammonia glass cleaner on a folded up paper towel. I hit the work area with a small heat gun to evaporate any remaining glass cleaner.

I pressed the base coat paint pen tip on my paper plate to discharge some paint. The paint was applied to the chip with a tooth pick, just enough was used to fill in the chip. The heat gun was used to accelerate the drying so a second coat could be applied. The second coat was dried with the heat gun as well.

At this point the base coat was not real smooth. I went against all advice and gently sanded the base coat with dry (the base coat is water based, wet sanding would remove the base coat) 1000 grit paper to smooth it out. From what I've read, sanding the base coat, especially when it's metallic paint, is not good. It looked okay to me so I applied three coats of clear with a tooth pick, drying them with the heat gun in between applications.

The three coats of clear stick up slightly above the factory clear leaving enough material to be wet sanded with 1000 grit then 2000 grit. This should knock it down to the level of the factory clear coat. A final polish with the kit supplied rubbing compound should make this repair nearly invisible. I decided to let the clear coat dry overnight so the final sanding and polishing has not been completed yet.

Sorry to hijack the OP's thread, but I felt this info may be helpful. Finally, here are some pics of the progress. Note that the last picture makes it appear to be complete but it is not.

Ray, this is a great job, thank you for sharing. I understand that the chip will not be invisible in the end, but still, this is probably the best DIY one can do.

I would not advise against sanding the basecoat with high grit sandpaper when one can't apply it smoothly enough, ie it is not coming from a paint gun or at least a quality spray can. Since you cleaned up all sanding residue and then polished the clear after application, the basecoat should look almost as good as factory.

[SamSmoothCastel]

thats a hole, not a scratch

[fj5gtx]

Originally Posted by Deacon Blues

To add to the already great advice in this thread, I have used these tools to great effect when I've got minor/thin scratches on my cars/truck. I find much greater control and distribution than what you can get with the paint pen in a standard touch up kit.


https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Shop-F...s%2C121&sr=8-4

Those look cool, how do they work for a vertical surface... seems like the paint would spill out of the cup.

[Deacon Blues]

Originally Posted by fj5gtx

Those look cool, how do they work for a vertical surface... seems like the paint would spill out of the cup.

There is a cap (at least on the one I have) but there is also sort of a vacuum/suction effect that keeps the paint in the reservoir as well. I have only painted on vertical surfaces (door panels and a tailgate) and didn't have any issues with spillage whatsoever. This thing is honestly the best $10 I spent for someone who is really obsessive about rock chips and scratches, even on my daily driver.