Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

Hey everyone,

There are alot of rock chips on my front bumper, and its driving me nuts. So I gave the OEM Pen a try, and it looks OKAYY. But when the light hits the car form a different angle, the paint touch up STANDS out liek crazy. There are sooo many chips when you look close. Is there anyway to remove the paint and clear coat i put on and startt over ???

Also is there anything else i can do to my front bumper to make it look brand new (besides re painting) ? There are alot of rock chips.


Help !! PS i know theres a sticky but rock chips but im looking for other alternatives.

Thanks !!

Lunacy

The touch up paint sucks too. I had a chip near my clear corner and the white looked like a hazy gray.

Bullitt

iTrader: (7)

The paint's not perfect, but I like it better than the chips.

cjkim

if it's really bad, just repaint. touchup won't ever be perfect.
it'll only run $300 ish for a good job.

Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

Yea the paint it comes with is slightly lighter (my cars bb). And it stands out. For the clear coat, am i suppose to dab that on too or just streak it over. I streaked it over the new paint and i noticed it was uneven. You could see the new clear coat layer.

Is there anyway to remove the paint and clear coat i put on right now ??? I wanna start over.

derek54

theres no simple solution for that.
1. you can remove the touchup paint with paint thinner. light dabs of paint thinner on the touchup itself. but you'll need to polish the area after because it will leave heavy swirls in the clearcoat. (especially on black) and no the paint thinner doesnt eat straight through the clearcoat unless you're sitting there for a solid minute rubbing it in. factory clearcoat is pretty tough.
2. or you can go full out and build up the touchups with paint and clearcoat until you're pretty much level with the existing plane of the bumper, then sand it flat(extremely carefully) with 2000 grit. and polish it up again. which'll give you a flat surface again... no more dented in rock chip.

I've done both ways cause i do this kind of work for a living. and its easy to screw up (sanding through the clearcoat/heavy sand scratches etc). and a lot of work for a small result. but.. if you're bored and have the materials, then might as well. the more times you try it the easier it gets.

heres and example of #2 for you
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-show-shine-26/ultimate-touchup-183752/

Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

So I dab it with paint and then apply clear coat and THEN sand it down ? Or do I sand after I apply the paint and then add clear coat ?

Do I even need to add the clear coat ? In youur thread you said you didn't add any. But that spot that was touched up won't have any clear coat. Please help these chips are missing me off

derek54

you dont need clearcoat. I only used paint. if you polish the flat sanded paint it turns out shiny anyways.

so just fill the rock chips with paint. sand it down flat. try and sand only the touchup paint. and not the existing clearcoat of the car. its physically impossible lol. but the less clearcoat you sand off your car the better. and then just polish the 2000 grit sand scratches and there ya go.

Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

Quick question .... Will the paint thinner still be able to remove the previously added paint touch up even if its been like a month ? I havent had time to do this. And im worried the touch up paint i put on (which looks absolutely terrible) wont come off.

derek54

yeah it'll come off. it breaks down a heck of a lot easier then stock paint/clearcoat. so it'll melt the touchup paint, and the only damage to your car will be some swirls in the clearcoat.

even if it is a few months old.

just make sure you try in an area thats not too noticable first. till you get the hang of it.

Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

What I'm thinking of doing is putting painters masking tape (blue one) around the chip. And then dab it with thinner. That way I don't **** up my clear coat. Its gna be a bitch to tape up each one but w.e. Good idea ?

derek54

if you have the patience might as well do it like that haha.
I think it might be a little more of a bitch to do it that way. it might still leave some residue (touchup paint) behind after you take the tape off. cause the paint thinner will just thin it out and leave some of the paint still there. where as if you do it without the tape you can just give it a dab of paint thinner and wipe clean.
I'd say just do some trial and error. and don't do the most noticeable chips first.
then you'll get a feel for how harsh the paint thinner is, how much you need to use to get rid of the paint, how much polish you need to do to get rid of any swirls/if there are any etc.

cjkim

thinner won't damage your clear. it will take off your touchup though.
might haze up the clear a bit, but a quick hand polish will cure it.

Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

Is it okay to polish in 2 days after I touch up, cause aren't you supposed to let the paint dry ?

derek54

well are you doing the full out "fill with paint/sand flat/polish"? or just re touching it up a little cleaner?
if you're just re touching it up, then use paint thinner to get the touchup up off. polish out swirls. then. then dab in new paint carefully. (otherwise if you polish after you retouch it up then you'll get polish stuck in the dimple of the rock chip/all around the chip etc). so polish before you touchup. unlesss.....

if you are doing the full out 'ultimate touchup' it's a lot more intensive. it should only take like 10 minutes to dry. then apply more (cause the chip wont fill completely the first time) and keep doing this till every 10 minutes or so till its completely full. once its filled completely maybe give it another 20 minutes just to be safe, and then that'll be plenty enough curing time to sand it flat/polish.

but either way. touchups don't take that long to harden. especially if its in the summer heat.

altspace

iTrader: (2)

Read my sticky post.
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=116991

altspace

iTrader: (2)

I would not recommend painting any of the Mica colored RX-8s yourself. The triple stage paint is very tough to match. I painted my rear splash guards (originally black) in VR. After a couple of color combinations I found that red primer and OEM VR basecoat from www.Automotivetouchup.com worked nearly perfect.

Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

FUCKK !!!! Is all i can say right now. Im doing this process in my garage as i speak. I used paint thinner as recommended to remove the touch up paint i previously used. And guess what its nto coming out !! Not even the clear coat !! The worst thing is i just taped up at LEAST 50 + chips with blue painters tape. I dipped the corner of a papertowel in the thinner then put it right on the touch up. NOT COMING out !!1 Help im panicing cause tomorrow morning i plan on zainoing my car !!

Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

Help I wanna do this now cause if i put it off. Ill have to tape up EACH friken chip which took me like half an hour to do.

phrenetiK

iTrader: (6)

told you dr colorchip :]

04Green

iTrader: (1)

Great data. Wish I had seed it all in one place a few weeks ago....

Touch Up Pens, SUCK. Most of mine dried out, especially clear coat and primer. They suggest a few drops of paint thinner in the pen to fix it, and cleaning the tips after every use. Any idea how to get the thinner in the freaking pen?

Get paint in the little bottles, dab and color with a toothpick, especially for rock chips.

One other thing I found someplace, use a hole punch to cut out little bits of sandpaper, then hot glue to the eraser end of a pencil for sanding in really small spots. I will try after I finish repairing the damage thinking I could just "be careful".

Beautiful work altspace, I wish Cape Code was closer to Florida.

I would also not set out to do more than a few of these at a time unless you are very well versed in power polishers. Then it can default to painting the whole damn thing.

derek54

its probably because of the tape. cause now its like you've made a little border around the chip 1 mm high. so it'll soften the paint up but it cant go anywhere because its stuck inside the chip/tape border. just try one without tape around it.
and don't just tap it with the corner of a paper towel. you'll need to give it a few little light rubs before it'll melt away.
hope it goes well lol

Rotary-RX8

iTrader: (1)

Alright ive done this TWICE now. And guess what it looks better but not like derek54s work. I wanna try one LAST time but was wondering if i can do this in the spring. Winters coming and its getting cold out and i dont have time to do this process aagain then polish the car again. So will i be able to remove the touch up paint in the spring after i drive the car in winter ? Will paint thinner still be able to remove it ?