Well i'm fairly new to detailing and getting rid of scratches and chips. I have a winning blue rx8, so I'm guessing the 1st step would be to get some genuine winning blue touch up paint as soon as possible. Or should I avoid that and go for something else?

Also one scratch on the rear bumper is pretty deep.

 

I'm also interested in this for a BB

so bump!

 

pictures would help. the size of the repair depends on the size of the problem, obviously. but wut most people don't understand is that most of the time to get something to look right, especially with metallics and pearls, the whole panel needs to be repainted!

i am a painter and will give as much advice as i can over the internet.

 

pictures please.

techerpaintball bring up a very good point. Typically it's not as simple as just using touch up paint. Besides, be very careful with the touch up paint, not knowing how to apply it properly could just make it look worse.

what kind of scratches are we talking about? Fine scratches? swirl marks?

 

If you're looking for a band-aid fix then less is more.. less paint just in the affected area will give the best result. It won't look invisible but if the scratch is very noticeable it might help. if you have deep chips don't expect paint to suddenly turn into filler.

 

in my opinion the scratch looks better than the paintbrush fix. infact it makes it harder for the painter to fix when u take it to them. more sanding, and the "fix" makes it harder to see how much damage is actually there.

 

not to mention that the touch up paint usually turns white after a while. (no clear coat)

 

true, and there's no guarantee the paint is going to match ur car, even if u get the paint code or buy specific touch up paint. hence the reason such a big area has to be painted.

 

here are the pics







The first 2 is harder to see it in the picture, but actually it is more noticable.

 

you might be able to get away with just some compound on the first two

 

the first two u should be able to buff out... the one on the bumper and above the fuel door, im guessing, both need to be done by a painter. if u want a quick fix you could go to an automotive paint store and get them to match your paint and ask for a touch up bottle of "single stage" paint. single stage does not require clear coat so it shouldn't discolor form sun exposure. put as little as possible to to cover the damaged area. as far as the last one, u could do the same thing but its gonna stand out. again, its not going to look good unless u take it to somebody that knows wut they r doing. the advice i gave u is only a temporary fix. good luck.

i forgot, if you get too much material in one spot u can wipe it off with a shop towel as long as its still wet. however, wiping will most likely mean u have to take everything back off. and make sure you don't leave streaks on the good areas. and looking at the bumper pic again... the lines going up from the main part of the damage, don't try to brush onto those... it will look really bad. just focus on the the sideways line at the lip.

 

Hi techerpaintball, I have similar type of chips on my metalic black and would appreciate your comments on products such as sold by dr colorchip and langka.com. Do they actually work or will I be better off just getting the chip touched up lighty with a microbrush to blend in? Thank you.

 

Meguiars Scratch X- In my stickied thread... worked for small surface scratches.

 

i personally don't trust any touch up kits. but that is just because i am a painter. if you want to try them you could just for a temporary fix. but nothing is going to look as good as a painter that knows wut they are doing.

 

I just wish I could find a painter in SE Mass who knows what they're doing!

 

What??? Langka or Dr. Colorchip (pick either- you can't go wrong.. personally I have Langka) will do the job, especially for spots where you can feel the paint missing with your nail. The fuel lid area in the pic. is perfect. Painting that over normally would cost allot, cause nasty paint overspray, color inconsistencies, and kill the planet Get the Mazda OEM touch-up paint ($5 from dealership?) and one of these (may have to order online). It's def. not a temporary fix, and no one but yourself who intimately knows your car's paint will know that the area had been touched-up. It may take up to 3 applications to completely will it and have it blend perfectly, but persist, and you will be rewarded BTW, the nice thing about these kits is that a kid can do it (no joke).. apply the OEM touch-up paint liberally, have it dry completely, then use the blob eliminator (in the case of Langka) to remove all the excess stuff that goes beyond the chip. Also, for the extra-paranoid, the blob elim. can also undo all of the touch-up paint in the event your clumsy hand put it all over the car. It's not damaging like paint thinner either.

For the scratches on your fender, use Meguiar's Scratch-X; the scratch may still be there in the clearcoat at certain angles of light, but shouldn't be visible from a foot. Try the Scratch-X too on the rear bumper. It should help a bit if that's a rash; will take most of it off if it's paint transferred from whatever hit you. If it is a rash, you can try the touch-up paint kit to mask some of it.. if you can't live with what's left, only then get it repainted.

 

^ the only reason i don't trust any touch up kits is because i am a painter. im not trying to bash them. if they work for u thats cool. i just think repainting looks a lot better... but ever since WyoTech i can't look at cars without seeing paint flaws. i get kinda **** when it comes to cars, especially mine.

 

^ That's cool. I'm a detailing maniac myself. I don't use my touch-up paint that much since a clear bra covers most of my front that's chip-prone, but for rogue rock chips that bounce their way to my door or further down the hood, it gets the job done very well. I'm sure for 90% of people, they won't be able to detect a properly done touch-up, even if the car is entered in a show (just not a Concours lol).

 

hey gundarx, what is the process you do when u wash and wax ur 8?

 

I've been trying to "wax" just occasionally to avoid adding swirls and fine scratches. It usually takes me about 3 hours to wash the car- most of the time is spent on drying; I use a wash mitt, Zaino shampoo, a hose of course, microfiber towels to dry, my trusty OXO trim brush for the underside and the wheels, a cheap wash mitt so I can clean the insides of the wheels, fenders, and exhaust. It becomes a chore during winter.. I need at least 40 deg. weather and a bucket filled with hot water where I mix the shampoo. There was this one time where I felt so bad for the car with the road salt though that I was washing it in 18 deg. weather (with a hose, no joke!); after 5 minutes, I realized everything was icing over.. what's worse is that the windshield was all iced up from the water, it took forever to clear it so I can see the road to park the car.. epic fail LOL. Once a year I do a full detail process, where I wash the car thoroughly, clay bar, wrap non-painted surfaces with painter's tape, give 2-3 passes with my orbital buffer on the paint, do the same for the plastic surfaces with plastic polish, and apply many layers of Zaino Z5, Z2, Z6, Z3 (for the non-clear coated stuff). The polish goes everywhere I see paint under the hood, inside doors (I first used citrus to remove all the goo and excess adhesive/oil), and the interior too. I spent a good 2/3 of a day for the buffing and the first half of the Zaino bit and spend 2 more 1/2 days with the car in the garage to detail the rest. The day after it was taken to RotorJam.. I was up until 4am finishing the little details and polishing the metal bits too, especially the exhaust can.. I nearly crashed while driving in the morning because of being so exhausted LOL. This year I'll have Z8 and the Z-CS to play with

// end thread jack; sorry

 

damn... i need to get myself a routine like that. the only thing i have to say is, when ur using ur buffer u need to be careful not to burn off all of ur clear coat or u will be forced to go to a painter. depending on the compounds u use when buffing u take off some of the clear coat to make it shine again. i don't know anything about those Zaino products, but a lot of people on here talk about them.

 

and another thing about using those chip fix kits, again im not bashing on them im just pointing something out. if u have a Whitewater Pearl or the Velocity Red Mica for example, u have a "Tri-Stage" paint. which means there is the Base Coat (color), Specialty Coat (Pearls, Micas...), and the Clear Coat. having the base and specialty coat mixed together is going to make it look different than the rest of the paint. it takes a trained eye to see the proper amount of pearls to go over the base to match the rest of the car. but if it is just a little spot that nobody is going to see unless they r three inches away from the surface of ur car then by all means, use the chip fix. just keep in mind that if somebody is going over ur car with a fine tooth comb they r going to see it.

 

It's a random orbital buffer (Porter Cable 7424).. It's not the same machine used by most pros that can do the job faster at the expense of risking paint burn. I've used it on 2 family Hondas with very good results and my 8. I've never handled a buffer before, but it's so easy, I even had my friend try it for a couple passes on my former much-loved car just to take his curiosity away. You can't burn the paint even on its fastest setting. The only thing is not to force any more pressure than what gravity gives you, or the foam pads will sort of destroy themselves.

Oh and Zaino's good stuff. You're a painter and I'm sure if you had the choice, you'd prefer keeping the original paint on your car forever rather than repainting. Most polishes on the market are abrasive, meaning they will thin the paint bit-by-bit. Zaino (except for the Z-PC) will just keep adding on and never remove the original paint layer. It's shampoo also somehow manages not to strip the Zaino'd paint as would most other products (and you end up having to wax again after a car wash).. I think it actually conditions the paint. You really can get away with a great finish just by one application of Zaino for a year and washing every now and then and the occasional detail spray (Z6).

 

^ about the chip.. that's why the OEM touch-up paint is recommended (not just some mix-and-match at the Home Depot, etc). It's not the same as the factory finish that's on the car; but is designed so that one layer/application will have a very similar look, even without the clearcoat layer.