How to Properly Repair Paint Chips

The repair of a scratch and a chip is the same. A scratch is merely a chip on uni-directional steroids. Touchup or color matched paint
Compatible primer - I like Worth Ruston primer
Organic cleaner - P21S Total Auto Wash or Worth Citrus Degreaser
Solvent - Rubbing Alcohol or Prep sol or Enamel Reducer
3M Imperial Hand Glaze
Sanding Block 2000 grit
Car wash
600 grit wet/dry sandpaper
Round undid wooden toothpicks
Large lightweight cardboard boxes (large shoe box or bigger)
Several 100% cotton towels
New Pencils with unused erasers
Rubber glue
Several heavy clean plastic cups
Roll of quality paint masking tape
Paint chip repair is a learned skill and should be practiced on an area of the car that is not that visible. Test all cleaners or solvents on the paint before usage. Apply a little cleaner or solvent to a clothe and rub the seam. If you do not get any color on the rag, then the cleaner/solvent should be safe for the paint. CHIP REPAIR STEPS:
2. Step #1: Wash the car with a high quality car wash and dry thoroughly.
3. Paint chips come in two flavors. If there is rust on the exposed metal, clean off with the pencil eraser. If you do not feel comfortable with sanding or your paint is one of the new clear-coated finishes, you should jump to step number 5. Take a new pencil/sandpaper tool, dip into clean water and put the few drops of water on the chip area. *SLIGHTLY* rough up the chip and a small portion of the surrounding paint. Keep the roughed up area as small as possible, the object is to give the new paint about one mm of old paint to "grab" around the perimeter of the chip and not dig scratches.
Depending on the amount of time available, you may wish to tackle 10-20 chips at one time. Use additional solvent and new area of the rag for each chip. 6. If the original primer is intact, and "pencil sanding" does not disturb the primer, then skip the next step and go directly to painting (# 9)
7. Make sure that the chip and surrounding area is clean. If not, recline with the Prepsol, Alcohol or Enamel Reducer. Pour or spray a small amount of primer into a clean plastic cup. Dip the point of a wooden toothpick into the primer to get a thin coating on the first 1-2 mm of the toothpick. If there is a blob on the end, gently scrape it back into the cup. Place the tip of the toothpick against the center of the chip and allow capillary action to literally flow a *THIN* coat of the primer into the depression of the chip. Move onto the next prepared chip. Apply another thin coat of primer to each repair that needs primer. Priming is completed when no metal is visible and the level of the primer is *BELOW* the level of the surrounding paint. Cover and allow drying for two hours or until dry.
8. Apply a small amount of Alcohol or Prepsol or Enamel Reducer to a rag and wipe the chip and surrounding area to remove any sanding dust and grease/oils. Allow to dry. Repeat for all the chips that are on today's list of victims.
9. If you are using a touchup, shake the bottle thoroughly. If you are using color-matched paint, mix thoroughly and pour a small amount into a clean plastic cup.
10. Dip the point of a new toothpick into the paint to get a thin coating on the first 1-2 mm of the toothpick. Place the tip of the toothpick against the center of the chip and allow capillary action to literally flow the paint into the depression of the chip. Repeat for each chip. Do not redo the toothpick. Fight it!
11. Cover with your paint box and allow to dry two hours and repeat 8-12 times till the depression is filled with paint and bulges slightly upward and covers the roughed up area with a thin coating of paint. 12. The paint application is completed when the new paint bulges slightly upward (a fraction of a millimeter) and had covered the roughed up area with a thin coat of new paint. Allow the paint to dry for at least a week.
13. The touchup paint has been applied to the surface and allowed to dry for at least one week, and resembles a minute mound on the flat plane of the existing paint. The object is to remove the mound and make the surface of the paint one continual flat plane. The Finesse Block offers the ability gently to remove only the high spot of the repair. 14. Soak the Finesse Block in clean water for 24 hours before use. Put a small drop of car wash on the chip repair. Then gently "plane" the high spot on the paint. If the block dries out, re-wet and continue use. I prefer 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. Circles are many times the cause of "swirl marks." Buff out with a soft cotton clothe. If it looks good, wax with a quality hard wax and you are done.
16. Tip for applying wax. If you are using a quality Carnauba based wax, try applying it with your fingers instead of a pad or clothe. If grit should lodge under your fingers, you will know immediately and not grind it into the paint. A pad will not allow this tactile feedback and these devil grits become sandpaper. A circular motion of these pad wills make a 360-degree swirl mark. All marks those paints are most visible at a 90 degree viewing angle.