Touch up paint sticks

SteveF1 · 04-21-2010, 02:09 PM

Can't believe what I've done today but I've actually made the stone chips on my bonnets and a couple on the front doors look worse than they ever were to start with.

Bought the car last August, it was around 3yrs old and had a few stone chips on the front bumper and bonnet but nothing major. There were a few larger ones on the leading edge of the bonnet and one wierdly right in the middle of the bonnet and I bought a touch up stick set from BMW around 3 months ago but because of the weather never got chance to do it.

Today I have opened the stick of paint after shaking it thoroughly and it was quite dark although I reckoned it would dry lighter as paint usually does. After touching up the affected areas, allowing to dry for the 30 minutes it stated, and applying the laquer after, the stone chips now stand out like a sore thumb. The paint didn't dry lighter and with my car being graphite metallic the stone chips now look black.

I checked the label on the stick, it matches the colour of the car and was bought at the BMW dealership I bought the car from. The parts department can't get it wrong giving you the wrong paint colour as they use your reg number and get the part number from that.

Don't know what to do now as the car has around ten splodges of what looks like black paint on a graphite grey body and looks a right sight...

Upset I've done this to my car but is there anything I can do? My car has been booked in for a two stage paint correction detail next month due to the swirls in the paintwork. Would this likely make this problem less noticeable?

AlanQS · 04-21-2010, 02:44 PM

You have to put the paint on stone chips layer by layer - literally a tiny bit at a time and build it up until the paint rises as a bump from the bonnet. Once well dry, you then have to sand the spot repairs until they are flush with the rest of the paint.

Then you machine polish the area to remove the sanding marks which have obviously spread around the marks and job done!

It's easier to say than to do. Perhaps the person doing the paint correction will be able to sand the spots down and, hopefully, the colour variation may be reduced. If he is an experienced detailer, he should be able to do this - it's part of the skill set.

Perhaps, if the colour problem is still as bad, he can correct that for you as well.

Good luck.

SteveF1 · 04-22-2010, 06:09 PM

I have emailed the detailer to see if there is anything he can do. If he returns back and says no then would I be better calling out someone like chips away etc?

davyk31 · 04-23-2010, 05:41 AM

You get a product for stone chip repair that is meant to blend in the new paint to the old and removes the excess of the new paint to blend it. also can fully remove the new touch up paint although perhaps if it has hardened too much this may be tricky. Need to check the garage at home, think its called Lanka or something like that, I bought 2 bottles ages ago and have only ever used part of one.

Trevikins · 04-27-2010, 07:59 AM

I used a paintstick on a chip on my roof and wasn't happy with the result. BMW Car Mag ran an article on chipex so I bought a kit and followed the instructions to the letter and you would be hard pushed to spot it now.

No affiliation to chipex BTW, just think it's a good kit.

Cheers

04-21-2010, 02:09 PM	#1
SteveF1 Captain 33 Rep 626 Posts Drives: BMW 320D M Sport Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Manchester iTrader: (0)	Touch up paint stick mess Can't believe what I've done today but I've actually made the stone chips on my bonnets and a couple on the front doors look worse than they ever were to start with. Bought the car last August, it was around 3yrs old and had a few stone chips on the front bumper and bonnet but nothing major. There were a few larger ones on the leading edge of the bonnet and one wierdly right in the middle of the bonnet and I bought a touch up stick set from BMW around 3 months ago but because of the weather never got chance to do it. Today I have opened the stick of paint after shaking it thoroughly and it was quite dark although I reckoned it would dry lighter as paint usually does. After touching up the affected areas, allowing to dry for the 30 minutes it stated, and applying the laquer after, the stone chips now stand out like a sore thumb. The paint didn't dry lighter and with my car being graphite metallic the stone chips now look black. I checked the label on the stick, it matches the colour of the car and was bought at the BMW dealership I bought the car from. The parts department can't get it wrong giving you the wrong paint colour as they use your reg number and get the part number from that. Don't know what to do now as the car has around ten splodges of what looks like black paint on a graphite grey body and looks a right sight... Upset I've done this to my car but is there anything I can do? My car has been booked in for a two stage paint correction detail next month due to the swirls in the paintwork. Would this likely make this problem less noticeable? Last edited by SteveF1; 04-22-2010 at 06:07 PM..
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04-21-2010, 02:44 PM	#2
AlanQS Colonel 248 Rep 2,815 Posts Drives: Jaguar XE P250 HSE Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Glasgow iTrader: (0) Garage List 2016 430i m-sport G ... [0.00]	You have to put the paint on stone chips layer by layer - literally a tiny bit at a time and build it up until the paint rises as a bump from the bonnet. Once well dry, you then have to sand the spot repairs until they are flush with the rest of the paint. Then you machine polish the area to remove the sanding marks which have obviously spread around the marks and job done! It's easier to say than to do. Perhaps the person doing the paint correction will be able to sand the spots down and, hopefully, the colour variation may be reduced. If he is an experienced detailer, he should be able to do this - it's part of the skill set. Perhaps, if the colour problem is still as bad, he can correct that for you as well. Good luck.
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04-22-2010, 06:09 PM	#3
SteveF1 Captain 33 Rep 626 Posts Drives: BMW 320D M Sport Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Manchester iTrader: (0)	I have emailed the detailer to see if there is anything he can do. If he returns back and says no then would I be better calling out someone like chips away etc?
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04-23-2010, 05:41 AM	#4
davyk31 Major General 1076 Rep 6,994 Posts Drives: Macan GTS :-) & F40 M135i Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern Ireland iTrader: (0)	You get a product for stone chip repair that is meant to blend in the new paint to the old and removes the excess of the new paint to blend it. also can fully remove the new touch up paint although perhaps if it has hardened too much this may be tricky. Need to check the garage at home, think its called Lanka or something like that, I bought 2 bottles ages ago and have only ever used part of one.
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04-27-2010, 07:59 AM	#5
Trevikins Retired 18 Rep 120 Posts Drives: G20 320i M Sport Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Northumberland, England iTrader: (0)	I used a paintstick on a chip on my roof and wasn't happy with the result. BMW Car Mag ran an article on chipex so I bought a kit and followed the instructions to the letter and you would be hard pushed to spot it now. No affiliation to chipex BTW, just think it's a good kit. Cheers
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