HOW TO GET THE BEST FINISH ON CHIPS AND SCRATCHES

Small imperfections in your car’s paintwork are not only unsightly, but they can also reduce the value of your car when you come to resell it and can lead to more damage later on if you don’t repair it.

You can find our full step-by-step process in our body repair guide, which splits the process into four easy segments:

  • Prep
  • Prime
  • Paint
  • Protect

But if you’re tackling smaller chips or scratches, we’ve gathered our top tips to give you the best results.

Step one: Clean down the panel you’re repairing, either with soap and water or a panel wipe, to remove any dirt or contamination and get it ready for repair.

Step two: Use a fine grain wet and dry P2000 sandpaper to even out the damage, and get rid of any raised edges or slight rusting. For chipped areas, it may be best to use an abrasive pen to give you more precision – look for one with a grit of 800 or over.

Sanding first gives the paint a good adhesion area, for a smoother finish. Don’t rub too hard or use excessive force, but let the grains do most of the work.

Top tip: If there’s rust on your surface, apply a primer as a base.

Step three: Using the brush provided, apply your paint in thin layers, letting it dry in between coats.

Top tip: If the little brush is proving difficult to control, you can always use a small sponge or plastic stick to evenly apply.

Make sure to keep the paint within the damaged area and avoid spread it onto surrounding areas.

Top tip: To speed up drying, you can always use a heat gun.

Step four: Once the paint is fully dry, sand it gently to get it the same level as the surrounding paint. You need very fine grain, wet sandpaper (P2500 and above), and a steady hand.

For small chips, using an abrasive pen (P2000 and above) is a good idea to ensure you don’t scratch the surrounding paint. If you don’t have one, wrapping sandpaper around the blunt end of a pencil can give you the same precision!

Step five: Apply a topcoat/clear coat in the same way as you did with the colour paint, using thin layers and allowing them to dry before applying the next layer.

Step six: Once the last layer has been applied and is fully dried, you can wet sand the area again with fine gain sandpaper (2500 grit), working on the repaired area and 2-3cm around it. Then using a rubbing compound and cotton cloth, gently rub over the sanded area and 2-3cm beyond it in a circular motion.

Step seven: You can then apply some polish to the panel to bring back its shine, and you’re done!

Top tip: After every sanding process, clean the area with a clean cloth and panel wipe, to prevent any paint reactions due to contamination.

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