Mini paint touch up.

I like paint pens. Not sure who I bought mine from. Do a google search on paint pens & you will find a lot.

Found the folks I dealt with....

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/paintpen.asp

 

All of my paint chips have been down to the factory applied grey primer. Since it wasn't down to metal I skipped the primer. All a bought was the paint pen in my color & clear coat. To tell the truth all I have used is the color pen. I'm sure with more time & patience my results would be better. For me & my 120,000 miles of stone chips bonnet it looks good. With the pen you have more control over the paint than you do with the brush in the touch up pain. If needed build your chips up with several coats rather than trying to cover in one go.

Buy a pen for one of your other cars & practice on it. Funny how these MINIs hook you with their automotive love.

 

My little tip trick is: Have an old t-shirt something soft ( No designs or rhinestones )
If you dont like the way the touch up looks when you apply it..wipe it off..It will not settle like house paint...if it looks globby when applied it will dry globby and globby paint looks worse than a scratched paint job...Try this untill you are satisfied with the look...Then the best thing to do is polish and wax the car the shine will help mask the scratch or chip in the paint........:smilewinkgrin:

 

Wow, thanks for the link! I've added it to my MINI essentials bookmarks.

Any idea which white matches the bonnet stripes on a 2012 R56 laser blue metallic and white? The white bonnet stripes (applied by the dealer) seem to match the roof well.

 

As I recall the roof white is Alpine white which is a BMW color. Best check that out before buying.

Check here.....
Color Code for Mini White Roof - MINI Cooper Forum

 

Ok I have a Chili Red MINI and I am OCD about my paint. When I deal with those rock chips I use the touch up paint from the dealer.

I use the brush to put a little blob on some blue 3M painters tape and stick it to the back of my left hand. (I am right handed) I use a very fine good quality artist paint brush from a craft store and dab a little paint from the 3M tape blob. I touch up the chips over a few days and let them cure / dry over a couple of days.

Now not everyone does the below step but I do and have been doing it for years so be careful if you choose to do this because you can mess up you paint if you are not very careful. (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)

When everything is well cured I wet sand with 3000 or 4000 grit and smooth /level out the paint and blend in the chip repair. Next I use my DA polisher and bring back the gloss and complete the blending of the chip repair so most people will never see it. The last thing I do is seal and wax the area and call it done.

 

Thanks again, the bookmark collection grows...

 

I touch up the stone dings, but the way I see it my MINI is gaining a fine patina, that's a good thing isn't it?

 

There are about a million versions of the same thing when touching up chips. Langka makes a chip kit that takes some getting used to, and that is what I use on both Minis and my Harley. I buy the factory touch ups including clear. I usually do two color coats, wiping the "bump" off with the Langka plastic scraper (bondo spatulas also work). In between coats, I use a heat gun on low, which dries/shrinks the color coat. Be careful with the heat gun (think hair dryer on high, which is a good substitute and much cheaper). Don't cook the paint, but heat up the area so that it takes about an hour to cool. Use the clear to fill the chip to level using the above methods. Then get brave if the dried paint looks like a bit of a bubble. With a hole punch, punch out a few plugs of 2K to 4K grit sandpaper. Glue it to the eraser of an pencil, cut off to a 2 inch stub and set in your drill. Get your face down on the bodywork, looking at the paint bump. Gently grind it down with the drill/pencil/sandpaper combo. Eventually the bump will be gone, but the paint will look a bit cloudy. Polish it with your favorite gentle polish and you won't be able to find the spot later.

This is a lot of work sometimes, but plan on a couple of hours for each of a couple of consecutive days, and you will be amazed at what you can do. I work a section (headlight area for instance), then move to another section (center of hood maybe) then go back and do the next step on the first area. Take your time and be persistent. This isn't a quick fix job - plan on several hours each day. It WILL work.

Pat

 

The trick I learned long ago is to use a tooth pick and not the brush that comes with most touch-up paints. The key is to put the paint inside the chip and put none on the surrounding good paint. Let the paint dry between several applications. When it comes time for the last coat, put in clear.

 

The trick I've learned is to get a Clear Bra installed before you take delivery of a new car. Not being a smart arse, but being OCD I hated touching up stone chips and was never satisfied with results even when using the Dave.O method (which works really well). This is the first clear bra I've had and I'll never buy another new car without one.

 

^^^ Yes sir, get a clear bra before you bring your new MINI home. Wait a week & it is too late. How do I know this? :nonod:

The first nick really bugged me, but as time went by my attitude about them changed & now they're badges of miles motored. Heck I'm not afraid of gravel roads anymore.

I still touch them up, but do a quick & dirty job of it. Too lazy to spend a lot of time on them.

 

First I don't really recommend the Dr. Colorchip. At least for me it didn't work like their video shows.

Next the guy fixing chips at the Dragon last year was using a sering. The local drug stores won't sell them with out a prescription. But you can get ones for horses at Tractor Supply. I will be getting some and trying that method once it warms up.