Flying stone chips can damage your car's paintwork by creating small and deep spots on the surface. These stones fly off the road when the car's tires in front of you flick them in your direction.
Given that stonefly is something you'll have to deal with at one point in time anyway, you may need an automotive repair service to help you with a quick fix. This post will take a look at how auto work professionals do stone chip repair to restore the original look of a car.
1. Cleaning Using Solvents and Wire Brushes
Chips can land on the metal parts of a car and create a deep hole. This, in turn, exposes the metalwork to rust developed from water and moisture.
The use of solvents can go a long way to prevent rust. Auto professionals will mostly apply rust inhibitors after cleaning the parts with solvents, converting the rust into a stable surface that allows the paint to stick.
Further, they will scrub the dent with a wire brush and solvent to remove dust and residue from dents created by fly stones. This makes it easy for the repainting to stick properly.
2. Applying Base Paints
Several layers of paint will help to restore the car to its normal appearance. The first is a thin base coat of any color, which protects the body. Careful application of the base coat paint prevents smudging.
3. Applying Main Coat
Auto service providers apply three to eight layers of the main coat on top of the base coat to form a primary coating.
4. Finishing
Auto engineers normally wait for three to four hours to allow the primary coat to dry. Then, they'll use a coarse grip and wet or dry paper to smooth the surface. They'll also use small sandpaper and a sanding block to remove the layers of the new paint lying above the original layers.
5. Blending
This process involves running the area with a rubbing or cutting paste. Circular rubbing motions help to blend the new paint with the faded paint.
6. Applying the Top Coat
The final top coat applied is mainly metallic paint. After applying this coat on the surface, the next process is to smooth it. Auto professionals smoothen the surface using a mini sanding block and a fine grit wet and dry paper. They then apply running and cutting paste on the surface.
