Even the smallest paint chips can lead to serious rusting and deterioration of your car body. This is why it is so important to repair small paint chips as soon as you notice them. Luckily, you do not need to be an auto body expert to fix paint chips like a pro. You just need a few simple materials and little bit of practice. This article will explain how to fix small paint chips on your own.

Using Wet Sandpaper

The key to patching an auto surface is using wet sandpaper. You will need to use it before and after you apply the patch. First, you need to use the paper to lightly rough up the surface and remove the glossy, protective coat. Wet sandpaper, as the name suggests, needs to be moist when sanding. This lubricates the grit, so it does not scratch too deeply. Just sand a small, circular perimeter around the chipped area. This creates a surface that is more conducive to the auto body patch.

Patching the Hole

In order to paint the paint chips, you need to use auto body patch. The patch is thick and it dries quite quickly. To make sure you don't mess up your patch job, you should practice first. Try applying it to a spare piece of aluminum, spreading it smooth before it dries. For extremely small holes, you can just spread the patch with your finger. For larger or multiple small holes, you will need to use a plastic putty knife to spread the patch. The patch does not need to be spread perfectly flat because you will sand it down later.

Sanding the Patch

To make the patch perfectly smooth, you will need to get the sandpaper back out. Wait at least 24 hours so the patch will be completely dry before you sand it. This step might take a little bit of patience because you want to match the curves of the car body.

Paint[ing] the Patch

Making small touch ups to a car surface is not that difficult. You should buy factory paint touch up cans from the dealership. These small cans even come with a paintbrush built into the lid for easy application. If you have a larger patched area that needs to be painted, you should leave it to the professionals.

As you can see, it is not that difficult to patch and repair paint chips. If you work carefully, your patch will blend right in. However, you can always choose to leave the job to the professionals at a collision repair center if you're still not sure about doing it yourself.