Hi all,

First off, sorry if this is a silly question, but this is my first car, so..!

I picked up a Mk 1 Fabia this week, and it has a few small stone chips in the paintwork, which obviously need touching in. Am I correct in thinking that the procedure is to clean the "wound" out, then fill the hole with the touch-up paint and coat it with the lacquer supplied in the kit? How thick a layer should the lacquer be? Other than sealing it afterwards, is there anything else I need to do? I did do a quick search, but got conflicting opinions in the results.

Also, there's a few small scratches in the paint, which look like they should polish out. I have (free) access to Autoglym Super Resin Polish - would it be appropriate to use this (by hand)? I think the dealer put something on it, as it has "that" feel when you run your fingers over it, but the morning dew doesn't really bead as much as the tutorials here show, so I'm not sure what it is. If I then coated it with Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection? I'm not trying to get it looking like it just rolled out of a showroom, just looking "nice" for a daily-use car.

Any help much appreciated.

P.S. Hope this is the right forum - thought it should maybe go in the Performance & Maintenance one, but that's locked.

Save yourself a lot of time and agro. Mix the touchup paint and laquer together 50/50 mix is fine. Cocktail stick for very small chips, fine artists brush for larger ones. Try to get just enough paint in the chip to avoid a large blob sticking up. If you get it just right, once the paint has cured (48Hrs) you can cut back any blobs with something like Farecla G3 or Megs ScratchX. Mixing the laquer and paint means you only need to touch in a chip in one go.

AG SRP is great for hiding scratches and swirls, as it contains a lot of fillers. It can be done by hand, but it's hard work, and you really need to work on a small area (one foot square) for about two minutes to break the polish down. It's much faster with a DA such as the Kestral DAS6, and you get better results. Protect the finish with a decent wax.

Might be worth claying the car first to remove bonded contaminants from the paint.

I don't think you'll get anywhere trying to rub a blob down with scratch-x. It really needs carefully wet sanding with 3000 grit and then the haze from that can be polished out with scratch-x.

You really need to start experimenting on chips low down, out of the way, while you get the hang of it. The best advice I can give you is to not use the brush that comes with the touch up set. As above, invest in a number 1 artists brush. It makes SO much difference. Also, you absolutely have to resist the urge to rush. To make it look good, you have to build up the paint level slowly, not going over the boundry of the chip. You absoultely must allow enough time between coats.

Thanks for the help, guys.

It can be done by hand, but it's hard work, and you really need to work on a small area (one foot square) for about two minutes to break the polish down. It's much faster with a DA such as the Kestral DAS6, and you get better results.

Yeah, I guessed it'd be hard work - I don't have any other plans for the weekend. Although it'd probably be better, getting a machine polisher isn't really an option for me.

Protect the finish with a decent wax.

Would the afore-mentioned AG EGP be OK for that? Or should I look at something else? Or in addition to? Also, should I be applying multiple coats? (I'm just wondering if I can apply more than 1, as winter's coming up, and I tend to get pretty ill if I'm outside for more than 5 mins when it's cold)

Might be worth claying the car first to remove bonded contaminants from the paint.

I've already gone over it by hand removing any visible tar, bug remains, etc (Skoda's [i think re-branded AutoGlym] Insect Remover). Would I still be looking to clay it after that? Or would that be sufficient?

Thanks, and sorry if I'm asking silly questions

Would the afore-mentioned AG EGP be OK for that? should I be applying multiple coats? (I'm just wondering if I can apply more than 1, as winter's coming up, and I tend to get pretty ill if I'm outside for more than 5 mins when it's cold)

SRP followed by EGP is a great combo.

Yes you can apply as many layers of EGP as you like after the initial first layer...law of diminishing returns means you're probably wasting your time after layer 3 or 4 especially if applied in quick succession.

enjoy:thumbup:

Cool, thanks. Didn't know if something bad would happen if EGP were applied over itself (coat 2 not stick, coat 2 take coat 1 off, universe implode, that kinda of thing :lol:)

Just a note about EGP, it is a great product, but very watery, and can be hard to get an even finish. I use folded up disposable lint free white cloths from Halfords. Do NOT rub EGP into the paint, but glide it on with a slight overlap on each pass, and use only a little product for each panel. Also make sure it's not going to rain if working outside, as EGP takes 30 to 60 minutes to cure depending on temperature and humidity.

Note that EGP will strip off most polishes, but is OK used over SRP. It is also semi-permanent, so will last for a good six months if decent wash shampoo used to wash car.

Thanks.