Rock chips

So I think my neighbors landscaper weed wacked and sent pebbles and stuff into my truck.. have like 20 small chips now.. awesome right? I ordered a toyota paint pen .. would that and some wet sanding work? Really clueless so any help would be appreciated..
I would tackle the already Nick's I have from a salt truck as well if easy.. thanks

 

This is a fear of mine...

I have a few chips that are not through to the metal, that I've put off touching up. I did purchase the Toyota paint touch up for Cement, hoping for the best - but haven't actually used it.

Using touch up paint and wet sanding to repair takes quite a bit of patience and experience for satisfactory outcome. Me personally, I would probably pay up to have a professional repair this part of the truck.

Best of luck either way.

 

You definitely want to address/protect them. But it will never be perfect without a complete re-spray. But I have done this method. Fill the chip. Wait for it to dry, you may need to add a few layers to fill it completely. In the past I have even touched up a chip and then applied a small amount of clear on top of it and then wet sanded that. To be honest it was all an experiment that turned out OK when I was done. I am no professional.

 

Instructions on touch up paint will always tell you to sand before application. But, on most chips 1/4" diameter and below, attempting to sand that small an area is counterproductive unless you have one of those stiff glass fiber tools. If sandpaper goes outside the chip, then you either have to paint the scratches or buff it back to shiny afterward. I ususlly skip the sanding at 1/4" diameter and below.

As 15whtrd said, apply several coats inside the chip boundary to build the chipped area back up. That's about the best you can do. Application of clear will depend on the touch-up paint...I seem to remember that Toyota's touch up is lacquer. Lacquer is likely single-stage with gloss, and clear not needed.

Execute well, and you can have a 5' repair (not noticeable at more than 5' distance).

 

XPEL.com - apply it after you get it professionally repainted.

 

Thanks for the replies.. looking further there must be 30 chips.. all small but wtf

 

I had that happen to me on an old truck that I had. I had it parked across the street from where I was working which was county land. While I was working under the house the city must’ve come by or a private gardener and weed whacked entire side of my truck. The chunks were still stuck to it when I finished up work that day. I was pissed but couldn’t prove anything.

 

What grit would u reccomend?

 

I might knock it down with 1500 and finish with 2000 before polish. You can get more aggressive but that’s a lot of work. I usually see if the finest one is working for me. If it’s not, I will gradually step to heavier before working back to finer. I have gone all the way to 800. The key is not touching the surrounding paint but only working on the high spot. I have even used blue tape around the area just to make sure I didn’t get carried away. I’ve done this a few times so I’m not as scared with my technique, but I do not recommend for the faint of heart.

Just to be clear again. I am not a professional LOL. Start on one that is the least visible to get your technique down. I learned on older cars what worked for me before I ever would’ve attempted it on my truck. Even then it’s only small stuff. At least I know it’s shiny and protected and quality “repair” job. Painting is always nice but at least I’m protecting what I have. I prefer to Keep the OEM paint as long as possible. I can always tell if something was repainted on a vehicle. It’s rare that I don’t notice different orange peel or a slight color difference. It won’t be perfect but it’s better than some nail polish blobbed in there, or a rusty spot.

On certain cars I’ve gotten them to where it looks like a slight imperfection in the paint. Practically gone. Most would never even spot it.

 

Best tip is to get a smaller brush than what’s in the bottle. Those things are huge!

 

I bought both the touch up paint and some clear and I ended up with a glob on top of the scratch. Also even though I bought the same color code touch up paint, it still seems a little darker

 

I normally just used the touch up paint and do a three small layers of paint letting each one dry before apply another. Then take your time and wet sand it.