Will a paint pen correct this ?!

[dave95]

You're welcome I was scared too and I also wouldn't wet sand clear coat without any knowledge. I spent good two weeks researching how to do it properly and also called some local paint shops to get some advices on how to do it and what to avoid. But to tell the truth, I never done this before and this was my first time.

I worked on a general area about 3 inches (10 cm) wide with the rock chip in the middle. I folded the sandpaper so it doesn't slip under my fingertips and kept the surface wet and slick all the time. It is extremely important to brush it off very gently and not to rush things. See that I dont use any sanding block or that I didn't put the sandpaper on a pencil? It is because you can feel the excess paint with your fingertips and control the strokes much better untill it is absolutely smooth.

Youtube videos recommend using 2500 grit wet sandpaper, but I will repeat it once again - AVOID it at any cost. For a Ford paint and clear coat I found it to be too coarse. 5000 grit will work much better and the major part of the job should be done with 7000 grit. I will show you the difference between 2500 grit and 7000 grit wet sanding.

This is how I've been driving my car for almost two weeks untill cut/polishing compound arrived so I could polish and remove those sanding marks. But you really have to fully understand what you are doing before you even attempt to start with it. It is very easy to oversand that area and damage it! The key is not to rush things. Thank god my father at least had some previous knowledge and experiences with the correction of 1 stage paint runs. However even he had no experiences with 3 stage paint correction, but still he was leaning over my shoulder and checking me like "There is still to much paint... Go on... Still too much paint... you can feel it with your fingertips... has to be smooth...". He kept an eye on me like for the first 20 minutes and then left me doing all the other chips like "Ok.. no time for this, I got to do something else, it's your car... in the worst case scenario, you can get it repainted..."

If you have nobody to check you out on doing this, but you still want to give it a try, find some old hood or any piece of metal on a junkyard with old car paint on it, and try to wet sand it first before starting with your Mustang. You should never learn how to wet sand car paint directly on your Mustang. It definitely is not a job for beginners, but it doesn't mean you cannot lean it if you give it some time (5-10 hours practicing). It doesn't mean you spend 10 hours sanding something, but if you do the prep work, clean it, let it dry, clay it, wipe it off clean, build layers of paint and sand it back, learn on your mistakes, get back to it in a few days.... yeah, you spend some time learning how to do it.

Hope it helps

Thank you again really, so I went to Ford and bought the correct paint pen and had my dad touch it up, he has a much steadier hand than I, and now we are going to let it sit for 2 days , I called a body shop who’s willing to do the sanding and then apply the clear coat and sand again . Hopefully it comes out nice . The touch up paint alone certainly helped but i can tell with some sanding and the addition of the clear coat can come out pretty damn good

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[dave95]

Thank you again really, so I went to Ford and bought the correct paint pen and had my dad touch it up, he has a much steadier hand than I, and now we are going to let it sit for 2 days , I called a body shop who’s willing to do the sanding and then apply the clear coat and sand again . Hopefully it comes out nice . The touch up paint alone certainly helped but i can tell with some sanding and the addition of the clear coat can come out pretty damn good

This is currently how it looks until I can get it too a shop Monday to sand and add clear coat , one picture is up close and the other is a few feet back

 

[Bikeman315]

This is currently how it looks until I can get it too a shop Monday to sand and add clear coat , one picture is up close and the other is a few feet back

That's a good start Dave but is the paint totally level (smooth to the touch)? If yes, great. If not you may need to build it up using some additional coats. Actually a touch hi might be even better. The shop can sand it smooth.

 

[MakoShark]

This is currently how it looks until I can get it too a shop Monday to sand and add clear coat , one picture is up close and the other is a few feet back

Looks good. I think you will have to add some more paint in the next few days Those dents are pretty deep and you can see on the left side that there is more paint needed to level up the surface. If you don't level up that dent with paint to the surface level, and just add clear coat, you will see it the same way, like it is now.

You are good for now. Add another layer of paint when it sits after 2-3 days. I think that you will need to wet sand the paint until it is smooth first and then add a clear coat. I am sure, you will be happy with the final result if body shop helps you out with this

 

[EmCel]

Surprised it washed off your skin but not your nails.

Yeah I gotta match with my cars color, it's my fav.

 

[dave95]

That's a good start Dave but is the paint totally level (smooth to the touch)? If yes, great. If not you may need to build it up using some additional coats. Actually a touch hi might be even better. The shop can sand it smooth.

Okay I see what your saying , it’s not smooth to the touch . So it would be better actually to have it be almost raised because then the shop could sand it down to being flat right

 

[dave95]

Looks good. I think you will have to add some more paint in the next few days Those dents are pretty deep and you can see on the left side that there is more paint needed to level up the surface. If you don't level up that dent with paint to the surface level, and just add clear coat, you will see it the same way, like it is now.

You are good for now. Add another layer of paint when it sits after 2-3 days. I think that you will need to wet sand the paint until it is smooth first and then add a clear coat. I am sure, you will be happy with the final result if body shop helps you out with this

So don’t go to the shop in a few days for clear coat , add a few more layers of
Paint in 2-3 days and then re asses correct ? And I definitely see what your saying about the left side needing more paint . How many layers is safe to do in a day

 

[EmCel]

So don’t go to the shop in a few days for clear coat , add a few more layers of
Paint in 2-3 days and then re asses correct ? And I definitely see what your saying about the left side needing more paint . How many layers is safe to do in a day

let each layer dry and put more until you're satisfied or when it's even.

 

[sakman84]

let each layer dry and put more until you're satisfied or when it's even.

Exactly correct, the largest issue with the paint pen and clear isn't color matching, its the fact that it takes several coats to build up the thickness to the original paint. I have done amazing work with paint pen, but it takes many coats and patience. The clear is critical too.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

How many layers is safe to do in a day

I would think the paint pen or package would say minimum time between coats. I would double that, at least.

Having a dealer/paint shop do the clear is interesting. I suspect it could be very cost effective. MUCH cheaper than them doing the color and clear. They won't have to mix the color, make sure it matches, clean the gun, etc.. And since they shoot clear all the time, the actual clear spray doesn't require them to do any mixing or cleanup.

 

[dave95]

I would think the paint pen or package would say minimum time between coats. I would double that, at least.

Having a dealer/paint shop do the clear is interesting. I suspect it could be very cost effective. MUCH cheaper than them doing the color and clear. They won't have to mix the color, make sure it matches, clean the gun, etc.. And since they shoot clear all the time, the actual clear spray doesn't require them to do any mixing or cleanup.

Yeah exactly , I’m 25 I don’t have the largest budget right now to fix my mistake so I’m going to apply to paint from the pen until even with the bumper and have them sand and clear coat , hopefully it isn’t too expensive I can’t afford much right now

 

[dave95]

Exactly correct, the largest issue with the paint pen and clear isn't color matching, its the fact that it takes several coats to build up the thickness to the original paint. I have done amazing work with paint pen, but it takes many coats and patience. The clear is critical too.

So could I of done all the paint layers today in one sitting with appropriate amount of times in between each layer ?

 

[MakoShark]

So don’t go to the shop in a few days for clear coat , add a few more layers of
Paint in 2-3 days and then re asses correct ? And I definitely see what your saying about the left side needing more paint . How many layers is safe to do in a day

Correct. You really don't have to paint all the layers in a single day (I know it is tempting ). As the paint is drying it is shrinking its volume. You don't want the paint to form any bubbles or cracks just because you put there too much paint. Give it good 2 days before adding another layer even if the paint looks dry after 10 minutes. You really don't have to count the layers. It all depends how deep the paint chip is. Those smaller chips on the left side may be good with 1-2 layers. The bigger dent on the right down may need 2-3 layers. The main big chip may need 2-4 maybe 5 layers. Use your eye instead, build up those layers and let the paint sit for few days.

Also there is nothing wrong if the final layer of the paint rises above the surface (excess paint). I would say it is essential. If you sand it, you will have perfectly smooth surface.

 

[dave95]

Correct. You really don't have to paint all the layers in a single day (I know it is tempting ). As the paint is drying it is shrinking its volume. You don't want the paint to form any bubbles or cracks just because you put there too much paint. Give it good 2 days before adding another layer even if the paint looks dry after 10 minutes. You really don't have to count the layers. It all depends how deep the paint chip is. Those smaller chips on the left side may be good with 1-2 layers. The bigger dent on the right down may need 2-3 layers. The main big chip may need 2-4 maybe 5 layers. Use your eye instead, build up those layers and let the paint sit for few days.

Also there is nothing wrong if the final layer of the paint rises above the surface (excess paint). I would say it is essential. If you sand it, you will have perfectly smooth surface.

Awesome thanks for the help! The big crack is on layer 6-7 by now but I’ve been using very thin layers and not globbing it on like crazy

 

[ILStang]

OP, I certainly hope you get the finished product looking like it never happened. Big kudos to everyone who posted tips and ”how to” comments and pictures.

It’s posts like this that make the forum great…..someone having an issue and the community stepping in to offer assistance without any drama or nonsense .

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