I fixed a chip in my paint on the tank. All I can say is Wow. It looks much much better than I thought it would, and you can barely even tell the chip is there. If you tried to find it by touch, you'd never find it. Below is how I did it:


This is a HOW-TO for repairing chips in your paint caused by rocks or your keys etc. It's the "i'm anal about my bike so I want it to look as good as possible" how-to, instead of the "i'm cheap and want the fast solution". I fixed my tank, so these instructions might not work for plastic. PLEASE READ ALL OF IT BEFORE STARTING.

1) So you've chipped your paint. Crap. Well, lets fix it. First, determine whether the chip went all of the way down to the metal. If it has, you'll need to buy primer. If the chip is big, or you've left it for a long time, you'll also need something to take the rust off.

2) Go to www.color-rite.com and order the proper paint for your bike. Also buy the regular clear coat. If you've chipped to the metal, you'll also need primer. I bought a paint pen, and it had about 1000x more paint than I needed. You seriously only need about 10 drops for a normal size chip. (Note: Dealers can order OEM paint for you. It's about the same price though, and color-rite was recommended to me much more than OEM. I can add my own color-rite recommendation too)

3) Once the paint comes, clean the surface of the chip and the surrounding area, and take off any rust. Once it's dry, use the very tip of the pen to dab just a bit of primer on the surface. You want just enough to cover the metal, but not enough that it blobs over the edge of the chip. A drop about the width of the chip should suffice. Don't over apply, but also keep in mind it dries a lot thinner than it goes on.

4) After waiting 15-30 minutes, go back out and put another coat of primer on. Be gentle as the paint is softer than the metal was, so you need to be more careful in applying it.

5a) (Skip this step if you are using a base color and a top color) Wait a couple of hours. Seriously, don't rush. Wait. Go back out. Is all of the metal covered? How deep is the chip now? If it's still a definite indent, you'll want to fill the chip up most of the way with primer.  Keep adding layers and waiting an hour (WAIT) until the chip is just about the thickness of your fingernail deep.

5b) (Skip this step if you aren't using a base color and top color) Wait 24 hours for the primer to set. Has the primer totally covered the metal? Good, now you can start using base color. Using the same method as you did for the primer, fill the chip with a little bit of color. NOT A LOT. You want to fill the chip with many coats instead of one giant coat. Once you've put a layer down, wait 30 minutes and check again. You can stop once the chip is just a little bit less deep than your fingernail is thick.

6) Wait 24 hours again. I know, lots of waiting, but it's how to do it right. Now you're ready for top coat. Use the same method again and put down just a tiny layer of top coat. Be careful not to let it overfill and spread out over the tank. Wait 30 minutes. Does it look like the color of the rest of the tank or is it too light? If it's too light, put down another THIN coat. Keep doing this until the color is right. Otherwise, you're done.

7) At this point, you want the chip to be as close as possible to level with the rest of the paint without being even or higher (i.e. a very very thin divot.). The problem is, you can't add more top coat without making it darker, so you're going to have to do the best you can during the previous steps.

Now the clear coat. After waiting at least an hour after the last coat of paint, but hopefully 4-5 hours, put a thin layer of clear coat over the chip. Keep doing this every 15-20 minutes until the chip is even with the rest of the paint. Then add one more tiny thin layer of clear coat. Yes, you want to build a little hump. I placed a whole drop of clear coat over the chip and it started 1/4 inch above the surface. 2 weeks later it was barely a hair's width above, which was perfect. It dries a lot thinner than it applies.

9) Now, you need to wait 2 weeks. Yes, 2 weeks. 14 days. Agony. But you really want the paint to cure and set before moving on, otherwise you're likely to make a new chip and start all over. SO WAIT.

10) While you're waiting, go buy a few things- first, buy a 2000 grade sanding block from Meguiars. I got mine from amazon as I couldn't find any locally. You might have better luck. Don't worry, though, as it has 2 weeks to get there, because you're waiting 2 weeks, aren't you? Also, buy a small bottle of 3M's imperial hand glaze. This was easier to find locally. Finally, buy a very soft microfiber towel and a soft polishing cloth. You can find the towels at target in the car section. Start soaking the sanding block 24 hours before 2 weeks is up. Soak it in a little car wash soap or a tiny bit of dishwashing soap.

11) Okay, it's been 2 weeks. I bet the new paint has settled into the chip much more than you thought it would and is now just over the edge of the rest of the paint. Good.  First, clean the surface around the chip. You want it to be free of dirt. Now, sand very gently in a circular motion with the sanding block.  Dip the block in some clean water every minute or so to keep it wet and clean. You'd be surprised how fast it sands with almost no pressure. Bring a wet cloth with you so you can wipe and check your progress regularly.  Use your fingers to feel if it's smooth or not. PATIENCE. If you over sand, you're screwed and have to add new paint and wait 2 weeks again. It only took me 5 minutes of light sanding to make everything even.

12) Dry the area around the chip. Horrible. Now the chip looks like crap doesn't it? The finish looks all messed up. Don't worry. The most amazing thing is about to happen. Put a big drop of the 3M glaze on your microfiber towel and firmly rub the glaze in over the scratched finish.  (Note: the bottle has enough glaze to finish a semi truck. You don't need very much.) Use a circular motion. I rubbed for about 5 minutes on my small chip. Once the glaze looks rather dry, switch to the polishing cloth and buff the glaze off. SWEET! Now it looks just like the rest of the finish. You can barely tell the chip was ever there. Careful, though, as much as you want to stroke the new finish, don't. Wait a while for the glaze to fully dry or you'll put a nice permanant fingerprint in the finish. Ooops.


All done! I bet it looks better than you thought it would.


Materials and costs:
Paint Pen, Clearcoat pen, Primer pen from color-rite: $45 w/shipping
Towel and polishing cloth- $8 total, Target
Glaze: $13 from an auto paint store
Sanding Block: $20 w/shipping- Amazone

Total ~$85. (Ouch)

The problem is that you have to buy 1000x more than you need for a small chip. Once you pay $85, though, you'll be able to repair every chip you ever get throughout the lifetime of the bike. Plus, you can pass on the paint to the next owner when you sell you bike. The prospective buyer will be impressed with your detailed care.

Warnings:
You really need to wait at least as long as I've indicated. Rushing it, though tempting, will only screw things up. This is especially true when sanding. It look almost no effort at all to sand it down. If you don't wait 2 weeks, the clear coat will be too soft and will just smudge around.

Don't use hardware store sand paper. It's too rough and the scratches it makes won't glaze out. The block is @$%ing expensive, but it does a great job.

Keep the surface clean. You don't want to paint over, sand in, or buff a sand grit or tiny rock.

Too many colored top coats=too dark of a finish. Don't try to fill the chip with top color- use primer or base coat.

You may want to practice dabbing paint on some scrap cardboard first. I did, and I was glad I did. You really only get one real shot, so practice first.