Repairing damage from stone impacts (Mitsubishi Lancer 3)

Regularly repairing minor paint damage pays off as it can prevent the spread of rust and larger repairs.

For small scratches and stone marks that have only affected the outer paint layer and have not penetrated to the bare metal, it is generally sufficient to touch up with a varnish pencil. In addition to paint applied with a small brush, commercially available color film is often useful if the damage is very minor or when only a primer needs to be applied.

Deeper damage from stone chips, where small spots of rust have formed, are removed with a "rust eraser" or scraped off with a knife until bare metal appears. It is important that the smallest traces of rust are not visible. "Rust eraser" refers to a small plastic sleeve with a short wire brush for scraping out rust.

The bare metal must be perfectly dry and degreased. To do this, treat the repair area and the surrounding paintwork with a silicone remover.

Apply a small amount of varnish primer to the bare metal with a thin brush ("Primer"). Since primers are most often available in aerosol cans, spray a little primer onto the lid of the can and dip the brush into it.

After the primer layer dries, apply a touch-up. Paint cans usually have a brush built into the lid. If you only have an aerosol can, spray a little paint onto the lid of the can and dip a watercolor brush into it. Apply only a very thin layer of paint for each pass so that the paint does not spread. Finally, let the paint dry thoroughly. Repeat the process until the crater is filled and until the deepening of the repair site in relation to the surrounding painted surface becomes invisible.