GoofyG

As i was washing my car this weekend, i noticed a small chip 1/2 way up the hood. we have a lot of small stones in the road here.

I'm not sure if I should do anything with it except cover it with a sealant (been using zaino). Luckily where I live it is dry, so rust is not an issue.

RedHerring

iTrader: (1)

If it is to the metal, better paint it. If you have patience those things can be fixed. I use a needletip dipped in paint to touch up chips. Thin the paint if you have to. couple of layers of color, one clear coat, then sealant. I love zaino too.

Orbie

If it's through to the metal I would use touch up paint on it. My dealer provided me with the touch up pen for my paint code in my Infiniti leather manual case. I'm assuming all Infiniti dealers do this, so I would try that out. A couple of hits of the paint and then after everything dries flip it over and apply the clear coat.

GoofyG

no, I didn't get one. I tried using touch up paint on my last car an obviously used too much, cause it definitely stood out like a sore thumb. I'm afraid to do that to this car. But I may have to get on the horse again.

RedHerring

iTrader: (1)

Go to a hobby store, ask the man behind the counter for those Testors super tiny foam tipped plastic shafted about the size of a toothpick paint appicators.

The paint will cling to it and transfer nicely to the chip. This is expert work, so practice before you do it and don't get too much on the brush. If you thin it the paint will be sucked into the chip. (Brenouille effect)

Somehow I got a stone chip in the *side* of my car. ?!?

bostonmerlin

i dont have any chips yet but past experience has shown that i dont know how to apply touch-up paint. as mentioned earlier i too applied touch-up paint to my jeep wrangler and it stuck out big time. i definatley dont know what i'm doing with that stuff.

i like the idea of a paint pen or whatever was mentioned.. i didnt get that from infiniti. can someone elaborate on that, how to best apply it and where to buy it?

carman63

iTrader: (1)

I've got one of those, on my other car. Slinging rocks from the front tire, perhaps?

solopresident

I got lots now in my front bumber. 2 or 3 real nice sized gashes. Ohh well, its the price to pay to have a car that can play. I consider it like a gorgeous lady, they have a few wrinkles, but we still ......

Orbie

They are the OEM Infiniti Paint pens, you can buy them at any Infiniti Parts department. They are nicer then your typical touch up paint since it is through a pen applicator and not a brush. They have the paint color on one side and the other is clear coat. You have to depress the pen tip a few times to get the paint going but after that you just dab the paint into the chip. It gives you much more control over the paint however I would depress it into a cloth until you get the paint flowing. After each dab I'll wipe the tip with a cloth or paper towel just to make sure it's clean for the next dab. The key to paint chips I find is that less is more. I always dab a little bit and let it dry, I'll keep doing this until I reach the surface level of the surrounding paint. Then when the level is just below the surrounding area I'll apply the clear coat to top it off. For me Paint touch ups take hours because I let each stage dry before I apply another coat. I don't know of a quick way to do it.

Also I missed this in the OP's original post, the hood of the G37 is aluminum, so you don't really have to fear rust as you would a normal steel hood. You should cover it up though as the aluminum can corrode, it just will not be as visible or damaging as a rust spot is.

GoofyG

Thanks for the tips on how to do it. I think I've gone too fast in the past. (painting, not driving)
I'll have to see about getting one of those pens.

jdmalltheway

Get a clear bra asap. I had 300 miles on mine before I got it and picked up 2 large chips on the bumper and 1 on the hood. Can't imagine what it would be like at 4000 miles now without it.

UNV-IT46

iTrader: (3)

Ya you wont have any issues with rusting so i wouldnt worry about that. Take the time and practice on something before doing it. I worked at a body shop when i was younger so i can fix a chip/scratch like no other. Before turning in my M3 someone decided to key down my whole passanger side of my car at a movie theater, I would say the scratch was about 4-5 feet long. And straight down into the metal. After cleaning, preping, painting about 7 coats of paint, wet sanding, compounding, clear coating then buffing it looked like it had never been scratched. It looked so good when the Lease end inspector came to check the car he had no idea what so ever it was ever scratched.......