I have just noticed a few dings on my hood. I'm thinking the mix of cold weather and messy roads is to blame. Anyone have any suggestions on a certain type of touch up paint that you have had good results with. Also any tips or tricks to get the best possible results?

 

Dan:
Many of us have had the very same issue.... Theres no "easy" way to cure/fix this issue...

Me personally, I have tried a few different things, The next new thing I'm about to try without having to totally wet sand and repaint the hood is this.
Since mine is black... There is a Universal black touch up that you can get at your local auto parts. (That I have been using for quite sometime)

I tried using the paint code and going to Painters Supply.. But it just doesn't seem to match up even after clear coteing/wet sanding etc ...

What I am willing to do now is this...
Since the touchup paint is a base coat clear cote mix... It will dry very shiny.. Heres where it gets tricky, I am going to do several applications to the dinged/chipped areas (As I have many) after each application dries I am going to wet sand then flat until I have them completely filled and smooth. Being careful to not over wet sand and remove the original clear cote around those areas, Once I reach the point where there filled in...
I'm going to lightly wet sand the surrounding areas so as to blend/feather in those spots with the rest of the hood... Then I will take a light rubbing compound to do a finish blend...being careful to not over heat those areas so as to not pop out the chipped area I just filled in. Then I will polish the whole hood to complete the blend/feathering in. Followed by a cpl coats of wax in order to protect the work I just put into it.

I did the same basic thing when I did a rust repair and it worked out flawlessly... Unfortunately..it was a temp fix for the rust area... My goal over the winter is to cut out the rusted area and fill it with new metal so that rust doesn't return. But that's a whole different story...lol

Hope this helps..I'm sure someone else will chime in with more tips and tricks.

 

Thanks for the tips. I guess Ill have to read up on the process. Maybe ive been lucky over the years or ive never had a car that I care as much about. lol My monte is white so the chips/dings show up quite easily as black holes in the paint which drives me crazy. Wouldn't the touch up paint have trouble sticking in cold weather? I plan on trying to heat my garage in the near future but want to nip this problem in the butt before any rust can form. God forbid. I am a complete novice on body work or painting on cars. I think I get the concept of wet sanding but would like to get as much info as possible before tackling this.

 

Its impossible to do in the cold/winter....

The metal its self has to be a minimum of 72 degrees before you can even begin to start any kind of paint process..
So a heated garage/shop is a must for winter repairs/paint work..

 

That is good to know. I guess ill have to wait till july at this rate.
Is there anything I can do in the mean time to protect the affected areas?

 

As a Daily driver.. I'm afraid not.. other than...

A bra or winter front could help... But not recommended as salt sand and dirt can get under it and then it damages the paint even further. I would have however recommended a good cpl coats of wax before winter set in...
But since winter is already here... theres not really much you can do..Next to going to a local automotive/tint shop that offers a 3m clear vinyl adhesive protectant that adheres to the paint (Like scotch tape) that will cover those areas of your hood...That you can peel off in the spring and get to work on it. But its a pretty expensive thing to have done...But, it works!

If its not your daily driver...
Just leave it in storage til spring its kinda no harm no foul in storage.

 

Check this video out. It has some really good info

 

Yeah. I didn't intend it to be my daily driver but it's too much fun to drive for me to leave it in the garage. I think I'll try to just keep those areas salt free and as clean as I can till I can get in a heated garage or have my garage heated. Maybe a bug deflector would help bounce some of those pebbles over the hood instead of pinging right off of the hood. I haven't seen any that I can remember for an 06. I'm sure they are around.



Thanks for the video. That will be a reference for me for sure. Good stuff in there.

 

Dan,
A bug shield may help prevent further damage thru the winter... But as cold as it gets in Minnesota... The bug shield may have a tendancy to crack or break of in such cold temps... IMO.... From any flying debris..
Maybe that's something I should have considered when I first purchased mine new from the factory...lol

I'd be curious to know how your repairs went once you get it finished.

Nice video imuf great info!

 

I just moved into a new house so I have ton of projects going on right now. This might push heating the garage up the list of priorities. I think I might try the bug shield out just for a little piece of mind. I just ordered wind deflectors for the windows and sunroof so might aswell do it all. I think I was gonna go with a black and white color scheme so it should look pretty good with dark smoke deflectors and dark tinted windows.