Forgot to apply rust converter before touching up stone chip

Hi Guys,

Just a quick question…

I basically decided to use some left over touch up paint to fill in a few little stone chips. One of the chips had a bit of surface rust but was only a couple mm in diameter at most. My plan was to scrape out the rust with a pin and then use a tiny speck of rust converter but I totally forgot to apply the converter after scraping out the rust. I just scraped the rust out of the offending chip, sponged off all three chips, let them dry, and then applied a dab of touch up paint using a toothpick.

It looks fine but I wonder if I should rub it back down with T-cut or something and start again or whether it’s better to just leave it for now? The rusty spot was only a few mm’s across so I wouldn’t want to sand it down and create a bigger patch. However, I think there’s a chance that I would be able to scrape it back down to bare metal with a sharp pin without too much trouble.

Is it even worth doing anything? There was no visible rust left in the chip but on the other hand I didn’t sand it or apply converter so there could be some microscopic bits of rust in there (i.e. like the point of a needle in size). The paint I used was given to me by a garage (not main dealer) after they fixed a scrape on my wheel arch. Just to clarify, we’re talking about really small chips here, not noticeable even before they were touched up – I only did it to prevent further specks of rust getting in rather than for aesthetic purposes. I’m pretty sure there isn’t any deeper seated rust.

If the chip is small and the paint you applied thoroughly covers the chip, I would not worry about scraping it down and applying a rust converter. Keep an eye on the spot and if the pain you applied flakes off (unlikely) then you will have another chance to apply the rust converter. But, as you mention, trying to scrape it down now could easily lead to a bigger spot. If the touch up paint fully covers the spot, there will not be a chance for moisture to get to the bare metal and cause further rust.

-Rod

Cheers Rod, much appreciate your advice. I'll get some clearcoat on it tonight and give it a good rub down.

If you use wax and grease remover on the original paint directly around the repaired chip, then overlap the clearcoat on to the original paint a bit, you should have a pretty decent repair. Give the clear plenty of time to dry (30 sunny warm days would be plenty) and reapply wax to that area to protect the paint.

-Rod