paint repair

[drunken monkey]

hello.
i'm halfway (still) through a build of a 612.
I had the body all nicely done and sitting harmlessley out of the way.
somehow, i managed to drop something on it and now there is a chip on the inside edge of one of the head-light holes.
the chip isn't that big but does anyone here know of a way to fix/touch up the missing paint? (clear over mica red over gold; in case it makes a difference). Should i mask of a nice square section and sand back to primer then paint again or wouldn't this give me that good a match? the alternative i can think of is to mask off at the panel lines (or nearest edges) and again, sand back to primer and begin again.

anyone have experience with fixing chipped paint areas?
thanks.

[Scale-Master]

If its a chip you can often just get away with a dab of paint to fill the crater. Did it go down to the gold, the primer?
Just fill starting with what color is missing in the order of original application including a final drop of clear. Only fill the chip, don't try to featheredge. Let each color dry at least over night, it will shrink. By the time the clear is on and dry you should have a slightly higher spot which is perfect to color sand and polish to match. Even if you can see it, it is doubtful anyone else can unless you tell them... - Mark

[drunken monkey]

thing is, i sprayed the orignal paint from a can.
should i spray out some paint and then use that to fill or try to re-spray the missing bit?

here's two pics so you have a better idea of what i'm dealing with.
basically, the thing chipped off sme paint revealing the grey primer.
thanks again.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Follow Mark's advice first and see how good the repair looks before committing to a respray. Use that as a last resort. If the repair isn't to your liking, then carefully sand the chipped area level w/the paint around it, mask off all areas you don't want resprayed, respray just the basic panel w/just enough color to blend, and clearcoat the front fenders (mask off the hood/bumper). Use of an airbrush helps a lot if possible to do spot repairs. This isn't a particulary disastrous chip. I do repairs like that fairly often.

[appleseed]

If you still have the paint chip, you can 'glue' it back with clear paint and then clear over it and polish. Just dab a bit of clear on the crater and place the chip on there and align it to your liking. Use a toothpick to give it a bit of pressure follow it up. Finish it off with a coat of clear and polish. If you've aligned it well, it would be virtually invisible. I've had good luck with this but it really depends on how steady your hands are and if you're lucky to still have the paint chip. Good luck!

a.

[drunken monkey]

..so...
how ever i am going to fill the chip, it be best to put another coat of clear on top to smooth things out anyway(?)
makes sense to me.
thanks.
maybe now i have no more excuses to put off finishing it.