Car How to touch up a stone chip or scratch
Car · Beginner
How to touch up a stone chip or scratch
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A small stone chip or a shallow scratch can be touched in if the metal is sound and you use a colour-matched paint. This is for a chip or a hairline mark, not a dented panel, not a rust scab you cannot get back to clean metal, and not a bumper that needs a plastic repair. If the damage is wide, rusted through, or on a panel that has already been poorly repaired, a body shop will do a better job.
Your call
Go or no?
Fancy giving it a go, or would you rather call a garage? There’s no wrong answer.
Right then. Here’s the kit, then the steps.
No problem. We’ll show you how to find a local garage.
At a glance
Shop the full kit
You can pick up the items below as you need them. Prices vary by shop and country, so we have not invented a figure here — check the live price before you buy. Shop links go to a product search on a local store for your country.
All-in-one kit
There is not usually a single boxed kit for this job. Buy the items below as you need them, and skip anything you already have.
Before you start
Safety
Stop and get a pro: Do not sand through to bare metal on a wide area, and do not use household paint or nail varnish as a “close enough” colour on a panel that will live outside. If rust has blistered a wide patch, or the coating is flaking off a whole edge, find a body shop. Leave any work that would mean removing a bumper, an airbag cover or a bonded trim to a professional.
- Work in a well-ventilated space, away from naked flames. Touch-up paints and solvents are flammable.
- Wear gloves. Avoid getting solvent in your eyes.
- Do not work on a panel that is too hot to touch, or in direct burning sun, or the paint will dry too fast and sit proud.
- Keep polish and solvents off glass rubbers and fresh plastic trim, or they can stain.
Prep that is worth doing
- Find the paint code on a plate in the door shut, under the bonnet, or in the handbook, and buy a matching touch-up, not a generic “close” colour.
- Wash the area and let it dry. You need to see whether the mark is through the colour, or only in the clear coat.
- If a fingernail catches badly in a long scratch, this method may only disguise it. A shallow scuff that has not gone through the colour can sometimes be improved with a polish alone — try that first on a scuff, not on a chip that shows primer or metal.
Tools and materials
Check the live price at a shop you trust. Typical prices on this site, where they appear, were checked in the UK and may be out of date. Do not invent or assume a figure from this table. Shop links go to a product search on a local store for your country.
| Item | Why you need it | Typical price | Shop link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour-matched touch-up paint or a touch-up pen for your paint code | The job only looks tidy if the colour is the right one. A pen is handy for chips; a brush pot suits a slightly larger mark. | Typically £10–£25 at a UK shop. Check the live price. | |
| A small bottle of primer, if bare metal is showing | Paint over raw metal without primer and rust can start underneath. | Typically £6–£12 at a UK shop. Check the live price. | |
| A very fine brush or the brush in the pot, and a needle or toothpick | A tiny amount of paint is enough. A big brush leaves a blob. | Typically £3–£8 at a UK shop. Check the live price. | |
| Panel wipe or isopropyl alcohol and a microfibre cloth | Removes wax and grease so the new paint can key. | Typically £4–£8 at a UK shop. Check the live price. | |
| Fine polish or a touch-up clear coat, once the colour is hard | Levels a slight proud spot and adds a little gloss, only after a proper dry. | Typically £6–£12 at a UK shop. Check the live price. |
Shop this list:
Step-by-step
Clean the chip, get back to a sound surface, then build thin coats of primer and colour rather than one heavy blob.
Wash, dry and degrease the spot
Wash the panel, dry it, and wipe the chip with a little panel wipe or isopropyl alcohol. Do not soak surrounding paint. If rust is only a tiny brown speck in the chip, you can often lift it with a cotton bud and a drop of rust remover, then rinse and dry. If rust has spread under the paint, stop and use a body shop.
Mask only if you need a straight edge
Most chips are best done freehand, with almost no paint on the brush. Masking a large square around a tiny chip often leaves a harder edge than the chip itself.
Prime bare metal only
If you can see shiny metal or dull grey primer that is sound, apply the primer the bottle describes. For bare metal, a tiny dab of primer, left to dry fully, is worth it. Do not prime over sound, clean colour.
Apply the colour in thin dabs
Shake the bottle as instructed. Wipe most of the paint off the brush, then touch the chip, do not paint a wide halo around it. Let it dry, then add another thin dab if the crater still shows. Several thin coats beat one lump.
Once it is hard, decide whether to add clear or a little polish
Some touch-up kits include a clear coat. Use it only when the colour is dry. A very light polish, later, can knock down a slight proud spot. Do not sand aggressively on a small chip — it is easy to cut through the colour.
If the result is worse than the chip
Leave it alone and book a body shop. Overworking a mark is how a 3 mm chip becomes a 30 mm blemish.
General guidance only. Check our disclaimer.
Common mistakes
- Using the wrong paint code. A “silver” from another model will sit as a obvious patch in the light. Use the code from your car.
- Filling the crater in one thick blob. It dries proud, stays soft in the middle, and catches the light. Build thin coats.
- Painting over loose rust or flaking paint. The new colour will lift off. Get back to a sound surface, or get a shop to do it.
- Polishing too soon. You can drag the new paint into a smear. Wait until it is hard, often overnight or longer in the cold.
- Ignoring a chip on a sharp edge or arch that is already bubbling. That is rust taking hold. A dab of colour will not stop it. A body shop should treat it properly.
FAQ
Will this make the chip invisible?
Usually not completely, especially in metallic or pearl paint. A careful touch-up stops rust and makes the mark much less obvious from a step or two away. A blended respray is what makes it disappear.
The scratch is long but I cannot feel metal. Can I polish it out?
If it is only in the clear coat, a proper scratch polish can improve it a lot. Test a small area. If you see colour on the cloth, stop — you are through to the base coat.
Can I use a toothpaste or a DIY compound?
A dedicated product is kinder and more predictable. Household paste is not made for clear coat. Do not grind at a chip with an abrasive.
The chip is in the windscreen, not the paint.
Do not use bodywork paint on glass. A small stone chip in a windscreen often needs a resin repair by a glass specialist, and some chips mean the screen should be replaced.
Would rather not DIY? Find a local garage
If the damage is a dent, a rust blister, a long deep scratch, or a finish you want blended across the panel, a body shop or a mobile paint technician is the better route.
We may earn from shop links, at no extra cost to you. Disclosure