auto has small chips in paint down to the primer from highway driving and pebbles being kicked up by other autos and trucks. what is the best way to paint these ? want to use small tube of touch up paint from OEM. want to try and blend so that it is just barley noticable. tips, tricks ?????? oh and what about the clear coat after applied ??  

If it's a solid color finish, you shouldn't have a lot of trouble making nice patches.   If it's a metalflake finish, or some other effect,  that does get difficult, to the point that


nobody expects such a repair to be invisible.





Most modern automotive paints are clear coated.  So the best way to do the repair is to call a professional.  

  But if you're going to do it yourself, you're going to be


well ahead of the game if you happen to own a good airbrush and can get SMALL quantities of exact match paint and some matching clear.





Apply the color just to hide the primer coat.  No more than that.   Let it dry or cure,  and then apply clear coat to fill,  in as many coats as required, giving adequate


dry/curing time between coats.   When you have enough build thickness, wet sand out the repair with a firm foam block, starting at 600 grit and working your way up to 2000


grit or finer if you can get it.   Then hand compound the repair with final finishing compound and enjoy the shine.  Problem is, it may now be the shiniest spot on the car,


so you may feel motivated to keep compounding the rest of the car to match it.
CJ

 

Yup, stone chips are inevitable.  I use the small touch-up bottle purchased from the dealer.  Wipe down the chip area with alcohol to clean it, then examine the chip for rust.  If there's none, touch-up with a couple of thin applications of the touch-up paint.  If there's rust, carefully remove it and wipe clean, then touch-up.  I don't bother with trying to re-clear.

Touch up paints are to cover up the bare metal to keep it from rusting.  Don't expect more out if it if you are not a professional/experienced with automotive paints. just don't apply a big ass blob and expect it to look good, thin applications, build up two or three coats.   I have seen guys do the three coat build up, come back a week later and block sand the spot with 1600 grit and buff it. Metallics will show up, but you won't have rust developing.

I've heard good things about Dr. Colorchip.    Real reviews not as rave as on their website, of course.   If you google it, you'll likely see some hits for various car forums - suggest you check out the real reviews there.  http://www.drcolorchip.com/