Okay, few areas that I have questions about on my car. I plan on detailing it once the weather forecast looks for a week or two. Darn near impossible where I live though.

Let me start...

For areas like the below, how do I go about correcting the paint since I can't get near the edges with my 6 inch random orbital buffer? Should I remove the foam pad and go at it by hand with the pad?



If you look closely, you will see that there is a rust chip on the very edge of the door. I was thinking about trying to fix this with the Dr. Colorchip paint chip repair kit. Any better options?



Lastly, what is the best way to correct scratches behind the door handles?

 

You can get the 4" spot pads for your orbital. Of course, you'll need a new backing plate for them.

http://www.autogeek.net/4inch-spot-buffs.html

If you want to do it by hand, I'd rather use a microfiber towel instead of the 6" polishing pad.... too cumbersome. They also make hand-held polishing pads too... http://www.autogeek.net/ccs-foam-hand-applicators.html


To correct sratches behind door handles, use a microfiber towel or the hand-held foam pads mentioned above.

For the door chip, the Dr. Colorchip should work. I've never used it so how well it would be. I've always used OEM touchup paint for scratches... lightly feathered on with a fine hobby paint brush and layered and then polished (if necessary) to level and blend with rest of paint.

If the spot is rusted, get rid of the rust first with a fine grit sandpaper.

 

Todd Cooperider wrote a great article on Detailed Image, in which this section addresses this specific question.

 

For the chip .. get a good touch up and make sure the chip is clean then layer paint in it with a pointed artists brush. Don't glob it all over .. put in a layer .. let it dry etc etc till it fills the chip. Then what I do is lightly wet sand to top off anything that comes above the chip then buff it out "carefully"

Another good paint supplier is www.paintscratch.com. Thats what I used. You might be lucky and find your dealer has a bottle of touch up .. don't use the pens .. waste of time.

 

For hand polishing, I like to use the CCS hand polishing pads. Fits in the door handle area very well and gives better cut than those yellow foam applicators or a MF towel.

Is the pointed artists brush essentially the same idea as using the toothpick method? I ordered my touch paint from them as well. Those pens at the dealership are the worst design.