New member here!
 

Hey guys new member here saying hi. I'm driving a completely stock 2004 Mazda 6. Just here looking for ways to make it my own.

RE: New member here!
 

Welcome to the club, PAMazda6!!
Though I live in Texas now, I too am from Pa. "Spent most of my life in the ABE area.
You don"t say much about you car though. Is it a V6 auto, 4cyl manual, etc...?
What are you looking to do to it to make it your own?
Got any pics? You can post them here too.

RE: New member here!
 

Just a bone stock white 4cylinder four door automatic. Thinking maybe wheels/body work of some sort, or new headlights/tail lights to start.

I could take/post pics, but they're nothing exciting since it's stock haha.

I do have a question though, how do I apply touch up paint? I have a lot of little paint chips from rocks, etc.

RE: New member here!
 

You could lose the side molding for free, if it hasn't already been done?

Touch up is always a bit tedious, like all body work. Here's how I do it, when I"m not in a hurry....
1) Clean the area.I use window cleaner since the ammonia in it will remove any wax built up in that area. Don"t spare the cleaning, do a thorough job of it.
2) If the chip(s) are down to bare metal, get rid of any rust any way you can, being careful of the surrounding paint.Sometimes a small sharp blade, like a utility knife blade,will help scrape out the rust, but becareful not let it get out of control or you"ll have more repairs to do.
3) Take a tooth pick and dip it in some primer and carefully dab it on starting from the middle of the chip.That way it will flow outward from the middle of the chip and you will be able to see what"s needed from there.It also helps eliminate high spots. I usually just spray some primer in a cup from a rattle can. You may need more than one application.
4) The brush that comes in the touch up bottle is not very good for fine work, so unless you have fine detail brushes at your disposal, again take a tooth pick, pick up a little paint w/it, dab it into the affected area. Again, 2 or more coats may be necessary.
5) Once that's dry, use some clear coat the same way. 2-3 coats often works the best.

If you really want to go all the way w/it, wait a few weeks and hand polish out your work. This should help level/blend any high spots, but the new paint has to be completely set or you"ll have to start all over again.

RE: New member here!
 

Sounds like a pretty major PITA. Maybe I'll get a quote from a local body shop. lol

RE: New member here!
 

The quote to repaint mine was well over $4G"s... nearly 5G"s really, but that was the whole car. The body shop may not be willing to do a simple touch-up, but instead want to try and blend in the paint from their spray gun.
I"d guess that you were looking @ at least $1500, based on my experience here in Texas. It gets expensive real fast.

RE: New member here!
 

Welcome to the Forums.