Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD FOR RESTORING PAINTED S RFACE
1. Field of the Invention
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This inventlon relates generaily to a method for
restoring the finished appearance of a painted panel
member which has been chipped or scratched.
2. Background of the Invention.
External panel members of automobiles, boats,
airplanes and the like are coated with one or more
layers of paint to protect the underlying strUcture from
environmental effects such as corrosion, oxidation and
solar radlatlon. The protective paint coating may also
provide a decorative appearance. Surface deterioration
due to such long term causes may be corrected by sanding
away the old finish and applying a new protective and
decorative coating.
Such long term causes take effect gradually, and if
the vehicle receives appropriate care with regular
washing and waxing, the protective and decorative
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effects of the paint finish may last substantially the
lifetime of the vehicle. However, the paint finish may
be scratched or chipped during regular use of the
vehicle as a result of flying rocks, bumping, or
vandalism.
Quite requently, when such paint finish damage
occurs, there is no damage sustained by the underlying
structure. However, the presence of one or more such
damaged areas may substantially detract from the overall
appearance of the vehicle and may cause a
dispropor-tionate reduction in the resale value of the
vehicle. Conventional repair of such damaged areas is
so time consuming and the quality of the res-toration so
unpredictable that restoration of a limited area is
impractical. Moreover, complete restoration of an
otherwise acceptable paint finish is not warranted
because of the cost.
3. Description of the Prior Art.
According to conventional practice, a template or
mask is superimposed over the damaged area with the
damaged area being exposed through a window. Paint is
then applied to the damaged area through the window,
usually with the aid of a small brush. Although the
paint color can be closely matched, the template window
leaves an obvious pattern which detracts from the
overall appearance of the paint finish. Moreover, it is
difficult to apply the paint evenlyr with the result
that the paint in the repaired area frequently appears
as a lump or bulge.
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4. Summary of the Inven-tion
_
The present invention provides a method for restoring the
finished appearance of a damaged area on a painted sur~ace in
which the damaged axea is filled with a uniform layer or coating
of paint in such a manner that the restored area blends smoothly
with the bordering painted surface so that the template pattern
effect is avoided~
More particularly, the invention comprehends a method for
restoring the finished appearance of a damaged area on a metallic
painted surface comprising the steps of applying a deposit of
color-matched paint onto the damaged area and onto the undamaged
painted surface bordering the damaged area, contacting the paint
deposit with a film of wax, while the paint deposit is wet, and
removing the excess wet paint and wax.
The cavity within the damaged area is left filled with a
deposit of color-matched paint, and substantially without a
noticeable transition along the restored surface/original painted
surface interface.
Preferably, the wax contacti~g step is performed by wiping
the paint depo5it area with a towel which is saturated with a
liquid wax preparation. For best results, the wax contacting and
wiping steps are perfor~led before the paint deposit becomes
tacky.
The invention will be further understood by those skilled in
the art upon reading the following detailed description with
reference to the attached drawings.
5. Brief Description of the Drawings
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an automobile having a
damaged door panel;
FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the damaged panel
area which is receiving an aerosol mixture of
color-matched paint;
FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view of an air brush
5which is delivering an aerosol spray of color-matched
paint onto -the damaged area of FIGURE 2;
FIGURE 4 is a sectional view which illustra-tes the
preferred me-thod :Eor applying a .film of wax onto the
area of restoration; and,
10FIGURE 5 is a sectional v.iew which illustrates the
removal of excess wax and paint.
.
6 Detailed Description of the Preferred Method.
.
In the description which follows, like parts are
indicated throughout the specification and drawings with
the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawings
are not necessarily to scale and the proportion of
certain parts have been exaggerated to clarify certain
aspects of the invention.
Referring now to FIGURE 1, an automobile 10 is
equipped with a door panel 12 on which a protective
paint coating 1~ is applied. The painted surface area
14 is marred by the presence of a small cavity 16 which
has been formed as a result of a sharp impact of the
type produced by flying stone or engagement with the
edge of an opening door of an adjacent automobile. Such
cavities are generally irregular in outline, less than
one centimeter in diameter and less than three mils in
depth. The thickness of the paint layer depends upon
-the number of primer coats and finishing coats, but is
typically less than three mils.
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In preparation for res-toration according to the
present invention, the damaged surface area 1~ is
cleaned with an absorbent towel, with care being taken
to remove oil and grit deposits within the cavity 16.
ThereaEter, an aerosol mixture oE color-matched paint 18
is sprayed onto the damaged area 14 in a fine mist
deposit 18A which substantially fills the cavity 16,
with the panel surface area 14~ bordering the cavity 16
being covered by an overspray 18B of aerosol mist. The
result is a build-up of an aeroso:L mist oE several mils
thickness which subs-tantially fills the cavity 16, and
which blankets an annular surface area on the bordering
panel structure.
Preferably, the aerosol mist 18 is produced by an
air brush 20 as illustrated in FIGURE 3. The air brush
20 is equipped with a paint reservoir 22, a needle valve
24 and a discharge jet 26. Compressed air is delivered
through a conduit 28 through the jet 26. As air passes
over the needle valve 24, the partial vacuum created
draws the liquid paint 18 from the reservoir 22 into the
air stream, with result that fine droplets of paint are
ejected at high velocity through the jet and in a
generally conical spray pattern. The diameter of the
spray pattern and the rate of dispersion are closely
controllable so that the extent of overspray 18B is
limited.
A wet paint deposi-t 18A is defined by the paint
received within the cavity 16 and the overspray paint
18B received onto the annular bordering surface area
14A. According to an essential aspect of the invention,
the paint deposit is contacted with a film of wax 30.
The wax 30 may he applied as an aerosol mixture, or,
alternatively, it may be applied by wiping the paint
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deposit area with a towel 32 which is saturated with a
liquid wax preparation. The wax contacting and wiping
steps are performed with the deposited paint in wet
condition, preferably beEore the paint deposit 18
becomes tacky.
After the paint deposit 18 has been contacted by
the film of wax, the excess paint and wax are removed,
preferably by wlping the waxed area with an absorbent
towel 34. As a result, the cavity 16 within the damaged
surface area 1~A remains substantially filled with a
deposit 18A of color-matched paint.
For certain restorations, I prefer to use an
emulsion paint having an acrylic resin dispersion. I
have found that a smooth transition from the restored
surface to -the original surface area is obtained and
that the restoration deposit cures more rapidly when
contacted hy a synthetic polishing wax which includes
siloxane. Siloxane is a straight-chain compound
consisting of silicon atoms single-bonded to oxygen and
arranged so -that each silicon atom is linked with four
oxygen atoms. Although the reaction is not completely
understood at this time, I believe that the acrylic
resin dispersion of the paint when contacted by the
siloxane produces a curing reaction at the interface of
the wax film and paint surface with the result that the
curing process is accelerated about the wax/paint
interface. The curing effect propagates rapidly
throughout the restoration deposit 18A and is repeatable
under a wide range of ambient conditions.
Although the inverltion has been described with
reference to a preferred embodiment, and with reference
to a specific wax preparation and a specific paint
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prepara-tion, th~ foregoing descriptions should not be
construed in a limiting senseO Various modifications of
the disclosed method as well as alternative applications
of the invention will be suggested to persons skilled in
the art by the foregoing specification and
illustrations. It is thereEore contemplated that the
appended claims will embrace any such modifications or
embodiments tha-t fall within the true scope of the
invention.
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