Ding Removal

[TheCapt]

I have a very small area where I dinged by CZ 75 Compact. The ding is on the steel frame. I bought a Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black Touch-up pen. Does anyone know if this will work on steel?

[Walt Sherrill]

The paint you mentioned might work for a while, but its really made for aluminum frames, and if yours is Compact (safety, not a decocker) you'll do better using matte black auto touch-up paint.  (That touch-up paint would work with aluminum, too, and it's an almost-perfect color match for the CZ black polycoat finish.

I've found that Dupli-Color is a perfect match, but MOST matte black auto touchup paint is almost identical to the Dupli-Color.

I've used the larger spray can version, and if you mask off most of the area around the damaged area, you can lightly spray it, and the repair might be almost invisible.  You just have spray a very light coat (or coats) over the damaged areas.

For small chips or scratches, I spray a little paint onto a piece of aluminum foil or waxed paper, and then use a fine modeler's paint brush dabbed in that sprayed paint to fill in the chip or scratch.  The spray paint is THINNER than the paint that comes in the applicator bottles, and the spray paint (even when using a brush) gives you a easier-to-manage process.   (You can add more with the paint brush  to get the surface even, but the thicker paint makes it harder to apply just a little.

[Earl Keese]

The torn end of a paper match works as well as or better than an artist's brush. Unfortunately,  paper matches are rather uncommon now. Testors brand model paint touch up pen also works well in flat black.

[TheCapt]

Two perfect answers thanks. On my way to NAPA for touch up paint. (And I have paper matches.)

[TheCapt]

Wait - just remembered that I do have a Birchwood Casey Super Black Pen somewhere in the garage. Do you think the duplicolor is more or less durable?

[Earl Keese]

Probably about the same, depending on the solvents you clean with. Still, it's easy to touch up if it washes off.

[Walt Sherrill]

[TheCapt]Wait - just remembered that I do have a Birchwood Casey Super Black Pen somewhere in the garage. Do you think the duplicolor is more or less durable?[/QUOTE]

Since you've already got the pen, you'd be best served by trying THAT before spending money on anything else.  If you're not satisfied with the results, then try the other suggestions.   Plain old permanent magic marker works, but isn't helpful in filling small scratches or chips.  (The thicker auto body paint does that...  and the thinner spray version helps when you don't NEED or want a thicker coating.)

As for the torn end of a paper match -- that may work well in some situations, but if you have a small chip or narrow scratch, you may have to trim the match end with a razor so that there's not a lot of paint in the surrounding areas beside the spot you're touching up.

You'll know where the repaired/repainted area is, and you can just go easy on using solvents in that area.   Note, too, that just water-dampened cloth is about all you need to clean up a polycoated frame.  Use the solvents elsewhere.

Polycoat itself is  now pretty durable, but the early versions of polycoat were badly damaged by brake cleaner, carb cleaner, and some of the spray solvents that were commonly used.  Those same solvents damaged plastic grips.   Anything that attacks plastics ought to be tested on any gun (maybe under the grips) before being used on any finish that isn't a traditional blued or plated finish.   

[Underwhere]

If heavily dinged it's going to be deep. You'll need to find something to actually fill the space.

I have a dinged gun. My own carelessness when gunsmithing. Instead of fixing it I intend to have the gun hard chromed so the epoxy finish will be stripped off.
I just need to get around to it.

If I weren't doing that I'd try and fill the space with some fiberglass glazing (bondo) type material. Then I'd go over it with a paint to match.