What to do with Paint Chips.
 

What is the best thing to do with paint chips on a '86 world sport. The bike came with several that went down to metal and had rust. I cleaned out most of them with some wet sanding and 2000 grit sand paper. I was thinking about either applying some white primer (then they would at least match the other chips and scatches that did not go down to metal) or attemping to find touch up paint and going through the whole routine with sanding, polish, and wax. A new paint job is not in my budget nor do I have the motivation, this is more of an ongoing tinkering. ;) Thanks.

Don't just leave primer on them - it is a porous paint for a top finish coat of color to stick to. Without a top coat, the primer will absorb water.

Just paint em up. Use Testors. Find the correct color -you'll likely have to mix a couple but no more than 3 plus white or black. How well do you know the color wheel?

FINGERNAIL POLISH!! Comes in many colors and has a brush in the cap!

I took the fork to Walmarts and got a good match with automotive Duplicolor. I then cleaned the chips and scratches with metal polish and paint thinner and applied the paint with a small brush. Next I polished and waxed. From 10 feet (even 3 or 4 feet) it looks great.

The reason I took the fork in for matching is that the first couple of times I tried to match with a printed color match and it just wasn't good enough. The color was a metallic dark maroon and the first two attempts came out too light and too red.

+1

Comes in damn near every color of the rainbow, and most drug stores have cheap 99 cent varieties to choose from.

I just brush it on, but if you want to get anal here's a tip fom my car detailing days. Make sure the chip is cleaned of dirt/grease, and use a pointed toothpick to wick the nail enamel or paint into the chip cavity. Capillary action will do the work for you, and you'll end up with the chip crater being filled up with paint. Get enough in there to let it mound over (without spilling over), so that the paint blob is a bit higher than the surrounding area. Let it dry thoroughly. Now, take a standard pencil and glue a little circle of fine grit sandpaper to the eraser end. You can get really anal and use several pencils with several different grits. Carefully work the erasers over the mound until it is flush and blended in with the surrounding surface.

Hit it with a bit of polishing compound, and you're done.