How to fix edge chipping

I have a week old Gigabyte P35k. It is perfect cosmetically except for one very minor thing - I knocked something against the front edge near the touchpad, and a very small piece of the black rubberish-plastic paint chipped off the edge of the laptop casing, revealing the metal underneath. Despite it being small, I have some perfectionist OCD and it keeps catching my eye, especially since the metal underneath is silver in color.

Anyone have any experience doing refurbishing or cosmetic repairs? I'm hoping the solution is as simple as heading to a hobby store for a $5 tube of black paint, but I wouldn't know what kind to buy. Some things online are talking about sanding it down first so the paint sticks, but I don't think I'm willing to risk more damage for such a small chip. I wouldn't be satisfied with simply coloring the metal with a black marker either.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

I fully understand what you mean. I actually have this same kind of compulsiveness, you can say, and sometimes I cannot focus on anything knowing that something is not the way it's supposed to be. I do a lot of clay work, and I do a ton of mior details with paint. My suggestion to you would be first matching the color of that border to make sure you don't get an off-tone of the black on the notebook (you'll be surprised how many tones you can find). That way it doesn't look weird when you try to fix it.

Then, make sure you have a crafting glaze handy so that you can protect the layer of paint so that it doesn't wear off easily. Glazes are pretty hazardous chemically, but I don't think it would affect the system since this is merely on the chassis. I'm assuming that the plastic on your laptop is sort of glossy, right? Those edges usually are on notebooks unless it's pure metal.

I don't how small the piece is that you are talking about, but if it is big enough -- use spray paint (closest to the black your laptop has) and apply masking tape (be super careful) around the area. Just swiftly color in the spot and let it dry. If it looks too matte compared to the factory paint/color, add that glaze -- it will protect it even better too.

Now, if you don't want to use spray paint, you can look for quality artist paint to use but I can't guarentee that they will dry out and look the same way spray paint does. Many artist paints, particularly acrylic paints, dry on as a layer -- they dry on thicker.

Sorry this had to be a long explanation as I don't know how else to brief you about it. Hope I could help.

 

Thanks so much for the good info. The chip is very small, and the paint color is matte, not glossy although it does have some shine. I'm attaching a picture. So you think I should use spraypaint? Maybe Krylon Fusion? Any suggestions on how to test the color first? (Im thinking I just spray it on some tin foil, let it dry, and put it side by side with the laptop).

The small chip is right in the center of the image, you can see the metal underneath shimmering.

 

Sure thing! I'm glad I can help. Just to make sure that we're on the same page, this is the chipped area, correct?



Also, that is a great idea. Yes, go for spray paint to avoid any risks that acrylic paint may pose. In fact, definitely do not use acrylic paint -- you don't want weird wonky layers forming over the edge when it's such as small chipping.
Try out the color on tin foil because it will dry matte (make sure you get a matte finish) and will be an accurate way of seeing how it will look since the structure of the paint on the laptop is similar since there is metal under the color (kind of how the tin foil idea is). From what it seems in the picture, it's more of a charcoal color -- sort of a grayish black? Also, since this is a lot smaller than what I thought (although this is definitely something I would freak out over -- being me of course haha), be extra careful with the spray paint. It looks like you'll be poking a hole through masking tape or using some sort of extra fine spray tip of some sort.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, I would personally grab a toothpick and try to manually fill that space in by dipping the toothpick in a puddle of spray paint. It's a small enough chipping to do so and the tooth pick method might be the safest too if you're generous enough with the amount of paint you put on there so that it's not dripping everywhere.

 

Yup, that's the chip. I know, really tiny - I almost feel silly even caring about it, but I'm glad you can relate. Yes, its a matte black that leans toward the grayer end of the spectrum. I'll pick up some spray paint today and try it on the tinfoil, then use your suggestion with the toothpick - that's a good idea. Will report back, thanks again.