I had a minor garage mishap with my bike and have made a small chip in the paint.  Both the clearcoat and paint are chipped off in an area about the size of a couple grains of rice.  Not too bad, but I'd like to treat it so it doesn't get worse.

What's the recommended course of action?

The paint is glossy black and the tank is steel.  Because it's black, I could probably get away with a bit of Sharpie permanent marker, though I'd still want to put something on to protect the edges and keep it from spreading - or rusting.  Any input would be welcome.

Unfortunately, I don't know much about paint but I have heard that they make touch up sticks that, as long as there isn't any corrosion, should seal the metal so rust can't get a foothold.

Best bet is to use an automotive paint chip applicator. I keep a couple of them in my garage. You'll find that there is probably a VERY close color to yours available. Most decent auto parts stores will have a big wall display of touch up paints. I get the little bottles that have both a small brush applicator as well as a "pen like" applicator. Follow the directions and have a light touch. After painting the chip I would use a polishing compound or combination of very light (very light!) wet sanding with a super fine grain then light polishing compound, followed by a good quality wax. that should blend it in nicely and protect the surface. Sounds more involved than it is in practice. I use the Black and Metallic Black Toyota colors which have worked well on Honda and Kawasaki black.

The Duplicolor/Paint (Scratch & Fix Tube) comes with a built-in clearcoat applicator as well.

Here's an example of a decent one...they're in all the stores, just check out the different versions of black: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Duplicolor-Paint...

rshaug, I figured you would know something about this topic.

rshaug - great, thanks for the tips.  I'll check out the touch-up items at the local stores.  I'm in Canada, so I may have to hunt a little more, but I imagine I'll find something.  And yes, the color should be pretty easy to match.

Yermo Owning a number of black bikes I've gotten good with the touch-up paint. Of course these days unless it's on metal I tend not to worry about it too much. Right now from about 10 feet away the front of the Ninja looks like metallic paint...it's not, those are just a couple of thousand little chips Well, maybe not that bad. That's kind of what happens when you actually ride them LOL (forays on what might be called "less than paved" roads also may play a role).

Oh yeah, a lot more paint on your bike.  I have just one painted part on mine - the tank.  Everything else is either unpainted black plastic or carbon fiber (which came stock on the "S" model).