Need advice on paint chips

[silverbox]

Hi all, long time reader, first time poster. This place is a great resource! A hearty thank-you to everyone who contributes.


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I recently bought a 2001 Porsche Boxster, Meridian Metallic. It`s in need of some TLC in the paint department but before I break out the polisher I want to make sure I`m not going to make these paint chips worse. The chips on the hood give me a bit of pause as it looks to my untrained eye like there`s some weird peeling going on.


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Pictures here:`http://imgur.com/a/G1L2t (`http://imgur.com/a/G1L2t`)


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So, questions:


1. Can I/should I do my paint correction stuff (light correction + polish) before repairing the chips? I was reading that it`s best to wait a while after doing chip repair to do any polishing.


2. What`s the best way to fix these things? Colorchip? Langka? Touch up paint? Wet-sanding + other craziness?


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It`s not going to win any awards (besides maybe at AutoX); my goal is "damn that looks good for a 12 year old daily driver." On this note, if it`s possible to get 70-80% results and save a bunch of time and money that`s probably what I`ll do. If I can get 90% results with equal money but more time, I`ll probably consider it. Respraying anything is completely out of the question for budget reasons.


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Here are some pics after a wash/clay/quick wax yesterday:`http://imgur.com/a/D1Xt1 (`http://imgur.com/a/D1Xt1`). I also polished the headlights and spruced up the interior and it feels like I`ve got a brand new car!


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Cheers!

[POPPAJ]

<span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I`ve had good luck using the dr colorchip system. Did a medium polish first and a finishing polish after the chip repairs.

[Nth Degree]

Welcome Silverbox,


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You are correct that the paint is peeling from the chips. `Not sure how large the door chip is but that one could probably be much improved by some touch up. `The ones on the hood however, are probably not going to look a whole lot better without a partial repaint. `You could touch up the chip part but there isn`t much you are going to be able to do about the pealing clear coat around it. `


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Since you don`t have a lot of experience and we cannot see them in person I would recommend taping these spots off while you polish the rest of the car, then do these spots by hand. `You aren`t likely to make them much worse unless the clear coat continues to flake off. `


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Many people have tried fixing paint chips and have done more harm than good trying to make it perfect. `Proceed with caution when considering doing any sanding unless you have some experience with it.`


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Here is an example of one I did on my own car after a large rock hit the roof of my car @ 80mph. `This took several hours and three attempts to get it to my satisfaction. `It is still obvious to me but from 5 feet away it doesn`t jump out at you.


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http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x471/nthdegreenc/misc/DSC00007_zps49000e91-1.jpg (`http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/nthdegreenc/media/misc/DSC00007_zps49000e91-1.jpg.html`)


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http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x471/nthdegreenc/misc/DSC00078_zpse56b043a-1.jpg (`http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/nthdegreenc/media/misc/DSC00078_zpse56b043a-1.jpg.html`)

[silverbox]

Thanks for the responses!


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Is there anything low-risk I can do to prevent the damage from getting worse? This is a bit high-risk as the bad spots (with the clear peeling) are right on the leading edge of the hood and are extremely visible. Which is also why I`d like to fix them, but if it`s a choice between status quo and worse, I`ll take status quo.


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How about having someone else do some spot repair? Is that possible? I`d rather not but if that`s what I need to stall a hood repainting it`s definitely worth it.

[Nth Degree]

You could check around for someone who can do a spot repair but you will always see the blend. `I think your options really are live with it as is or have the hood repainted. `

[Accumulator]

silverbox- Welcome to Autopia!


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In your case, I *REALLY* think you oughta just bite the bullet and have that professionally repainted.` OK, you`re just not gonna do that....


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DO. NOT. WETSAND.` Heh heh, was I sufficiently dramatic to get your attention?` People are always trying it, and them posting back asking how to fix what they did (and the answer always is "get it repainted").


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I have areas with damage like that on my `93 Audi.` They`ve stayed arrested for years (for the original owner when I did the car for her, and now for me too) and I`ve also done OK living with chips on my other vehicles, sometimes for many, many years.` In other words, I know a bit about this one.` Here`s how I`d proceed:


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Get the loose paint at the edges off.` Since I don`t want you to wetsand I`d say to use a product like Meguiar`s Ultimate Compound on cotten terrycloth.` Rub rub rub so you get the edges of the chip smoothed down and OK....maybe even use your fingernail/etc. to chip away loose bits, just try to not do a lot of scratch-damage.


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Then touch them up with either DR ColorChips (I use it like regular touchup paint, NOT the way they tell you to use it) or a regular two-part (basecoat/clearcoat) touchup paint.` The how-to is a bit more involved than I have time to post here/now.


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With the DR ColorChip stuff you use their solvent to level the chip.` WIth conventional paint I`d use the Langka or just live with the (slightly raised) blob of touchup paint.` Yeah, avoid polishing the fresh touchup for a while.


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IMO the "lot-lizard" type of spot-repair is a bad idea, and that`s coming from a guy who`s had *very* good results with such work (but I know/trust the painter and I know how to maintain such nonsense, and it *is* nonsense when you think about how today`s paint systems work).

[silverbox]

Haha, yeah you have my attention. No wet-sanding!


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I`ll take a crack at it and post results when I`m finished. Might be a couple of weeks until I have all the supplies and the time. I guess I`m leaning towards trying Colorchip but I`ve heard not so great things about light metallic paints. Whether I could do any better with base/clear, though... who knows.


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Thanks all for the advice!

[tom p.]

Silver, welcome aboard!` I must say I don`t think I`ve ever seen "chipping" that looked like that.` Most unusual.` I see the hood chips and am`not even sure what to recommend there.` I`d attack the door chip over several sessions with Dr Colorchip.` I think I could build that up, cuz the chip has nicely defined edges, and end up with a decent result.


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I think Dr Colorchip is probably your best solution if were not considering a re-paint at this time.` It takes a bit of practice coupled with a good amount of patience and you can get a very respectable repair.` I find their color match to be excellent...best touch up system I`ve used.` Share a few fotos when you`re done :)

[Accumulator]

silverbox- Glad I got through regarding the wetsanding.



Get some product to clean out the chips so the touchup paint will stick...something like PrepSol (you oughta make a trip to your local autobody/paint supply store, but don`t let them talk you into buying some [crap] that you don`t need!).` The compound/polish will probably get caught in the edges of the chips, but the PrepSol should clean it out OK (I wouldn`t sweat it until you`re ready to do the touchup).


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With the DR ColorChip, they say to smear the stuff all over the area being repaired and then wipe off the excess with their solvent.` As I said, I got *MUCH* better results just using it like conventional touchup paint.` That means applying it in relatively thin layers (as per Tom p.`s suggestion) using a small brush. I kinda like disposables for this, othewise buy a "size 0"/"size zero" artist`s brush.` If you overdo it with their solvent it just means starting over and the solvent shouldn`t attack the existing paint, but since that looks like maybe a repaint you`d better be careful and see how it goes.