Dr. Colorchip users - tried it for the first time, couple questions

[Phishy4]

So I decided to give Dr. Colorchip a try on my 98 arctic silver M3, and ordered a kit. Tonight I got a little time so I went over to Rasky`s and I tried it out. The color match was excellent, but the application and removal wasn`t nearly as easy as it appears to be in the demos.



Obviously slathering the paint on was easy (I was given the advice to be liberal with the paint which I`m doubting now) but when I would go to "smear" it seemed like unless the finger of the glove was wet with paint it grabbed pretty badly making the smear not real smooth, and pretty thick. No big deal, the miracle juice will wipe all that excess right off. Went over the whole hood, then went back with the blending solution and "lightly" wiped like instructed, and none of the extra paint came off. I wound up having to use quite a bit of solution and rubbing pretty hard to break down the extra paint and it eventually came off but it took a long time and I felt like I was rubbing quite a bit harder than I probably should have had to (says "don`t scrub" in the instructions). That said, the hood looks pretty damn good actually (perfect from 3 feet and it was pretty peppered). Chad even questioned it and said "are you sure you`re supposed to let that stuff dry that long?"



Are you guys doing small sections and following up immediately with the solution? How long are you letting it dry?

[Garry Dean]

So I decided to give Dr. Colorchip a try on my 98 arctic silver M3, and ordered a kit. Tonight I got a little time so I went over to Rasky`s and I tried it out. The color match was excellent, but the application and removal wasn`t nearly as easy as it appears to be in the demos.



Obviously slathering the paint on was easy (I was given the advice to be liberal with the paint which I`m doubting now) but when I would go to "smear" it seemed like unless the finger of the glove was wet with paint it grabbed pretty badly making the smear not real smooth, and pretty thick. No big deal, the miracle juice will wipe all that excess right off. Went over the whole hood, then went back with the blending solution and "lightly" wiped like instructed, and none of the extra paint came off. I wound up having to use quite a bit of solution and rubbing pretty hard to break down the extra paint and it eventually came off but it took a long time and I felt like I was rubbing quite a bit harder than I probably should have had to (says "don`t scrub" in the instructions). That said, the hood looks pretty damn good actually (perfect from 3 feet and it was pretty peppered). Chad even questioned it and said "are you sure you`re supposed to let that stuff dry that long?"



Are you guys doing small sections and following up immediately with the solution? How long are you letting it dry?

I use the drcolorchip system exclusively. I have spoken with Bill and Dan (the owners) on numerous occasions and they always mention the longer you can let it cure before removing the excess the better.



What temperature were you working in? Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but they are here in FL. Maybe the cold was causing a problem?

[imported_ww2717]

Dr. Color Chip is a great product. I applied mine when it was about 40F. Let set for like 2 hours before removing with the solution that comes with it. Excess paint came right off.

[Phishy4]

I use the drcolorchip system exclusively. I have spoken with Bill and Dan (the owners) on numerous occasions and they always mention the longer you can let it cure before removing the excess the better.



What temperature were you working in? Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but they are here in FL. Maybe the cold was causing a problem?

I was working in a heated shop which was like 65-68 degrees. I think my issue was that when I smeared, I didn`t do it very flat so the excess was actually built up pretty high and I had to work through it like a layer at a time if that makes sense (like I`d go over it, paint on the cloth, new section of the cloth, a little more would come off, etc). Like I said, it did a really good job, I think I was just sloppy with how much paint I used. Honestly though, hood looks amazing from a couple feet away, can`t imagine getting results like that with anything else for the amount of small chips I had.

[Accumulator]

Glad this thread happened, I`ll be trying the DRColorchips later this year and it`s interesting to hear about what others experience.

[shirtman]

I must not have waited long enough for it to set up well before using the solution to remove the excess. I pretty much wiped everything including the filled chip out. I`ll have to try it again when the spring brings warmer weather.



Jeff

[addysdaddy]

Do you ever go back and "buff" the spot to even it all out with the DA? And if so, would really like to hear about the pads, polish etc that were utilized.

[Garry Dean]

Do you ever go back and "buff" the spot to even it all out with the DA? And if so, would really like to hear about the pads, polish etc that were utilized.

Dr.Colorchip recommends that you do the chip repairs after all of the polishing is done.



I personally like to coat the repaired chips with Opti-Guard, but not every vehicle I repair a chip on is being Opti-Guarded.

[imported_ww2717]

Listen to Gary. He know`s his stuff with the Dr.Color Chip usage.

[addysdaddy]

Dr.Colorchip recommends that you do the chip repairs after all of the polishing is done. I personally like to coat the repaired chips with Opti-Guard, but not every vehicle I repair a chip on is being Opti-Guarded.

Let`s assume for a moment that you have 3 large "bullet hole" size paint chips on the front hood. It`s my thought that it would take several paint applications to build up the paint to the proper level and my initial question and major concern is how do I get a smooth & level fill of that damaged area. From watching your video and others, I was thinking that the blending process would hurt in the early stages since the chips are larger rather then smaller as shown in the videos. It also occurred to me that it would be beneficial to add paint in several coats and ultimately a little more paint then necessary; then "buff it down" to the proper level. But perhaps with this system the best procedure could be add several coats but smear between coats-obviously I don`t know. Again Garry, never having done this I`m going to rely on your experience, but the three paint chips I`m thinking of doing are rather large.

[tom p.]

but the three paint chips I`m thinking of doing are rather large.

When Addy sez these "chips" are `rather large`, he`s not kidding. They`re huge.



Addy, maybe you can post one of those fotos you sent to me so the others can get an idea...



T

[Phishy4]

Dr.Colorchip recommends that you do the chip repairs after all of the polishing is done.



I personally like to coat the repaired chips with Opti-Guard, but not every vehicle I repair a chip on is being Opti-Guarded.

I thought their recommendation was to let the repair set up for 30 days then polish with a DA only.

[Accumulator]

I too would like to know more about polishing areas done with this system. I can`t imagine *not* doing it, as, well... I`d expect that the rubbing (to do the leveling) would cause some degree of micromarring :think:



As for coating the surface, or applying PPF, or even just LSPing, wouldn`t the usual rules of thumb for repaints apply? (Not to get into the whole subject of whether those rules are valid period )

[addysdaddy]

Here is a pic of the "bullet holes" I want to tackle with Dr Colorchip, which is why I`m asking about applying more paint then necessary and then buffing it down. Whatta think Garry?

[tom p.]

Excellent, thanks for posting that, Addy. While I have no personal experience with Doc Colorchip, some of the write-ups folks here have done were most impressive. It will be nice if someone could share their thoughts on using it on "chips" that size...