toml said:
So, I guess I'm asking ... can this be fixed to where you can't even notice it's there without repainting the entire area? And is this something I could do?
Yes, and yes. Since it's on a non-flat surface it will either make it easier or more difficult depending on how perfect you want it. For something like that I would get matched touch up from the dealer ($8-15) and use the toothpick method. As in, dip a plastic toothpick into the paint, then touch it to the center of the nick - capilary action will pull the paint into the nick. Let it dry then repeat as necassary until the chip is fully repaired. Now, this will *not* look perfect, but if you're careful it will definitely look better than what you have, so much so that it is likey you will say "I can't even see it from a foot away, good enough", however if you find, like me, that you are truly psychotic and must make it perfect, you can wetsand it yourself and then polish out the wetsand marks with polish. If you stop after the touch up the fact that it is on a curve will actually help you in that it's harder to see touch-ups on curved areas. If you decide to wetsand the curve will make it more difficult.
Wetsanding requires more planning, more caution, more money and more time, but in the end if you do it right it will look perfect. I was new to wetsanding until about a month ago, when I filled in about 100 chips just like yours on my hood. It was daunting, but the end result was worth it. A good place to start reading about it is here.
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/paintclinic.html (scroll down to chip and scratch repair).
For what it's worth, it might be worth it to contact a pro detailer and ask them if they do chip repairs/wetsanding. Odds are if they do they will tell you just to supply the matched paint, they'll do the rest and it will cost less than a repaint. If I did that for someone locally I would probably only charge them $40-50, as long as they supplied the paint.
