Paint Chips

Z

Zinda

New member
I have some paint chips right down to the metal and was wondering if I should take a shot at repairing it or have a professional do it. How much money would it be for the professional to do it? And how good is the repair? Will I notice?

Also how much does it cost to clear bra the entire hood?

The problem with me is that I am anal about my car and every little thing bothers me. Sometimes it holds my detailing back since I don't want to try things like rim repair because if I don't get it done perfectly I get upset.:D
 
Some of it will depend on the color and paint type of your car. Your solid colors aren't too bad to match. Metallics can turn out lighter or darker than the rest of the car. I like to wetsand them after its dry to flatten it out and blend it the best it can be, but there will always be slight evidence of a touch up being done, even if your the only one who will ever notice it. Unless you find someone who is damn talented at doing this, chances are you will see it if you look close enough. Its a whole lot cheaper to get the 2 in 1 Dulpicolor tube or a Dr Color Chip kit than to pay for a respray that you probably won't be happy with either though.
 
If it is done right there will be no problem as far as the smoothness of the repair. I recently fixed about 7 or 8 chips on a Nissan Ultima with a paint color just a hair lighter than yours. After the chips were filled they were wet sanded with 2500 grit paper then finished with a 4" cyan pad on a DA. Most of the repairs are almost impossible to see and you definitely cannot feel them in the paint. One of the chips was too close to a door edge to be comfortable at sanding it completely flat for the fear of cutting through on the edge. This one does show up a little but it is much better than it was.

If you do not have any experience wet sanding, I would suggest that you get a professional to do it for you. I constantly take measurements with a paint thickness guage during the process to make sure that I am not removing much of the surrounding clear. I do agree with Mr Clean 81 on repairing the individual chips instead of a panel respray. I think you have a much better chance of an invisible match.
 
For the areas down to the metal you can get a tube of duplicolor primer to serve as base coat. Then apply thin coats of touch-up paint allowing each coat to dry completely. If the chip is small you can level off the patch by using an alternate technique to wet sanding. Use a dab of polishing compound on small piece of terry cloth rag; apply pressure with just one finger and adjust force to just take off small amounts of paint. The touch-up paint will be soft for a few days and can worn down quickly. If you get too heavy handed it is possible to remove all the touch-up paint, so just start over. Generally good results that will be barely noticeable. Nothing will be perfect short of a respray but I've had plenty of luck with this trick.
 
I've had good results with Dr. Color Chip on the dozen or so vehicles I've used it on.

It's not a repaint but a repair...(see "Three Foot Rule") for most it's solves the problem.
 
Merlin said:
I've had good results with Dr. Color Chip on the dozen or so vehicles I've used it on.

It's not a repaint but a repair...(see "Three Foot Rule") for most it's solves the problem.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't I get a better result with a toothpick and some paint? I have touchup paint already and my girlfriend is a toothpick.:D
 
Merlin said:
I've had good results with Dr. Color Chip on the dozen or so vehicles I've used it on.

It's not a repaint but a repair...(see "Three Foot Rule") for most it's solves the problem.
Click to expand...

I was looking at using this but a bit sceptical about it. I drive a jet black bmw with a few paint chips on the hood. With such a dark color, they're quite visible. Perhaps this is something to try...
 
I have found the small kit is plenty to solve these.
Call 'em. Give 'em you paint code (from the door) and they mix it.
The negative is that the Dr. CC mix shelf life only lasts 2-3 months.
The positive is that if you "fix" the problem areas you should be good.
Be sure to strip ALL wax, polishing oils etc. from the area before use.
 
Merlin said:
I have found the small kit is plenty to solve these.
Call 'em. Give 'em you paint code (from the door) and they mix it.
The negative is that the Dr. CC mix shelf life only lasts 2-3 months.
The positive is that if you "fix" the problem areas you should be good.
Be sure to strip ALL wax, polishing oils etc. from the area before use.
Click to expand...

Would it be possible for me to fill in deep chips completely with the toothpick method and the smaller chips using dr. chip. I am going to be fixing the oxidation on my headlights soon so I will have to wet sand them. Maybe I can pull this off without damaging my paint.
 
Zinda said:
Would it be possible for me to fill in deep chips completely with the toothpick method and the smaller chips using dr. chip.
I am going to be fixing the oxidation on my headlights soon so I will have to wet sand them.

Maybe I can pull this off without damaging my paint.
Click to expand...

You can "layer" Dr. CC a bit...but yes, it is possible.

That's what we strive for. Go for it Picasso.
 
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