Repairing Rock Chips

Bioman

New member
Could someone point me to some articles and methods on how to repair rock chips. I have some on my hood, front bumper and fenders that I would like to fix.



I am going to buy a bottle of touch up paint, but I know I need other things to make it look flush, such as sanding paper. I am assuming I am going to have to wetsand.



I don't want it to look bad or look like I just put the same color nail polish over the rock chip so it looks out of place. I want it to look normal. How can I fix them like they were done by a professional?



Thanks.
 
Ok, looked at the autopia article. Anyone have anything to add that the article might have missed or suggestions?



Btw, I have metaillic paint. Do I need to buy clear coat or can I just use the touch-up paint by itself?
 
First start by locating the "RPO Codes" for your car then call the dealership and get the right touch-up paint.



If you don't know where that sticker is then call the service dept and give them your VIN number they should be able to look up the paint code for you.



There are not that many cars today painted using a single stage system so your probaly gonna both a bottle of base and clear.



Getting a touch up to match "perfectly" on a panel that was originally painted with any mettallic paint is going to be hard.



That is because one will need to match exactly how the paint was "laid" on the panel in the first place in both direction and consistency. Getting it "dead on" even for a body/paint shop is tough. But one can come close.



Google or search here for "Rock Chip" or "langka" and you'll find a wealth of info on how to go about it.



It's not a hard thing to do but a poorly effected repair looks worse than not having repaired it at all.
 
I believe the paint color code is usually on a sticker on the door jamb. Make sure you match this code, because my wife went to the dealer and they gave her the wrong touch-up without the code. When we used the paint code, it matched perfectly.



You can get the touch up (color and CC) from the dealer or via Internet once you have the color code from your vehicle.



As an alternative to wet sanding, some Autopians claim good luck with Langka or Mothers to remove the paint blob and make it flush with the surrounding paint. I suppose this would work best for small chip repairs and if you only had a few.



Good luck.
 
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