Rock chips

4

4runnerGuy

New member
I just bought a new car (4runner obviously) and have kept my car absolutely pefect for the 3 weeks I've owned it. It really hasn't seen any dirt. Upon cleaning it again last night, I was horrified to see my fist 3 rock chips. They are very small mind you (more like rock "specs"), but to a new car own whom had previously impeccable paint they were hard to take. Of course you can't detail them out, and I've ordered some touch up paint from toyota, but on to my questions. Do you feel most chips come from the highway? I have a 25 minute expressway trek each day back and forth to work. It takes me apporximately 10 more minutes to drive through the city not utilizing the highway. Do you think avoiding the highway will drastically reduce chips and nicks from debris? From experience it seems like you get blasted when you get behind semis, but I have been avoiding them and still collected a few. No one in town will apply the 3m film to the nose of my car due to its said difficulty level. I don't want any chips :(
 
I think most rock chips come from the Interstates, I95 in my case. I also think any vehicle will kick them up, and the rocks that hit your vehicle come from the edges of the road. If you follow someone who goes over the side lane markers, you are sure to here the little pings from rocks.



I applied the 3M film to my 4Runner. A few areas did not come out as well as I wished, but it does not look bad. I think I figured out the "feel" of the material just about when I finished the project. Practice would be a good idea, but the cost of the film prohibits that approach.



One thing to consider, if you find someone to apply the film to a 4Runner, it will cost about $1000 ($500 for materials if you do it yourself). I believe you could repaint the hood and front bumpers for that price in the future. I am not sure the 3M film is a good deal.



I also applied the "thick" material for the headlights. That was easy to apply, and well worth the cost if you have expensive headlamps.



Lou
 
Thanks for the reply. I think I'll skip the film...you may be right on the fact it would be cheaper to repaint later if it gets bad. I think I'll experiment and take the city streets for a month and see if I still get chips.
 
Congrats on the new 4Runner! What color did you get?



I have too many rock chips on the front of mine. I was planning on getting the clear film when I bought it but didn't get around to it and now it's probably too late (considering the amount of chips I already have). I'll wait a couple years and have part of the front end repainted.



Unfortunately, rock chips are a part of the car's life. If you drive it, you'll get rock chips. Yes, driving on the highway is a major contributor to rock chips, I have a 100 mile commute on the freeway daily, and no matter how careful I am, I still have a bunch of chips all over the place. I even have a few on the surface of my hood. I've added the hood protector and that seems to have helped a little with the hood.
 
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