Stone chips

[Boris the spyder]

Hi Everyone,

Anybody have any good recommendations as to the best stone chip repair system. Reading about the chipex kit and wondered if anyone had experience of it.
Thank you.

 

[s999sws]

I've used chipex, and after quite a few try outs the end result is very good. But you really do have to practice.

cheers

sws

 

[Chappelle]

I've used it on my sons Boxster (black) with great success, less so on my silver Boxster

It doesn't work as advertised in my experience. Never quite managed to get the surface to go flat simply by wiping it with the supplied cloth and chemical. Building layers up and fine sanding with a 2000 grit wet and dry worked brilliantly on the black car, and then machine polished the surface to remove very light scratches

As I say I've had less success with mine; difficult to fill the holes and colour match not quite right

Might be my technique, or lack of

 

[Boris the spyder]

Thanks for the replies guys. Hmmmm these things always have a caveat don't they. Found a post saying they work best on dark colours. Might just wait till late Sept when it goes off the road and have chips away or some other specialist do it.

 

[s999sws]

My car is white, and the result is more than satisfactory.

sws

 

[tscaptain]

Look at Dr Colourchip too. Had an impressive demo at a Region meeting recently.

 

[Boxstercol]

I've used chipex, and after quite a few try outs the end result is very good. But you really do have to practice.

cheers

sws

Can you share your method please? I've got the Chipex kit & to be honest I'm obviously doing something wrong as I can't get a decent finish.

Cheers.

 

[Boris the spyder]

Dr. Colourchip ordered, will keep you posted as to results.

 

[missile]

This video makes it look very easy to DIY. http://www.drcolourchip.c...orks/how-it-works.html

 

[spyder31]

I've used chipex, and after quite a few try outs the end result is very good. But you really do have to practice.

cheers

sws

Can you share your method please? I've got the Chipex kit & to be honest I'm obviously doing something wrong as I can't get a decent finish.

Cheers.

me too, any chipex tips much appreciated.

 

[s999sws]

Leave the paint to dry for a bit longer than they say. I put the little bottle of paint in my shirt top pocket to get it up to a bit warmer than ambient temp. But the really important thing is to use the lightest touch imaginable with the solvent solution . Really , really light, just almost let it waft over the paint. If you put the sponge block in the cloth, liberally soak the small area with liquid so that it's only the liquid touching the repair, and not the pressure from the cloth, if you see what I mean.

I now get quite good results, in fact I had my OPC do a large stone chip on the front of my car when I first got it, but I removed their attempt and did mine which is much better. Also I have two very small touch ups on my bonnet and I can't find them now.

cheers

sws

 

[spyder31]

Ok great thanks. I am finding I seem to have to use loads solvent to get the paint off and loads of rubbing over and over with the cloth/sponge pad. The paint left in the chip looks Matt rather than gloss. I am maybe putting too much paint on then require too much effort to remove it. Will try your tips. Thanks again

 

[Motorhead]

I've used Chipex with great success on my red Golf GTi for a number of years and recently helped a friend tackle a large number of stone chips on his dark blue metallic Civic Type R using a Chipex kit; again the result was very good.

However, I've been less successful tackling stone chips on my Cayman's metallic silver finish (I believe silver is one of the most difficult finishes to respray anyway), so I can only conclude that success is very much colour dependent.

As Stephen says, a long drying time and a very light touch with the solvent solution seem to be the key to getting a good result. Building up multiple paint layers will also help....if you have the patience!

Jeff

 

[s999sws]

I've just come back from France, where I got a stone chip or two. The larger one I've done with no problem using the method I said, but I have two very small ones, and I forgot to say that the best method after painting, using a toothpick to just dot the paint in, is NOT to use the solvent, just use the yellow polish supplied, after the paint has dried. If you use the solvent you will probably find the paint will come out of the small depression.

cheers

sws

 

[spyder31]

I think that's what is happening when I do it. Thanks again will try at the weekend cheers

 

[robertfarrer]

Having used the ChipEx in the past and found the colour match excellent but not as easy as their videos would have you believe thought I would give Dr.ColourChip a try.

Exactly the same sort of product. Good colour match. The main difference I found is that the Dr. seems to has a less aggressive blending solution and this means it is more difficult to wipe the paint out of the chip. The downside is it takes longer to remove the excess. Which ever you use I would suggest success comes from applying the smallest amount of paint possible for the chip and take care and time removing the excess. Experiment a little with how long to wait before using the blending solution. More time with ChipEx less with the Dr. I found deep chips are best filled using several layers. Both brands work, both need time and technique to get a good result - no magic yet!

I think ChipEx is a bit cheaper and colour match really was good in my case, and perhaps I prefer it overall but that may be because I have used it more often and built up a bit more feel for it.

 

[Wilbur]

[font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Many years ago I repainted cars, so I have lots of experience respraying, blending and touching up all types of dent and blemishes.[/font]

[font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Whilst there are many kits available some with a base colour and some with a top coat, the application principal is similar.[/font]

[font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"] [/font]

[font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Remember...the finish gets better with time, so no need to rush.[/font]

[ul][*][font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Get the right toolsIf the chip is jagged, lightly rub down the edges, don't go mad.Degrease all areas well.[/font][ul][*]Small diameter implement (ear bud size), extremely fine grade paper - similar to craft drill sanding tips. Try to glue sand paper to earbud, whatever works for you.[/ul][*][font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Now the paint[/font][ul][*]Cut the head off an ear bud at both ends.[*]Place the straw like implement in to the paint and then put your finger over the top to hold the paint in. Lift out, wipe excess.[*]Place the paint tip over the chip and release finger, allow the paint to fill the chip.[/ul][*][font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Leave the paint 20 minutes[/font][ul][*]You want the paint to be mushroom shaped for a single application paint kit.[*]and indented for a two paint kit.[ul][*]after 20 mins add the top coat ( two pack kit only) so that the final coat is mushroom shaped (leave 20 mins).[/ul][/ul][*][font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]You should have a Mushroom paint finish, i.e. higher paint/lacquer than the original finish. Now we need to level it.[/font][ul][*]A lot of people make the mistake of going too quickly, so the next bit is up to you.[ul][*]Over time, general cleaning and polishing it will flatten the paint and it will naturally blend well.[*]If you can't wait, start slowly.[ul][*]P2500 with soap water[*]Gently rub the raised paint, do not worry about dulling the original lacquer next to it, this grade is very fine.[*]Work in 3-5 second bursts, wash with water and review your progress. Get side on and look at the raised area.[*]You are looking for a slight raised area, then stop.[/ul][/ul][/ul][*][font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Now you need to polish[/font][ul][*]Either use a electric polisher, or a fine cutting paste G3 etc...cutting paste is key![*]cut the final 1mm (or less) down.[*]Polish[/ul][/ul][font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Generally if you have done a few chips in one area an electric polisher is worth the investment, you can buy a good one for £80-120, you do not need a deluxe profession system...[/font]

[font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"] [/font]

[font="arial,helvetica,sans-serif"]Your done![/font]

 

[robertfarrer]

Very interesting post Wilbur, thanks.