# First attempt at rock chip repair



## ChrisF (Dec 23, 2001)

Inspired by the recent posts here on rock chip repair I decided to give it a try this weekend. I used the process described on http://www.carcareonline.com/paint_chips.html and here on this board as a guide.

For my first attempt I chose a 2-3 mm chip in an out of the way location (bottom edge of passenger side front door), so if it didn't go well, at least it wouldn't be too obvious. The chip had bare metal showing so I knew I needed to start with some primer.

I started by washing the area with regular car wash. I chose not to rough up the chip by sanding with 600 grit sandpaper as recommended by the carcareonline people. I just didn't feel good about it, so I skipped it. After the wash, I wiped down the area with rubbing alchohol and a Griots disposable wipe down towel.

I used a Griots touch-up paint applicator to apply two coats of primer, allowing two hours to dry between coats. Having never used the tooth pick method, I can't really compare the two, but I suspect that the tooth pick may work better on smaller chips. The Griots applicators worked well for me, but they still hold a fair amount of paint at the tip. I had to be very careful to not put too much on at once. It worked ok for a chip 2-3 mm in diameter, but I'm not sure I could have used the paint applicator if the chip was any smaller.

Lesson learned: Less is more when it comes to paint. Use as little paint as you possibly can. You're better off putting in less paint than you think you should. Don't expect full coverage in a single coat.

Lesson learned: Paint looks different when it dries. When the paint dried, it seemed to "settle in" to the chip. Once it dried, it was easier to see that the area inside the chip was still lower than the surounding paint. I couldn't really tell when it was wet. Again, I just tried to put as little paint as I could into the chip on each coat.

After the primer, I put on 4 coats of color. Again using the Griots paint applicator (separate applicator for each coat), with 2 hours drying time between coats.

I finished with 2 coats of clear coat.

At this point, the repair area is slightly above the surrounding paint. To be honest, as it is, you can *barely* see it. Given that the chip was in an out of the way location to begin with, I think most people (except for maybe Rip and Alee) would never find it. I'm tempted to leave it alone, but I want to know if I can make it invisible, so when I tackle some chips that are in more obvious locations, I'll know I can make it look as good as new (or damn close).

So now I'm going to wait a week to let the paint dry. Then I'll try wet sanding using the pencil eraser method to complete the repair.

Frankly I'm amazed at how well this went. I didn't expect it to blend in so nicely.

Stay tuned for part two next weekend.


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## Jimmymac (Apr 18, 2002)

Do you happen to have pics ? I'm having a hell of a time with mine..

Look at my thread and pics here

http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5520


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## ChrisF (Dec 23, 2001)

*Micro chips*



Jimmymac said:


> *Do you happen to have pics ? I'm having a hell of a time with mine..
> 
> Look at my thread and pics here
> 
> http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5520 *


Sorry no pics. I think I'm probably the only person on the planet that doesn't own a digital camera yet

Anyway I'm not sure how much help I'd be on the micro chips. As I said, in my post above, the key seems to be layering the paint in several THIN coats. I had a difficult time not putting too much paint in the chip I fixed, which was 2-3 mm in diameter. I can tell you this. You DEFINATELY don't want to use the brush that comes with the touch up paint to apply paint to a chip that's the size of a grain of sand.

I think I'd try using a tooth pick as the applicator for the really small ones, wet sand with 2000 grit sand paper on taped to the eraser end of a pencil, and then polish. Again, I haven't tried any of the little ones yet so this is all conjecture on my part.


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## Guest84 (Dec 21, 2001)

I don't usually tell folks "buy THIS stuff!" in the detail forum, but I will in regards to polish. If you have a Porter Cable or a good random orbital polishing machine, and you do end up wetsanding, I *highly* recommend getting Griots Machine polish #1, #2 and #3 (3 being the finest, #1 the roughest) My finish would have looked like hell after wetsanding had I not used these products (#1 first, then #2, finally finishing with #3) with my porter cable.


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## ChrisF (Dec 23, 2001)

*Now you've got me worried*



Ripsnort said:


> *I don't usually tell folks "buy THIS stuff!" in the detail forum, but I will in regards to polish. If you have a Porter Cable or a good random orbital polishing machine, and you do end up wetsanding, I *highly* recommend getting Griots Machine polish #1, #2 and #3 (3 being the finest, #1 the roughest) My finish would have looked like hell after wetsanding had I not used these products (#1 first, then #2, finally finishing with #3) with my porter cable. *


I do not have a random orbital polishing machine of any kind. What did your repair look like BEFORE wet sanding? Right now, mine looks pretty good.

Are you saying that if I wet sand it, it will get worse before it gets better and making it better will probably require machine polishing? If that's what I'm in for, maybe I should just leave it alone.


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## 325CI~02 (Jan 13, 2002)

blob it on all you want then use this!!! :thumb: http://www.langka.com/nfhow.htm


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## ChrisF (Dec 23, 2001)

*I don't know dude....*



325CI~02 said:


> *blob it on all you want then use this!!! :thumb: http://www.langka.com/nfhow.htm *


I'm not convinced. My chip already looks like the 'After' picture in the link you posted. If you look at the picture closely you can still see imperfections in the paint. That's about where I'm at without doing any sanding at all.

That "before" picture is just a complete mess. There's no reason for it to look that bad to start if you're careful about the paint application.

In any case, it seems to me that it would be very difficult to achieve a uniformly flat surface on the paint without some kind of solid surface to plane against. This Langka stuff just looks like a glorified rubbing compound.

No disrespect intended.


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## 325CI~02 (Jan 13, 2002)

I ordered a bottle i will let you know what happens,,

p.s. i added extra blob on my chip so i can get a nice buff down,
It does come with a flat backing plate, ext.:eeps:


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## ChrisF (Dec 23, 2001)

*Hmmm....*



325CI~02 said:


> *I ordered a bottle i will let you know what happens,,
> 
> p.s. i added extra blob on my chip so i can get a nice buff down,
> It does come with a flat backing plate, ext.:eeps: *


Interesting. Let me know how it works out.


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## Jimmymac (Apr 18, 2002)

*Lanka*

Hey here is a tip.. with the lanka..

If it is a small hole it will pop the touch up paint right back out of the hole..

also the BMW paint is matte... so mix in some clear coat or it will be flat and not match your hood...

and don't make too much of a blob cause it takes FOREVER to take it down with the lanka... and then when you have it close to perfect.. it pulls ALL the paint out of the chip....

frustrating.. I think I will wetsand small areas instead

Tell me if you figure out a way to make it work like described on small chips..

it DID work rather well on large chips..


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