mnm27mnm

I found my first rock chip on the front bumper. It lasted 9 months without any rock chips. I felt like I got punched in the guy when I saw it. :/.. what are you guys using to cover them? Also have you guys used the clear protestant film you spray on?

Looks worse in person and it's 3 little rock chips next to each other. Other two are in the shadow.

VTsuckah

iTrader: (1)

Some Dr colorchip will work just fine to touch up the chips. Then I recommend having a clear bra installed by a professional. Lexus has incredibly soft paint and a clear bra does a great job in preventing further inevitable damage. The spray on film is terrible and has a tendancy to clump.

Loe

Another vote for Dr. Colorchip.

IS1911

I never had any luck with Dr. Colorchip. They are very nice people to do business with but I found that their leveling solution either removed all of the touch up paint or didn't do anything. I was almost impossible for me to get it perfect. Full disclosure here I have been touching up cars the traditional way for decades and when I'm done you have to get within an inch or two to see it was touched up. I'll let the touch up cure for at least a week then I'll wet sand and finally polish with my 3" orbital machine (sometimes a Dremel tool if it's small enough but you have to be real careful because they are wicked fast and will cut very quickly). The trick is to get the repair perfectly smooth and level with the existing paint.

For that stone chip I would look into having it touched up professionally and then having 3M Paint Protection Film (a.k.a. "clear bra") applied to your front end. The same shop that applies the film may also be able to handle the touch up for you. The "good news" is that the bumper is plastic so you don't have to worry about rust. You can take your time getting the touch up done.

mnm27mnm

To get a clear bra is like $1700 right? My car is a lease and I don't want to spend that much. Is true that getting the car wax, creates like an extra coat of protection. Since that chip is small,I think it would be easier to fill with a touch up pen? Has anyone tried a touch paint that works?

IS1911

Heck no! Mine was $575.00 installed before delivery at the dealer. I had to "work him" though. He started at $1000.00 and I had to get up and start to walk out of the office. Nothing like a little drama to bring down the price.

Loe

point taken, the traditional touch up method is probably the best bet; even if Dr. Colorchip worked, you can still see the chip when looking at it up close since Dr. Colorchip doesn't "fill" in the chip, just puts a thin layer of paint, so the "crater" is still there.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

If your car is leased I would not spend money on clear bra. What's the point of giving your car back to dealer with perfect bumper for next owner?

IS1911

That's very true and Dr. Colorchip's tech support will even tell you it's not mean to fill the chip, only to add color. With my own method I will add primer if the chip is down to the bare metal or plastic then "layer" the color smoothly until it overfills the void before sanding and polishing it down to the level of the paint. Over the years I've experimented by building up the color to the clear coat and then using clear to overfill the void. This method sounds great on paper but I've had better results using just the color alone without the clear. My theory is that using clear creates too many facets that grab the light and make the repair more noticable than when paint alone is used.

Of course NO touch up job is ever going to look as good as having the panel repainted by a professional body shop. A Dr. Colorchip repair will look good from 4-6 feet away while the traditional touch up menthod I'm describing can look good even at 2-4 inches away if the person performing the work has the skills, tools and takes the time to do it properly.

mnm27mnm

What touch up paint and primer do you use?

itsjdmyo

same thing happened to me after a few months of buying my Ultra White 3IS. I just used touch up paint from the dealership

IS1911

I use plain old Dupli-Color for the primer and the manufacturers touch up paint for the color. The paint isn't as important as the process. For instance I use high quality artists style paintbrushes. Stay away from natural brushes such as red sable because the don't last very long with the type of solvents used in automotive paints. Go for synthetic brushes instead and pick up a pint of laquer thinner to clean them with.

mnm27mnm

Okay thanks for the tip.

HammerDown

(In regards to clear bra) I paid just over a $1000 for the bumper,whole hood, mirrors and the first 12" of each fender.

Thetalk

I just picked up my IS 350 F sport yesterday. Nervous as hell driving it without any paint protection (clear bra) on the front end. Having it applied Monday am first thing. Did lots of research and found what I believe to be a good installer.

My previous car (Subaru) had very soft paint and many rock chips after only 20k miles. Going to try and prevent any while she's still unblemished. Doing the full hood, front bumper, front fenders, and painted part of the driver side and passenger side mirrors. Tinting tomorrow.