I was at safeways the otherday and when i came out i noticed that s hopping cart had hit my is300, leaving quite a deep paint chip! I own a black onyx, and part that is showing is white. It is not that noticable but the car is only about half a year old and I am still in that extremely sensitive phase. I can't stop thinking about the chip! Any advice? Would I be able to fix it myself, or would i have to get it professionally done? I live in the Bay Area, around San Jose CA, if anyone could suggest a paint shop/ body shop? Thanks-

Mark

 

Mark, I was waiting a bit to reply, hoping someone here would know a good shop or detailer in your area.

There are a couple current threads on touching up chips etc. on the current forum page, you might want to check out. Also, do a search on "paint touch up" etc. and there should be even more info.

If you're fussy, I would first recommend a pro. Maybe a little more patience will reward you with someone's personal recommendation for a shop in your town, I wish I could help to that extent, but cannot.

If you decide to try to touch it up yourself, and need more help after reading some of the other posts on the subject, get back to us. Good luck!

 

thanks for the response-

i've visited a shop in my area and they quoted a price of 800$- which i took to be insanely high. the printout showed 200+ for materials and around 600 for labor. I dont know much about the costs of fixing chips, but I had looked through a couple threads and none were even close. As a result, I have purchased touchup paint (audiovisuals) and the Langka kit as well. I AM rather fussy about my car, but 800 is a bit excessive. I will post a picture of the chip later; it is medium size, with silver showing. I have a question- is the silver the metal, or the primer? It looks like metal to me but I am not certain. Also, would it be possible to get a pro to fix it in the event that i do screw up? Thanks-

 

$800!!!!!!! To do a touch-up chip????

Were they smoking crack when they told you??? You could get the whole panel repainted by a high-end body shop for less than that.

I hope you ran the other way...

In an attempt to answer your questions;

The primer would (typically) be a grayish color, the metal more of a silver. The only way to know is to see if it can be sanded away with a sanding pencil. If it does, it's primer, and you can just apply more over what you sanded. If it doesn't come off, then you're at the sheet metal.

Yes, no matter if you "screw it up" you can still get someone to fix it. It might cost you a bit more if you make the spot bigger etc. but they won't care what you did, it's all repair work to them.

I would be looking at $100 or less if I were you, unless you're talking about a respray of the panel. There has to be a professional that can accomodate you to around that figure. Call around, good luck.