Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

Any advise on how i should go about fixing this ugly thing. Don't how it happend but was washing the car the other day and noticed it. Would touch up paint take care of it or a trip to the body shop will have to do? One pic is a close up and the other is to show scale. I know this is a small chip and others have worse than mine but this will eat at me til it's fixed.

airtime

Wow, that's not a ding, it a full blown chip

AlexusAnja

Ding? That sucka down to metal it looks. A shop is going to patch up and then paint the whole panel. Silver is a tough color to match, so that would be drastic and expensive. I would say try OEM touchup to match color and see how it looks. The chip doesn't seem too big.

randal

If you are not picky with how it looks then you can use some primer and touch-up paint yourself. However, if you are concerned about looks and keeping rust at bay, then you will need a good body shop to fix it.

I know its a small area but a body shop will need to blend it in so will have to treat a larger area. Cost will probably be in the $200-300 range to do it right(so that no one would even know it was repaired). You have to decide if it is worth the cost of a professional touch.

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

Kind of a hard descion. Get the whole panel painted by a pro just for that one chip but risk the paint not matching or sand just that area and use primer and touch up to cover it just to avoid the expensive repair? What would ya'll do?

jayclapp

I share your despair. I park my car way out from where I'm going if possible, just to prevent dings. I won't park next to another car and would rather walk a greater distance to prevent it. Last month I discovered a ding in my rear door while washing. Don't know where, when or how it happened.

Although it was very small it drove me nuts every time I got in the car. The only fortunate thing was that it was fixable with the paintless dent removal. It cost me $80 to have it fixed, but I couldn't get it fixed quick enough.

Hope you get a good resolution so you can rest easy with your car. Just my opinion, but I would have it fixed professionally.

poopsnack

I don't think that is a small chip. I'd be irate.

I suggest trying to fix it your self with some sanding and priming and touch up, and if you are not satisfied then try a professional.

Tee

Find out what body shop that your local Lexus dealer uses, and let them take care of it. I'm sure they have plenty of experience painting & blending Lexus OEM paint. My thinking is if the dealer is using them for customer repairs, they must do quality work with that lives up the dealer/Lexus standards. But I could be wrong.

honeygee2

Okay guys dont flame me on this. A little trick I learned years ago for small chips.
If you want to do this on the cheap try this...first sand or feather the edges down of the chip area. Go to your local cosmetic store and find an enamel nail polish to match the color. I use to take out four or five different ones and hold them up to the car til I found one that matched.(just give the clerk the amount for all and take the rest back two minutes later) It will protect the metal from rusting until you decide to have it done professionally. If it is down to bare metal get something on there to protect it. Even clear nail polish will do temporariliy.

miniz

To fix it correctly, you will need to have it done by a body shop. The panel will need to be filled, sanded, painted, cleared (several times) and then any adjoining panel will need to be sprayed/cleared to blend the color. A good shop would also wet-sand the final clear to match the rest of the paint work. This would be expensive. Far, far more then the $200 quoted above. This is more in the $400-500 range.

Lexucan

PDR FTW !!
I just had 5 dings removed from my car today! Three of them I knew about, the other two the guy at the PDR shop pointed out to me when I took the car to have the work done. He obviously has a highly trained eye for spotting the lil buggers!
Couple hours later my baby was ding-free again!
But for how long?? I always park as far away from other vehicles as possible, but sometimes that just isn't possible in a totally packed parking lot. So, sooner or later I guess I'll be paying him another visit again.

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

Whoa! Big ding there.


I had a similar one about half the size though from a rick i think. I went and bought OEM touch up paint and then bought some clear coat in a touch up bottle. Can't tell it's even there.

JimsGX

Tape off the surrounding area about 1/2" away from the edges of the chipped area. Then wet sand with 1000 grit to feather in the edges of the chip. Clean the chip with paint prep solvent, then prime and paint it with multiple coats until you get it almost flush with the surrounding area. Then wet sand it with 2000 grit. Finally, apply two coats of the clear coat and wet sand that with 2000 grit. Remove the tape, then compound and polish the area, preferably with a Porter Cable 7424. The end result may be acceptable to you, but if it isn't, then just take it to the body shop. You have nothing to lose by trying it yourself first.

I'd use the OEM brush-on paint and clear coat on it. The wet sand is going to take care of any blemishes / imperfections you may create when applying with the brush so it doesn't really matter...

Keep a can of acetone on hand so if you don't like the way its coming out, you can easily remove what you've done and try it again.

amcdonal86

That really sucks.

Check out this website!

http://www.parkingbydesign.com/pbd_frameset.html

CG lover

a good body shop will needed to handle that one,,

I always park in a handicap spot and make sure it has plenty room on the sides,, noticed a long scratch on the front bumper, the other day, where someone had run a shopping cart along it,, don't think there are any secure locations on lots these days,,

Derry