[cab]

So after I buffed my car a few weekends ago the various paint chips stood out like a sore thumb, particularly on the front bumper. Anyway, I thought about pulling the bumper and reshooting it in my garage, but as a I had a few chips on the hood too I decided to try the Dr. Colorchip system (see here: Dr.ColorChip Custom Automotive Touch-Up Paint Kit - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems ) - I figured it was worth the $40 risk as worst case I would pull the bumper and respray it anyway. A few comments regarding the product, application and results:

Disclaimer: I did this yesterday, and have no long-term durability evidence.

1. Product - The paint basically appears to be like lacquer - and the "sealant" seems to be sort of a thinner/compound type of substance.
2. Application - Application is ridiculously easy. I cleaned the surface with a little reducer to get any wax off, dug some dried wax out of the larger chips with a toothpick and went to town. I gave up on using the included brush after 10 seconds and went to the old t-shirt method of smearing it across the road rash/measles worth of chips. I did this in a few sections as I got comfortable with it.
3. Removal - Removal is also easy. I used the included cloth and put some sealant on it and then rubbed LIGHTLY across the surface. I found it worked better if I kept my hand flat, and let the sealant do the work so as not to draw the paint out of the chips as I was rubbing it across the surface.
4. Results - OK, essentially here's the deal. My car is blue...and BLUE paint chips are a LOT less noticeable from normal viewing distances than WHITE paint chips. This stuff colors those chips body color. It doesn't fill them. It doesn't make the bumper, hood, etc. look "like new", etc. At normal viewing distances though there is huge difference as a casual look or even stare at my car doesn't reveal all these glaring white spots.
5. Best for Rash - In all honesty, larger chips don't work as well with this system as compare to road rash. I had trouble getting enough coverage with larger chips. Repeat applications will likely be necessary with careful attention paid to the removal process with the sealant as aggressive pressure will pull out the paint. Having said that, you get better at it as you go and I could probably cover larger chips a bit better with some more practice.

Finally, I did not notice a bunch of these spots before I buffed my car. I believe (but don't have confirmation) the dealership I purchased my car from had probably used a similar system to touch-up the car before putting it up for sale. When I buffed the car, I think it pulled this paint out so I'm not sure if this type of system would stand up to a significant buffing like the one I gave it (i.e. 3 step, cutting pads and polishing pads).

OK, enough talk. The good news is I took before and after pics. The bad news is I tried to avoid using the flash and forgot to really bump the ISO up to get a lower shutter speed resulting in some blurred pics. I did the hood and trunk lid too. Here are a few sample shots and a link to more on Picasa.

Before:

After
even though the chips are still there and up close you can obviously still see them, when standing by the car you wouldn't really notice:

Finally - all pics are here. This includes hood and trunk lid: Picasa Web Albums - cabland - 20100619 - BM...

 

[blackxs]

Amazing work. I think I will invest in this for my Jet Black car. its irritating seeing all that pitting on the front and not knowing what to do... respray has been on my mind, but this seems like a great alternative. Thanks!

 

[Blackrain]

For $40 some time, and some elbow grease, that is a very nice result. I have read the Dr. Color chip system works better for dark colored cars, but no harm in trying a light color as well. Thanks for the pics.

 

[jamiepeers]

Thanks dude. My carbon black front bumper is rashed up on the UK passenger side. Might give this a go for the amount it costs

 

[CSBM5]

For $40 some time, and some elbow grease, that is a very nice result. I have read the Dr. Color chip system works better for dark colored cars, but no harm in trying a light color as well. Thanks for the pics.

It works much better for dark colors since it visually eliminates the eye's desire to focus on white specs in the paint. Hence you tend to "see" a smooth continuous color afterward from more than 1ft or so away. It works better if you do two applications, separated by a week or so, in my experience.

I had such good results on my M5 (LMB) and E46 (Imola) that I ordered a rash kit for my S4 (silver). On a silver car that is pitted from road rash, you really don't see it until you get up close anyway unlike dark colors. Using DCC on it only marginally helped its appearance since it is still easy to see the chip depth on silver paint unlike a dark color, so the stunning turnaround that can be seen on a dark color is hardly there with silver in my experience.


Chuck

 

[caspian65]

Agree that if you use the "smearing" method, will take a couple applications. Did you try out the putty paddle to spread the paint?

 

[cab]

I agree that on silver or white I probably wouldn't bother - darker colors only with the heavy contrast. My wife has a silver 530i with a few chips - can't see doing this on her car. I did not try the bondo spreader method as the t-shirt was workign well enough. I think the spreader might work better for larger chips - I also think that dabbing the paint in larger chips (to create a blob) would help to build some depth in those chips.

 

[cknaak]

I used Dr Color chip on my Anthracite Grey hood and front bumper. When you looked really close you could still see the chips but if you were just standing and looking at the front you couldnt really tell that there used to be tons of rock chips. Unfortunately after about a month it seemed like it started to wear off and the chips were coming back(no, not new chips). Eventually I just filed a claim with the insurance company and got the front resprayed.