Hi All,

I have a 2016 F Type R Caldera Red and I got a small paint chip in the rear quarter panel, right above the rear tire. It looks like it was hit by a rock.

I am not an expert in car paint, but I noticed that the red paint is still intact, and the damage is only in the clear coat.The damaged area is small, around 1cm in width. Is there an easy way to fix this?

 

Sorry to hear. Very frustrating.

(This'll be a little long. Sorry.) I've done many chip repairs myself, though I'm no professional. That said, I see some pretty deep chips that appear to have blown through your clearcoat. I can't tell whether the base coat is damaged as well by your pic. But, what will make this repair difficult is the fact the damage is on a body crease, where pad correction will be a little challenging.

The "all in" repair would be sanding, painting and buffing. A costly process performed by a professional. A much less expensive alternative is correcting the damage by filling the chips with OEM paint, applying a leveling solution and polishing. This technique can yield satisfactory results for most, save the paint perfectionist. The process is only difficult to achieve a decent repair if one is trying to rush the job (as I used to do!), especially if the chips are deep as it appears in your case where the chip damage will likely have to be filled multiple times to build up the repair area to the level of the surrounding paint.

If you're not comfortable doing this repair yourself, you're best off having it repaired by a shop. But, if you decide to tackle the repair yourself, you might want to check out a repair process such as "Dr. ColorChip" here: Dr. ColorChip Automotive Paint Chip Repair Kit - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems Or the "Langka" repair kit here: LANGKA Complete Paint Chip Repair Kit: Repair scratches on your car without a professional paint job! touch-up paint, scratch repair kit, chip repair, Both use a technique of filling the damaged area with OEM paint and applying a proprietary solution to rub off the paint excess to level out the repair area with the surrounding paint.

I've used both products, but prefer the Dr. ColorChip solution because I was able to apply the leveling solution immediately after applying the paint. This enabled me to apply multiple paint applications in succession as need be, whereas the Langka system needs the paint to dry before applying the leveling solution.

Good luck. Keep us posted with your results.

 

I've used Dr. Chip before with good success. I would recommend this process also.

 

Thanks deltagroup for your comprehensive response. I actually showed the car to two professional repair shops, and both of them advised to repaint the small section around the paint chip (around 5x5 inch), and blend the new painted area with the original paint. I am not sure I want to go this way, as it is not really worth it to repaint as the chip is kind of small.

I was also looking at Dr.ColorChip reviews and tutorials. It looks easy to use and yields satisfactory results. I think the only issue with Dr.ColorChip is that it does not fill chips entirely. Did you get to fully fill chips with Dr.ColorChip?

So I went ahead and emailed Dr.ColorChip asking if they have Caldera Red paint (Color Code 1BD). Unfortunately, they don't. This was their response: "We checked on this color code and we don't currently have a formula or a color chip to match it. We may be able to make an approximate match by a picture.". How to proceed with this??

Also, thanks DFW for your response.

 

From the picture, it looks like the red paint is intact and the chip is in the clear coat, so you should not use the caldera paint but should just use clear coat instead.

 

Here's the deal, Totti. The repair shop sounds like they know what they're doing. I wouldn't go for a complete panel reshoot, but they suggested a 5"x5" area--that I would go for if I wanted to spend the bucks. Since your paint is factory fresh, I would expect an "as-new" repair as one could get. But, since you say the cost of going the professional route isn't worth it (I don't blame you), you can still achieve a decent repair yourself.

You are correct in saying Dr. ColorChip doesn't fill the chip completely. The process is intended to cover up the damaged area, not fill it. However, since I want to fill any chip damage as much as possible, I don't smear the paint after applying. I leave a "blob" on the surface and let it dry a few minutes before using the blending solution. The amount of time the paint is left to dry is the tricky part. You still want to be able to remove the paint using their solution--you don't want to let the paint dry past the point you have to resort to a thinner to remove it!

Filling using Dr. ColorChip takes a little practice. The first few times I tried to leave on the blob, I waited a little too long (drying time varies depending on temp, of course). I had a little difficulty removing the surrounding paint around the chip. I ended up rubbing all the paint out of the chip and had to start over. After a few times though, I was able to fill the chip and apply the solution with minimal impact to the filled chip. I suggest springing for their squeegee too. Made spreading over the chip much easier.

That said, since Dr. ColorChip doesn't have your Caldera Red paint code, consider going with Langka. (Just make sure you pick up a tube of OEM Caldera Red to make the repair.) You'll have to trust the process by letting the paint "blob" dry sufficiently. When you use the blending solution, I suggest you experiment with how you wipe the repair area. Try using top-to-bottom strokes with the blue removal "card" provided in the kit at different angles. If the card is too stiff to achieve a level repair surface, you might find it better to work across the crease in a lateral wiping motion instead. In the end, you may just want to apply successive fills to bring the chips up to the level of the surrounding paint.

 

Good point. Going with just a clear coat would certainly build up the area too. Depending on the paint color though, some chip repairs still show even though they're filled. Whereas a black car invites a clear coat repair with minimal show, I've found cars in lighter colors (red in particular) are trickier colors to match due to the "shadowing" around the chip. Again, experimenting is the way to go here.

 

I've suffered many a rock chip from the track and tried several DIY fixes with varying results. Dr. ColorChip and the related kits are great when you have a ton of chips and just want to diminish their appearance, but at the tricky location you've shown, I think you will be disappointed.

The sharp body line will emphasize any repair that isn't perfectly level with the surrounding paint and you will definitely need clear coat to complete the repair. The good thing is that non-metallic paints like yours are the easiest to blend with the surrounding areas. Good luck!

 

+1

 

Thanks guys for all your insightful responses. I did a quick research and found out that Caldera Red may have another color code, which is : CBP, 2206. I asked Dr.Colorchip if they can produce this color (still waiting for answer). I am not 100% sure that the color will match, but I may take the risk and go for it. I could not find OEM Caldera Red touch up anywhere online. Dealers nearby do not have it either.

Also, how can I repair the clear coat by myself? is there any specific product I should use?

 

If you've ever ordered house paint, they say to order it all at once to help ensure an accurate paint match. Auto paint is no different--it can be tricky to match. I've ordered paint from my local auto paint supply store (in both cans and spray) using the factory paint code and on occasion was disappointed. Though your repair area is small, you might see some difference. You may be better off going with a Jaguar touch-up kit instead (which would move you away from using Dr. ColorChip, I realize, and more into the Langka territory if you want a blending solution).

I rarely apply a clear coat over a rock chip. I know many go with a clear overcoat because they want protection from UV and other elements since clear is harder than base paint. I get that. But, I use cutting/polishing pads and a protective sealant to smooth out and protect the repair after the base has sufficiently dried. With the harder clear coat, one can end up cutting through the clear AND repaired base coat in an attempt to smooth out the repair. If you want to go with clear, you might consider mixing the base color and clear 1:1 and then apply the "mixture" to the repair. On what specific clear product to use, I know some manufs include a tube of clear in their touch-up kits. OTOH, many factory touch-up paint contain an element of clear (i.e., gloss) and the base color in the same bottle. I don't have a Jaguar touch-up kit so I don't know if a bottle of clear is provided in their touch-up kit. Anyone know?

At some point if you get into rock chip repair, you might want to check out these micro-brushes with great success. You can source them from lots of places. I just travel down the road to Griots: Touch-Up Paint Applicators, 25 Count - Griot's Garage

Lastly, this exchange reminds me of a long ago thread by some guy working for Autogeek (a detailing site) who said something to the effect that you don't find rock chip repaint listed as a service in 99.9% of all detail shops because applying touch-up paint isn't easy, fast or fail-proof. You can make it as complicated as you want, but sometimes the best thing to do is to clean the area, apply a little touch-up paint and move on. His comments have stuck with me (mostly), heh.

 

My Jaguar touch up kit included a bottle of clear.