RonNSoCal

Well, the new SL400 is almost where I want it to be for now. The dustless brake pads are ordered and I have detailed the paint to an acceptable level for me. Anyone have ideas about cleaning up a few paint chips?

dan1495

I have had reasonable success with Dr. Colorchip, depending on the color.

hornethandler

This procedure is a little over the top, but it appears to produce excellent results.

RonNSoCal

Which colors are problematic? I would guess metallic, pearlescent and other special types of paint might come out more poorly, but I am just guessing.

Streamliner

Good guess. Solid colors will be the easiest. The lighter the color, the easier as well.

RonNSoCal

Thanks for sharing this video. I do not know if I could pull this off because I am not very patient, but I learned some things by watching the video. I am wondering if a touch up pen might at least allow me to make the chips look a little better. I understand our body is made of aluminum, so protecting the body with paint may not be as important as a steel body which could rust if unprotected.

TennesseeZ4

I have a Lunar Blue 2013, and at times when I return from a road trip it is chip city. I have used both Dr. Colorchip and MB touch up paint on the front fiberglass portion of the car with similar results. On the aluminum hood and fenders, Dr. Colorchip has been the most consistent, but the reality is that my paint shows chips to the extreme, reminds me of my teen age years in some ways. Some day I may have it repainted, but as much as I drive the car, I am resigned to the touch up process to at least keep the pop ups to a minimum. Or at least I believe that the front facia is fiberglass; it well may be aluminum, or some other poly material.

dan1495

You are correct. Silver and white metallic are very difficult in my opinion, but with some patience you can get decent results. I have a white metallic 2019 BMW X5 and I have had some fairly good success with it.

rorywquin

Best tip is not to drive too close to the car ahead of you. Chips are inevitable but keeping your distance makes a difference. I've done 16,000 miles and have 3 tiny chips (polar white) which could even be from on coming cars or when getting close enough to pass the car ahead.

I've found that building layers works best. You will always know the chips are there but any casual observer will not easily see a carefully repaired chip.

I'd expect that, like here. there are mobile chip repairers where you live that will come to your house for a reasonable price. My son had some chips & marks repaired on a metallic black BMW and I could not spot where the work had been done.

RonNSoCal

Most of my chips appear to have come from doors in parking lots. I have not heard of chip repair specialists, but can attest to the great results by paintless dent removal specialists on a steel bodied car. I wonder if their art will work as well on an aluminum bodied car; but let's hope I do not need to find out.

jmattioni

Definitely the metallics are a pain. I have the Diamond White - it's a so-called tri-color paint. Touch-up kits include a base color, mid-color, and clear coat. Could not get a good color match. The mid-color made the result too grey. Luckily the chips were small.

places

I have Diamond White as well, any way to blend the base and mid?

jmattioni

I tried that, but you have to use very little of the mid coat or it quickly gets too dark. For very small chips I found using just the base coat and clear coat was acceptable.

I used paint from TouchUpDirect and also tried OEM paint. I even tried using an air brush. The touch-up paint is too thick to spray and has to be thinned with the right solvent. There's definitely some skill involved. Next time I think I'll try having a detailer do the job.