Stone chip on new S3

Toadoftoadhall

Toadoftoadhall

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Anyone else suffered the annoying stone chips within days of collecting?

I have a small, but annoyingly noticeable one on bonnet - through to the light colour undercoat - noticed on only its second day of use! :ohmy:

I went dealers to pick up a touch up kit and they dont do them for estoril blue !!

They referred me to their audi approved local paint shop. I havent seen them yet but wondered if anyone has experience of sorting this sort of thing out?

On the net I did find the Chipex kits which seem to be available for estoril blue. Outwardly i seems like it should do the job. I would welcome any advice/experience on this as I have never had to do a stone chip on such a new car and obviously dont want to mess it up!
 
I got a very minor windscreen chip on my second day. Size of a match head and autoglass say it's too small to do anything with.
 
Strange you mention this as I picked up a bonnet stone chip very soon after getting the car.

It is only noticeable when you look close up - but I know its there and as you say on a brand new car it is very annoying.

Had it a lot worse on cars in the past - A Nissan 350z used to have fresh chips after every single trip, the paint was so soft and thin on that.

I think it is one of those things with modern cars and paints which are more 'enviro' friendly !

Any pictures to share yet mate ? :thumbsup:
 
Isn't it something to do with modern water based paint? It's more brittle or something like that...
 
You could always get one of the chips away type people to do it for you, they mix their own paint. From what I've seen their results are excellent.
 
Try paints4u.com you'll be able to order a touch up kit from there if not available from Audi.
 
Audi don't do a touch up kit for Estoril blue?!? Why wouldn't they do one?

That has to be bull to make you go to their paint shop and make you pay big money for the trouble.
 
Got a few quotes waiting to come back for 3M stone chip protection film.

I had it on my old MK5 Golf GTI and found it excellent stuff. I hate stone chips and hence starting investigations. Also want to protect some very expensive LED headlight units....
 
I just scraped my front bumper on the house wall, £150 + VAT to fill and respray.
 
Just something that's going to happen unfortunately :( could get the bumper, bonnet, wings wrapped in paint protection film. Lasts years and not that noticeable or expensive.
 
I noticed a ****** stone chip on my bonnet today whilst washing it. Popped down halfrauds and luckily they had a brilliant red touchup kit. But I'm struggling to get a smooth finish. The paint just blobs. Anyone know the cost a of smart repair / chips away type of repair?
 
600 miles and picked up a big chip on the windscreen and a large 'bullet hole' type mark on my front number plate - both in the UK.
 
I noticed a stone chip on the roof. Down to the metal so not impressed, and three dots next to each other.

Also its an estoril so I will try my dealer next week to see what they can offer.

Its been a few months since collection, but still annoying. Also Im not sure what the roof and other panel are made out of, so I might need to sort it soon before any rust gets hold, although its garaged so not such an issue.
 
audi upgrades
Thanks for the suggestions, I am still considering what best to do. With the poor state of the Uks roads especially after these last few months this sort of thing is almost inevitable but still incredibly annoying. Sorry to hear of others similar issues too :(
 
I have a cure for this issue, I discovered it when I moved from my A1 to A3.
Leave more space between you and the car in front, yes you may have to drive a little slower but the stones from the car in front will not hit your bonnet..........
Had car since October and not one chip......
 
yetirider said:
I have a cure for this issue, I discovered it when I moved from my A1 to A3.
Leave more space between you and the car in front, yes you may have to drive a little slower but the stones from the car in front will not hit your bonnet..........
Had car since October and not one chip......
Click to expand...
Bit difficult when your on a Motorway... cars at the side of you
 
MA3RC said:
Stone Chip Repair Guide - Detailing World

May be worth giving this a go
Click to expand...

Would note some caution before attempting this method. This guide was done on crappy soft BMW paint which chips far worse than VAG paint. I repaired my MINI JCW many times with good results, but part of this success was being able to remove the wet and dry marks easily (you do this to stop the repair sitting proud of the paint work) with a DA polisher. Some people may know VAG lacquer is rock solid and needs some times an aggressive pad / polish combo to remove the marks.

I say this as when I got my A1 I fixed a few chips but it was not easy due to the hardness of the lacquer. Lots of trial and error.

Got a quote this morning for 3m ventureshield at £499 inc fitting. I'm just going to bite the bullet and go for it....
 
Yes, 100% agree that the VW /Audi Lacquer is very hard.

So if you wet sand it with 2500 you will have to re-cut and polish out those marks from the very hard surrounding lacquer - nightmare.


This is why I think the Chipex kit is probably a better compromise for us with hard clear coat lacquers. It's a compromise, but then everything else is.

I've resigned myself to a front end and bonnet respray after 3 or so years at around £400, about the same as a 3M Ventureshield kit and pro installation !

Chipex Ltd - Car touch up paint - colour match guaranteed
 
veeeight said:
Yes, 100% agree that the VW /Audi Lacquer is very hard.

So if you wet sand it with 2500 you will have to re-cut and polish out those marks from the very hard surrounding lacquer - nightmare.


This is why I think the Chipex kit is probably a better compromise for us with hard clear coat lacquers. It's a compromise, but then everything else is.

I've resigned myself to a front end and bonnet respray after 3 or so years at around £400, about the same as a 3M Ventureshield kit and pro installation !

Chipex Ltd - Car touch up paint - colour match guaranteed
Click to expand...

Are you going to get 3m ventureshield for your S3 when it comes? I've had it before on a previous car but don't think anyone else has bought it on the forum. The A3 / S3 is still a bit too new for some suppliers to have the template.
 
I thought about it, but I couldn't live with the line on the bonnet where the bonnet film ends, so it would be no to the bonnet.

I'm still considering the front end for filming, but the thing that is nagging at me is that it's a little like the screen protectors for iPhones. You're just saving the screen for the next owner, and not actually enjoying the retina screen for yourself!!

I've optioned up Crystal Effect Paint - which I'm sure won't look it's best under a film, despite the 3M Ventureshield being one of the best around !

So all things considered - current thinking is to run naked on the car, just touch in the stone chips to prevent corrosion, then get a respray when it all gets too much!
 
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veeeight said:
I thought about it, but I couldn't live with the line on the bonnet where the bonnet film ends, so it would be no to the bonnet.

I'm still considering the front end for filming, but the thing that is nagging at me is that it's a little like the screen protectors for iPhones. You're just saving the screen for the next owner, and not actually enjoying the retina screen for yourself!!

I've optioned up Crystal Effect Paint - which I'm sure won't look it's best under a film, despite the 3M Ventureshield being one of the best around !

So all things considered - current thinking is to run naked on the car, just touch in the stone chips to prevent corrosion, then get a respray when it all gets too much!
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I found the "line" was only visible when a build up of wax got on the leading edge of the film. Easy to sort. But with darker paint it might stand out bit more. Lighter colours seem to be much easier to hide it with.

VAG paint is actually very hard wearing and it does hold up well in comparison to BMW stuff (another reason not to get a m 135i).

I can +1 the chipex stuff also
 
Last edited:
Ha.

My neighbour with his Civic Type R has paint so soft they might as well have used butter as the final coat.

It's that soft, he doesn't wash the car more than 4 times a year.
Just regular washes for his wheels, lights and screen.
 
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So, is it true that you can't get an touch up kit for Estoril from the Audi shop? I was going to get one eventually but if it's impossible i'll just get one from the web.
 
yetirider said:
I have a cure for this issue, I discovered it when I moved from my A1 to A3.
Leave more space between you and the car in front, yes you may have to drive a little slower but the stones from the car in front will not hit your bonnet..........
Had car since October and not one chip......
Click to expand...

Lol - thanks for that suggestion! Better still perhaps leave the car at home and take the bus :)

In all seriousness I do leave a pretty reasonable gap when following traffic but will overtake when I have an opportunity (and my new s3 has increased this likelihood massively) and I do know this - stone chips don't always come from car in front, previous stone chips and a screen chip I have had been from oncoming traffic when I have not been following any other vehicle so there is simply no accounting for that.
 
With the state of our roads these days this, unfortunately, will be a common occurance...
 
cuke2u said:
With the state of our roads these days this, unfortunately, will be a common occurance...
Click to expand...

After driving around locally I feel drained even after a short journey having to concentrate so hard on avoiding all the small pot holes raised covers and other obstacles on our roads these days it's a pain in the rectum. Limited council funds + ageing infrastructure + more road users = ****ty roads
 
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Ordered from chipex, quite expensive but probably worth it.
 
It's a chip, you'll get them.
I tend to just live with them.

For any bad and/or more visible ones I use a toothpick to gradually fill the chip (allowing paint to harden each time), then same with lacquer.
Don't use the brush that comes with the touch up.
 
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No matter what gap you leave between you and the car in front you will get stone chips. I have had an absolute Boulder chip my windscreen in my old car from a Hgv which was in lane 1 around 4 car lengths in front of me. It bounced twice before hitting my window...

Chips will happen, the first couple are bad, then you stop caring as much, but I am considering the venture shield just for the front bumper.
 
I did think about VS, but then thought that I may as well save the money and just pay the likes of chips away once a year at the start of each summer to touch up any chips IF I get any!
 
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