So many paint chips...

[Spinstorm]

I gave me car a good wash today and noticed many, many paint chips and scratches (no doubt from people who cant part or who walked by too close to my car). It is really a shame to see there is so much damage.

(Damage here being relative because I only noticed these issues when cleaning the car looking for them, nevertheless they are annoying).

Most of the paint chips can be fixed with a touch up pen (that I have ordered from Halfords) but the scratches would require smart repair.

I do have one paint chip which is really bad in that it isn’t a complete chip; I can see the paint all pushed into the corner of the chip like a rolled up ball of foil. It’s still very small but that would have to be machine polished to smooth it out.

I may look into getting some smart repairs done and then it covered with some protective ceramic coating but I don’t think the ceramic coating would have meant I didn’t get the chips. The only way would be PPF and I can’t afford to spend £2k on that. I did look into getting it and applying it myself but I think some touching up from me and smart repair on the other parts and some ceramic coating (after paint correction) will do the job). Also need to smart repair 3 of my alloys with kerbing.

Below are some photos of the chips, but I also have several on my bonnet and side panels.

 

[AudiNutta]

Ceramic coating won’t stop any chips and doesn’t seem to stop any scratches either, even the lightest of scratches so if that is the principle behind getting it then don’t bother IMO.

PPF is the only way to stop chips, I have 3 chips on my drivers door and one is right at the top 2” under the window, you can’t stop them. I’m looking into full car PPF now.

I think you should definitely get a touch up pen from Audi not Halfords. Or even better type Chipex into google and look at that, best stuff out there at the moment for it.

Why did you decide against trying PPF yourself?

 

[Spinstorm]

Ceramic coating won’t stop any chips and doesn’t seem to stop any scratches either, even the lightest of scratches so if that is the principle behind getting it then don’t bother IMO.

PPF is the only way to stop chips, I have 3 chips on my drivers door and one is right at the top 2” under the window, you can’t stop them. I’m looking into full car PPF now.

I think you should definitely get a touch up pen from Audi not Halfords. Or even better type Chipex into google and look at that, best stuff out there at the moment for it.

Why did you decide against trying PPF yourself?

Just down to cost - I may still go ahead and try it but I’d want to get the chips sorted and paint corrected first, then may try a small area myself. I do wonder if it may actually be cheaper to pay a PPF company for the film directly rather than use one of the online places (which are rare).

 

[AudiNutta]

Just down to cost - I may still go ahead and try it but I’d want to get the chips sorted and paint corrected first, then may try a small area myself. I do wonder if it may actually be cheaper to pay a PPF company for the film directly rather than use one of the online places (which are rare).

Yeah that’s fair enough, PPF is expensive but it really does work.

Worth a try, plenty out there to message.

 

[billymc92]

Front end is covered in stone chips. Noticed these starting at 2000 miles

 

[TYb]

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to get the front end re sprayed a year or 2 down the line rather than PPF?

 

[D0C]

I've got some terrible stone chips on the TT. I'll post some photos tomorrow but the paint seems to chip much worse than some of my other cars.

 

[AudiNutta]

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to get the front end re sprayed a year or 2 down the line rather than PPF?

Yes, but you cannot match original paint.. will never be the same.

 

[Behind The Bins]

Stone chips impossible to stop, needed a new windscreen in first month of ownership

Just another factor of the state of the roads, more potholes, more loose tarmac = stone chips

 

[TYb]

Yes, but you cannot match original paint.. will never be the same.

PPF just seems a crazy expense on a car you probably won’t be keeping.

 

[billymc92]

PPF just seems a crazy expense on a car you probably won’t be keeping.

Your paying to keep it good for the next owner

 

[Spaceman_RS3]

Yes, but you cannot match original paint.. will never be the same.

You can but you have to pay for it a find a proper painter. Also nutter what ceramic coating are you using?

Have you guys seen fenylab new self healing ceramic coating

I had gtechniq crystal serum topped with eco v2 as had no scratches or marks after 18 months and that was on panther black. Did have a few stone chips but as said ceramic coating is of no help in that area

 

[AudiNutta]

Stone chips impossible to stop, needed a new windscreen in first month of ownership

Just another factor of the state of the roads, more potholes, more loose tarmac = stone chips

I’ve got 3 stone chips in my screen, ridiculous. Not having them repaired, will replace the screen when it cracks.

 

[AudiNutta]

PPF just seems a crazy expense on a car you probably won’t be keeping.

I’m keeping mine! Plan is for at least 5 years.

 

[AudiNutta]

You can but you have to pay for it a find a proper painter. Also nutter what ceramic coating are you using?

Have you guys seen fenylab new self healing ceramic coating

I had gtechniq crystal serum topped with eco v2 as had no scratches or marks after 18 months and that was on panther black. Did have a few stone chips but as said ceramic coating is of no help in that area

I’ve got a proper painter, it’s expensive but regardless you will always see a line somewhere in the door shuts etc, never invisible :/

I’m using Gyeon Durabead. I have seen Feynlab and it looks great but seems too good to be true. I suggested it when my car was new but my detailer hadn’t trialed it and wasn’t convinced on durability until he had.

I’m gutted how many light marks I have on mine, it’s heartbreaking. I came from my S3 which was near perfect with no swirling... just can’t keep them perfect with use.

 

[Callump01]

I've got three or four stone chips in my bonnet and a number of light scratches/swirls. It's really frustrating and i'm not sure if it's down to the way I wash, or that the paint is just soft and incredibly easy to scratch? Of course I'm using the two bucket method, fresh microfibers each time, fresh wool mitts, etc. Not sure what I could be doing wrong?

 

[AudiNutta]

I've got three or four stone chips in my bonnet and a number of light scratches/swirls. It's really frustrating and i'm not sure if it's down to the way I wash, or that the paint is just soft and incredibly easy to scratch? Of course I'm using the two bucket method, fresh microfibers each time, fresh wool mitts, etc. Not sure what I could be doing wrong?

Down to the way you wash the car most likely, patterns with the mitt, pressure.. not rinsing the mitt properly.

You really use a new mitt every time? I’ve has the same two mitts for the 7 months I’ve owned the car, one for up high one down low. If you’re replacing them every time they can’t be good quality mitts? Over £10 a piece?

 

[DW81]

This area in car ownership can really do your swede in. I’m like most will do the wheels first, then use citrus power to loosen up any heavily soiled areas that the pressure washer did not remove. Sometimes I snow foam if not will go two bucket method light pressure and rinse of each panel before plugging in the race glaze 0ppm for the final rinse with an open hose. Drying is done with the master blaster side kick as I’m convinced that most swirling happens at this stage of the wash. As all good detailer would say less contact is best. Does not always work though

 

[Dan_DJT]

Pretty much impossible to avoid stonechips and still use the car in my experience. The key to avoiding swirl marks it to get most of the dirt off the car before you take a wash mitt near it. If the car has a good wax or sealant then dirt should come away easy with a good snow foam etc.

 

[AudiNutta]

This area in car ownership can really do your swede in. I’m like most will do the wheels first, then use citrus power to loosen up any heavily soiled areas that the pressure washer did not remove. Sometimes I snow foam if not will go two bucket method light pressure and rinse of each panel before plugging in the race glaze 0ppm for the final rinse with an open hose. Drying is done with the master blaster side kick as I’m convinced that most swirling happens at this stage of the wash. As all good detailer would say less contact is best. Does not always work though

I have a blower too but I find it always leaves some kind of streak / water mark and I can’t deal with that, very rare I use it. I normally use it to get rid of the bulk to not saturate my towel but intentionally leave some on there to aid removing any water marks.

 

[DW81]

The side kick blows out warm air and drys the water instantly with no marks. It could be that you live in a hard water and like me would get water spots on my old cars until I started to use the race glaze filter. No more spotting and drys great.

 

[AudiNutta]

The side kick blows out warm air and drys the water instantly with no marks. It could be that you live in a hard water and like me would get water spots on my old cars until I started to use the race glaze filter. No more spotting and drys great.

I’ve got a dog blower and it gets really warm too, just seems to end up creating marks when the beads streak across the paintwork.

We have very soft water here in South Wales, but still get water marks

 

[Splathead]

Got my first stone chip 5 miles after leaving the dealership on collection day.
I saw the stone flick off a lorry that I was overtaking. It made a cluster of 4 or 5 chips on the bonnet.
Annoying but that's life.

I had a stone chip my drivers side window on Friday. Not experienced that before.

 

[trilla]

I don't bother with any sort of protection to be honest, simply because I don't really care. It's a car and the reality of driving a car on the roads is that a stone might hit your paint. I haven't noticed any yet but my old GTI was covered. PPF is absolutely not worth it on something like an RS3, you'll never get that money back because a few stone chips will make a very small difference, if any, to resale price. On something more supercar flavoured it makes sense but why people bother on anything else is completely beyond me.

 

[Spinstorm]

I ordered some paint from Chipex.

I don’t know if anyone else has used them - but it seems you put it into the scratch/chip hole; press down, leave it for a few minutes then they have a solution that will dissolve the paint that it on the surface and so you should have the damaged area filled in and looking like there wasn’t ever any damage.

I will wash my car tomorrow by hand then have a go on the scratches/chips and see how it turns out.

 

[Marshy]

I ordered some paint from Chipex.

I don’t know if anyone else has used them - but it seems you put it into the scratch/chip hole; press down, leave it for a few minutes then they have a solution that will dissolve the paint that it on the surface and so you should have the damaged area filled in and looking like there wasn’t ever any damage.

I will wash my car tomorrow by hand then have a go on the scratches/chips and see how it turns out.

I’ll be interested on the outcome, I bought a touch up from Audi for my Sepang and it takes much more effort than that to try and get right.
Look forward to your opinion

 

[AudiNutta]

I ordered some paint from Chipex.

I don’t know if anyone else has used them - but it seems you put it into the scratch/chip hole; press down, leave it for a few minutes then they have a solution that will dissolve the paint that it on the surface and so you should have the damaged area filled in and looking like there wasn’t ever any damage.

I will wash my car tomorrow by hand then have a go on the scratches/chips and see how it turns out.

I’ve got a Chipex kit sat on my desk that my detailer is due to apply to my drivers door in a few weeks, I am a bit dubious.

 

[temo_wil]

Just take your time and slowly build up the layers over a few hours until it’s slightly raised above the chip then use a compound like G3 to take it down. I use a needle tip to apply as a brush is to large.

If anyone is around the Norwich area and want me to show them then just drop me a message.

Good luck though.... paint chips are the work of the devil.

 

[Bells]

I’ve used chipex I’d say it’s okay but not great. I had quite a deep chip on the underside / join of my side skirt and it seemed to cover after a few coats but still slightly visible if you were looking for it. After a few months and a couple of washes it was back again and looked like had never been done. Seemed to be a temporary cover up solution for me. Also had the same problem from a minor stone chip on the wheel arch exact same thing happened, don’t think I’ll be buying again.

 

[Spinstorm]

I would say having tried it that it does a very good colour match and its fairly easy to apply but at least on the crystal paint still shows that there was a touch up - it doesn’t look like it is perfect. Is that better than a hole from a chip? Yes it is.

So if you approach it like that then it is a good idea. I actually bought a dual action polishing machine from Halfords today and some compound and I am going to try polishing out some scratches that I couldn’t do by hand. I am 50/50 on how well this will work. I am going to be very delicate and start on a very small area and see how it turns out.

However I get the feeling that really if you want to have the car look like new the best value option is smart repair because they will fill the holes and re- spray the area. And that re spray will also remove all the surface scratches that I can’t polish out too.

 

[Behind The Bins]

I would say having tried it that it does a very good colour match and its fairly easy to apply but at least on the crystal paint still shows that there was a touch up - it doesn’t look like it is perfect. Is that better than a hole from a chip? Yes it is.

So if you approach it like that then it is a good idea. I actually bought a dual action polishing machine from Halfords today and some compound and I am going to try polishing out some scratches that I couldn’t do by hand. I am 50/50 on how well this will work. I am going to be very delicate and start on a very small area and see how it turns out.

However I get the feeling that really if you want to have the car look like new the best value option is smart repair because they will fill the holes and re- spray the area. And that re spray will also remove all the surface scratches that I can’t polish out too.

Can’t say I’m a fan of smart repair

Can they match the colour? Can they match the texture? Any post factory paint usually ends in tears I’ve found. Maybe a good detailer could help out

 

[Spinstorm]

Can’t say I’m a fan of smart repair

Can they match the colour? Can they match the texture? Any post factory paint usually ends in tears I’ve found. Maybe a good detailer could help out

They can match the colour - they make the paint in their vans. So for example they would fill in a big chip or dent and then spray it over. And it looks fine to me. Of course I agree that if your looking up close maybe your right; and maybe thats where a detailer can help.

But I would rather have some very faint paint line (if there is even one) than a dent and scratch. There is also the cost implication. Smart repair is maybe £60 for some scratches and a body shop is hundreds. We know that someone else is going to mess up our paint again so I would rather not get it done in a body shop which is more expensive and inconvenient just to end up with the same problem very soon after.

 

[RS3 S.]

Sad fact of life with modern water based paint. Mine has a couple of chips, drivers side alloy on one of the spokes, drivers side skirt & one on the front splitter.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

"Enviro-friendly" water based paint is so soft on cars nowadays that you just can't stop this and are fighting a losing battle.

Get them repaired and then the process will begin all over again

I hate them too and do use a touch up pen for any bad ones, but that is all I do.

 

[Powerenhancer]

+1 on the water based paint. They certainly don't make it like they used to.

With regards to Chipex, it is no different to the much cheaper touch-up paints found on eBay that contain a shine/gloss additive.