Smart repair?

[Was1]

Will attach pic later.....
On the m40 and a Pratt in a truck full of stones and debris decided to drive and not secure his cover causing a load of stones to fly out and some bounced off the bonnet of my 4 month old 13 plate e class. Thanks to this Pratt I have two chips on the bonnet which have taken the paint off to bare metal. Only a couple mm in size but noticeable. Anyone knw it recommend a smart
Repair?

 

[GordonTarling]

All I can tell you is that a local bodyshop talked me out of a smart repair on bonnet stonechips on my 211 - they reckoned they didn't last well.

 

[kinaero]

Will attach pic later.....
On the m40 and a Pratt in a truck full of stones and debris decided to drive and not secure his cover causing a load of stones to fly out and some bounced off the bonnet of my 4 month old 13 plate e class. Thanks to this Pratt I have two chips on the bonnet which have taken the paint off to bare metal. Only a couple mm in size but noticeable. Anyone knw it recommend a smart
Repair?

I always try avoiding following behind a truck of any type, even if nothing flying out of their load, there is always a good chance small gravel stones trapped in their their tyres will!!

If its only a couple of stone chips, i would just use touch up paint, and wait till you get more inevitable stone chips a couple of years time and get it to the proper paint shop to have front end resprayed instead, would only cost a little more.

 

[The Polisher]

Chips Away did my wives Focus over 2 years ago for exactly the same thing.

Top job and 2 years on, no issues.

Thoroughly recommend them, I think it was about £80 all in.

 

[Was1]

I would do the same kinaero and stay clear of trucks..however when I explained that to the mrs who was driving...well that's a separate story!:doh

 

[jotter22]

An unsafe load is the drivers responsibility you should have stopped or taken the vehicle details and contacted the company, The company i work for will repair any honest damage caused in this way.....Another job for the forward facing dashcam!
If you take the chips away route can you do pics before and after for reference please.

Tony

 

[Vlad]

We use Smart repair guys a lot and they do a great job, but they always recommend getting bonnets done at a bodyshop...something to do with big flat panel, getting the panel upto heat for the paint to dry properly etc etc etc.

With such a new car, I would suggest the bodyshop route.

 

[Merc Owner 2B]

If you don't get a Mercedes Approved repair then you may have issues with corrosion warranty further down the line

 

[Dieselman]

Just touch the chips in, it will be the start of a lasting love affair with bonnet road-rash.

 

[Sportwag]

The reality of getting the bonnet resprayed is that the paint is unlikely to be as hard as the original factory finish and so will be more susceptible to chipping in the future (such as gravel rash from motorways etc). Best thing to do is contact a pro detailer (try the detailing world website) and see if a good detailer can "fill" the paint chips and then "flatten back the repair" and polish (blend in) to a deep shine. This way you avoid a smart repair (many smart repairs do degrade over time), you keep the original paintwork on the bonnet and the repair is virtually invisible. With a Smart Repair, there is a risk that the new finish will deteriorate at a different rate to the original factory finish. Some tar removers and polishes can start to lift the lacquer - less noticeable on certain colours and it also depends on the area repaired as to how noticeable this is.

 

[Was1]

Thanks for the excellent advice..I'm going to speak to a detailer to see if I can avoid the smart repair route...and if they can't help I may just leave it for the chips to gather then just do the whole bonnet...it's just annoying and makes the car look horrible

 

[b1g1an]

Whatever you do, if it's gone threw to the metal as you say put something on it now to stop moisture getting in.