stone chips

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soody

New Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
10
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
Car
2002 c220 cdi avantgarde se
hi everyone, i had my car polished this week, and after the polish it has revealed loads of stone chips on the wheel arches and bonnet. they weren`t visible before the polish, it seems that polish has brought them all out. can anyone tell me how i can touch them up, and what i should use. thanks
 
I have the exact same problem, didn't realise until today just how back they are!

It may be worth checking the bumper as well, mines is just as bad as the bonnet.

I know that at service time, well not sure if they still do it but the dealer used to touch up the paint chips to prevent rusting.

If your not thinking respray then either look at Halfords or the dealer for the touch up pen kit, there is a link somewhere for a how to that a member of one of the other forums did, really good worth a look!
 
I agree, use Halfords for the touch up pens. They have a pen tip compared with MB's brush, so can be used to fill in small imperfections without making them into bigger ones!

Best way to do it properly is to use touch up paint, leave a day then lacquer. After a week i would gently rub down with P2000 wet&dry paper and then compund polish them for a smooth finish.
 
Watching a guy at the dealership touching up cars on the forecourt, he was mixing the colour and lacquer 50/50 and then using a tiny artists brush to touch in.

He wasn't much of a one for conversation but he reckoned that was the best option he had found over the years for keeping the paint within the chip and also matching the original gloss.

Just visible at a foot or less but seemed fine beyond that.
 
Try chipsaway.co.uk They are franchises where they come to your home and treat chips, dents, scuffs etc.

Last year the windscreen on my previous car got smashed. The guy came to replace it but somehow got the glass over the bonnet and the bonnet get heavily scratched.

I complained to the company and they sent this guy from chipsaway. He used various resins and polishes and after a couple of hours the bonnet was as good as new. He also did the rest of the bodywork for me.

The end result was superb. I think they do a free quote.
 
I hate to say this but these water based paints prior to 2004 are really prone to chipping and it is a 'must' to keep abreast of plonking a dollop of paint into any marks you find. There are a number of threads all with excellent tips, some even recommend buying an older Mercedes-Benz with better quality paint :eek: ;)

I find the brush that comes with some touch up kits to be worse than useless, but that might be me. A tooth pick, or really fine object, plus perhaps a really fine artists brush are all better options.

Good luck,
John
 
et0609 said:
Try chipsaway.co.uk They are franchises where they come to your home and treat chips, dents, scuffs etc.

Last year the windscreen on my previous car got smashed. The guy came to replace it but somehow got the glass over the bonnet and the bonnet get heavily scratched.

I complained to the company and they sent this guy from chipsaway. He used various resins and polishes and after a couple of hours the bonnet was as good as new. He also did the rest of the bodywork for me.

The end result was superb. I think they do a free quote.

Chips away came out to my mates car the other day, they did a good job... But they actually just sprayed above the door line, rather than polish the scratch out which is fair enough, It cost him £110.00 so a bit more expensive than a touch up kit.
 
glojo said:
I hate to say this but these water based paints prior to 2004 are really prone to chipping and it is a 'must' to keep abreast of plonking a dollop of paint into any marks you find. There are a number of threads all with excellent tips, some even recommend buying an older Mercedes-Benz with better quality paint :eek: ;)

I find the brush that comes with some touch up kits to be worse than useless, but that might be me. A tooth pick, or really fine object, plus perhaps a really fine artists brush are all better options.

Good luck,
John

Part agree with John the tooth pick way or a very fine brush - not one supplied by Halfrauds is a good idea.

However have found that our 2001 C270 has no chips compared to the old 1994 C250 that had loads at equivalent 50K miles over similar use......

That said VW cars chip really easily.
 
glojo said:
I hate to say this but these water based paints prior to 2004 are really prone to chipping and it is a 'must' to keep abreast of plonking a dollop of paint into any marks you find. There are a number of threads all with excellent tips, some even recommend buying an older Mercedes-Benz with better quality paint :eek: ;)

I find the brush that comes with some touch up kits to be worse than useless, but that might be me. A tooth pick, or really fine object, plus perhaps a really fine artists brush are all better options.
Mine's a late 2004 facelift C Class, which I think is supposed to have the Nano paint, and I've never had a car that chips so much. Perhaps it's too brittle? Every time I wash it I have to spend a few mins filling in the stone chips I've found.
I asked for some paint when I got the car from MB Direct (after they'd touched it up) and the gave me some in a small bottle. I just blob it into the hole with a cocktail stick and it generally settles about the right level, although stopping rust is a higher priority than appearance to me.
 
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Thanks for all the tips guys. Im gonna have to see to it as soon as possible, that i get it sorted. how long does it take till the chips start rusting. ive checked out the chipsaway website, and they seem very good. i think that will be the option that i will take, because i just dont have the time to do it myself. will be ringing them in the morning for a quote. thanks et0609 for the info.
 
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soody said:
how long does it take till the chips start rusting.

Not any easy question to answer, some chips only take away the top coating, other chips simply take away the paint and not damage the metal, some nastly chips actually scratch the metal surface (only a microscopic size) but these lasts one will rust very, very quickly. Don't forget that when you polish the car, you actually put wax into the 'chip' which will offer some form of protection, but will also interfere with the bonding of the new paint. I have never experienced any problems though with touch-up paint not bonding.

Regards,
John
 

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