# Chipex - what am I doing wrong....



## Mr Bigglesworth

Got some chipex as wanted to deal with a few stonechips and a scratch before selling the car. Ideally deal with the road rash too.

I tried filling a scratch with the paint and left it a few mins. The small foam block and cloth provided + blending solution + gently rubbing without pressure was really rubbish at removing the excess paint so it was horribly uneven. I found that I had to get some paper towels, quote a bit of the blending solution and then that seemed to take most of the paint from the scratches back out again.

Tried stone chips instead trying to be much more precise with the paint application and then quickly move to wiping off the excess after c. 30 seconds. I got a couple ok this way, but most of the time I was just wiping back off the paint. But again, if I leave the paint too long, the excess hardens so much that it only comes off with some firm rubbing which again takes out the paint. 

I'm thinking I must be getting the 'dwell time' of the paint wrong of something....

Advice much appreciated!


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## Mr Bigglesworth

DannyRS3 said:


> Best piece of advice on chipex is that you will never get it perfectly level, so don't aim for perfection, or you will who round and round. Using too much blending solution will always remove the paint from the scratch completely.
> 
> So dab it in with paint, give it 5 minutes and level it down, with just a few drops of fluid on the cloth, use about 1/2 what you're using now - literarily 2-3 small drops. First dab it on the blob of paint, then wait 10 seconds and start slowly levelling it. It should take a minute or two of light rubbing to start breaking down. Stop when it is still just above the surface and almost flush. Then walk away for at least a few hours, but ideally next day, and then polish it.
> 
> Its too easy to use too much fluid, or let the paint dry too much. You may have to adjust your drying time depending on the weather, but above all don't try and get it totally flat with the fluid alone, it just doesn't work. Let the polish do the final levelling once it's totally dry.


Ok, I'll give this a go tomorrow when its light.


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## Mr Bigglesworth

Still seem to be struggling with this. Leaving the paint for 5 mind mean slot of rubbing to get out back down anything like level, by which time the paint in the scratch had usually come out. I'm not very good at this. I wonder if if have more luck with the sand and polish approaches.


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## Rappy

I have never used it. But seen a great video on Autogeek. Very, very detailed & may help :thumb:

Please see the below


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## Barbel330

My main advice would be don’t expect too much from a touch up paint, the outcome is never very satisfactory. It’s easy to make it look like it’s good in a video or photos on the internet but in reality it’s just touch up paint and a brush. 

I’m not sure why it gets such a good rap on this forum tbh, I think it’s one of those internet things where somebody says it’s good on a forum, then other people copy and say it’s good because they’ve seen pictures/video even though they have never used it successfully themselves. 

The amount of people I have had ask me to respray panels after they’ve burned through the clear coat by trying to wet sand the touch ins flat like they were told on the internet is quite astonishing.

If you must touch chips in, simply touch the chips in with a small brush or ****tail stick and walk away is my usual advice. That’s as good as you’re likely to get it. Also bare in mind that the colour of your car will determine how well the touch in will look. The darker the colour, the more chance it’ll look like some sort of improvement. Silvers, greys, etc....don’t even bother as they’ll generally look worse after being touched in.


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## Ant71

I had the same issue. Just couldn't get the paint to stay in the chip or scratch no matter how lightly I rubbed it. I was thinking I hadn't cleaned it of sealant properly beforehand?


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## Ennoch

I've tried Chipex but I still find using Humbrol paint is a better option. After a thorough clean of the panel with wipe, I also use a clean toothbrush and more panel wipe to agitate all the crap in the chip marks. Humbrol can be easily wiped down after an hour or two with lighter fluid (less potent than panel wipe) to remove the excess. To avoid a microfibre taking paint out the chips before it's fully set, an old piece of newspaper can be wrapped around one of those foam blocks they give you with ceramic coatings - it's soft enough not to mar the surrounding paint and flat enough to not dig into the chips.


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## robby71

What about using a touch up paint so it sits proud of the chip, let it dry then use a festool to level it out?


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## Barbel330

If you mean the tungsten carbide denibber block that works very well but most people won’t want to spend £75 on one just to use once or twice. You do need to leave the paint a long time between touching in and levelling too as it needs to be fully hardened or the tungsten block will tear the paint and you’ll be starting again.


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