# Any advice regarding stone chips?



## SteveW

Hello all,

I've read a few of the existing threads regarding stone chips and am still none the wiser as to what is the best thing to do......

I have a black car (seat Leon FR ST) that I bought in June. I've had a black car once before and although I loved it, it was high maintenance with regard to keeping clean etc. This time around I'm at least a bit more aware of how much work it will entail I guess, and to be honest I do enjoy getting out on the driveway and spending a few hours on it most weekends, so it's all good 

There are a few stone chips on the paintwork (it's almost 5 years old with 59k on the clock, so to be expected I guess) and I'd like to touch them up as best I can, but am unsure what's the best way to do it. The chips are not massive and none appear to be through the primer.

I don't have a machine polisher, I do all my work by hand and to be honest I'll probably stay that way because (a) I've been doing it that way for the 30+ years I've owned a car and (b) I'm too scared to let myself loose on a car I love with a machine :lol:

Previously I've just bought a touch-up pen kit from the manufacturer and dabbed the paint on a stone chip, but ended up with it all over the place because the brush was too big for the chip etc. So this time, after reading and watching various videos I'll be at least using a toothpick or similar to dab a tiny amount of paint and build it up slowly so it looks less bad!

But now I've noticed adverts on my Facebook feed (obviously due to me googling etc) for Chipex and the like and they look really easy to use.

I guess that's what's lead me to writing this post, because they seem to have mixed reviews on here and I don't now if it's worth the money, or whether I should just go with the original plan of toothpick and touch up paint, then a hand polish after?

Any advice gratefully received


----------



## Soul boy 68

The only sure and decent way is to have the effected area re sprayed. Stone chips are very hard to repair and you'll always notice them.


----------



## joe456

I found a toothpick didn't really work for me, the paint dried on the toothpick quite quickly, so I have ordered a 00 size artists brush from ebay.

I wasn't sure what was best with chipex vs dr colour chip. Some people had some amazing results, others were quite poor but it seems to vary depending on who is doing it and the colour.

I ended up going for manufacturers touch up with the lankga blob eliminator (similar to chipex etc) I've yet to try it yet though, just waiting on some better weather

I'm not expecting amazing results, but it will be interesting to see how it turns out.


----------



## Dave50

I used this as a guide and got really good results.






Dave


----------



## joe456

That's one of the first videos I saw, it's a good video I just wished he showed some before / after shots of the chips, the outro makes it look like the bonnet is perfect but I'm sure that's not the case


----------



## SteveW

Soul boy 68 said:


> The only sure and decent way is to have the effected area re sprayed. Stone chips are very hard to repair and you'll always notice them.


Yeah, I know it's not going to be perfect. to be fair the bonnet does have a bit of touch up already on one side edge that frustratingly I didn't notice before I bought it! So it could do with a respray anyway.

But I have a few others around the car, a couple on doors and two on the boot, so I don't really want to be paying to spray all of the panels for what is essentially a daily driver that will end up with more stone chips anyway. I just kinda want to make it look a bit better so the only person that really notices them is me if that makes sense?

With it being a black car, and white primer underneath, any chip in the paintwork is quite obvious from a fair distance. If I could improve it just a little, I'd be reasonably happy I think


----------



## SteveW

joe456 said:


> I found a toothpick didn't really work for me, the paint dried on the toothpick quite quickly, so I have ordered a 00 size artists brush from ebay.
> 
> I wasn't sure what was best with chipex vs dr colour chip. Some people had some amazing results, others were quite poor but it seems to vary depending on who is doing it and the colour.
> 
> I ended up going for manufacturers touch up with the lankga blob eliminator (similar to chipex etc) I've yet to try it yet though, just waiting on some better weather
> 
> I'm not expecting amazing results, but it will be interesting to see how it turns out.


Had a look at the Langka blob eliminator too, this is the problem I am not really sure which of the options give me the best chance of a reasonable fix.

If/when you get a chance to try the Langka, I'd be interested to know how you get on though!

I think I may well wait until the spring now to do the chips as inevitably there will be more by then as we go through winter! :lol:


----------



## SteveW

Dave50 said:


> I used this as a guide and got really good results.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dave


I'm just a bit nervous about sanding if I'm honest, never tried it before and haven't ever even used a machine polisher before either! :buffer:


----------



## joe456

I tried the Langka blob eliminator over the weekend on a "Ruby Red Metallic" car.

I applied a couple of coats of base and then once dry I used the langka.
It removed the blob ok but it ended up making the touchup in the chip "lighter" in colour. 

It also stinks quite a bit!

So then I decided to mix the base and clear touch up in a small pot. Weirdly when I was pouring some clear out I noticed it had a red tint and also had lots of flakes in it. The mix looked a lot more metallic.

I touched a few chips up with this mix, I will try the blob elimator again this evening and see if I still has issues with the colour.

One thing I did notice is that the initial blob colour match is perfect, I reckon if you did the wetsanding right you'd end up with an almost flawless finish. 

I think the langka stuff is basically the same stuff you get in chipex, and it's some sort of thinner.

I am going to spend the next few weeks trying various stuff to see what works best.


----------



## joe456

Just a thought, I wonder if the chip getting lighter is a problem with chipex and dr colour chip? I may have to check this out, if this is a general problem with these kits I reckon there will be some mentions of it


----------



## SteveW

joe456 said:


> I tried the Langka blob eliminator over the weekend on a "Ruby Red Metallic" car.
> 
> I applied a couple of coats of base and then once dry I used the langka.
> It removed the blob ok but it ended up making the touchup in the chip "lighter" in colour.
> 
> It also stinks quite a bit!
> 
> So then I decided to mix the base and clear touch up in a small pot. Weirdly when I was pouring some clear out I noticed it had a red tint and also had lots of flakes in it. The mix looked a lot more metallic.
> 
> I touched a few chips up with this mix, I will try the blob elimator again this evening and see if I still has issues with the colour.
> 
> One thing I did notice is that the initial blob colour match is perfect, I reckon if you did the wetsanding right you'd end up with an almost flawless finish.
> 
> I think the langka stuff is basically the same stuff you get in chipex, and it's some sort of thinner.
> 
> I am going to spend the next few weeks trying various stuff to see what works best.


thanks for the update, will be interesting to know how you get on if you don't mind replying with your results?



joe456 said:


> Just a thought, I wonder if the chip getting lighter is a problem with chipex and dr colour chip? I may have to check this out, if this is a general problem with these kits I reckon there will be some mentions of it


I am sure I have read this before, certainly regarding Chipex. I have looked at a lot of stuff about stone chips lately so I can't be sure if it was about Chipex or not now!


----------



## SamD

joe456 said:


> Just a thought, I wonder if the chip getting lighter is a problem with chipex and dr colour chip? I may have to check this out, if this is a general problem with these kits I reckon there will be some mentions of it


Touching a stone chip on will always look darker or lighters, you have to remember you're concentrating the colour in one area.


----------



## joe456

SteveW said:


> thanks for the update, will be interesting to know how you get on if you don't mind replying with your results?


I tried using the langka on the 50:50 mix chips I had done, but it's still the same, I am left with almost a pinky red in the chip

I think I may end up going back to the stock method of just touching up the best way possible and leaving it be.



SamD said:


> Touching a stone chip on will always look darker or lighters, you have to remember you're concentrating the colour in one area.


You are right, although when I had just the blob of paint the colour match looked spot on, it's only when I started to use the langka it lightened the colour, maybe it was taking too much of the colour out so I had hardly any colour hence lighter?

I think at the moment I actually prefer having a slight raised bump, there are some chips I managed to do quite well and I'm tempted to just not use the langka on them.


----------



## SteveW

joe456 said:


> I tried using the langka on the 50:50 mix chips I had done, but it's still the same, I am left with almost a pinky red in the chip
> 
> I think I may end up going back to the stock method of just touching up the best way possible and leaving it be.


I may end up doing that yet too. I don't usually worry too much about stone chips if I'm honest. The car is a daily driver and in a non-covid world would be covering 15-17000 miles a year so I'd be constantly repairing them if I wanted to stay fully on top of it.

It's just that with it being a black car they are so much more noticeable. Most people probably wouldn't bat an eyelid, they not massive chips, well most of them aren't. It's just that *I* Know they're there.

If I just toothpicked a tiny blob of paint onto most of them, I'm guessing it would mean that 99.9% of the population wouldn't even know they're there!


----------



## joe456

I tried another method suggested on the langka site but it didn't work very well.

I've decided I'll just start over but fill the chips very slowly and carefully over time.

I haven't had much luck with toothpicks, so I think I'll try a needle or something. Maybe a syringe:


----------



## SteveW

joe456 said:


> I tried another method suggested on the langka site but it didn't work very well.
> 
> I've decided I'll just start over but fill the chips very slowly and carefully over time.
> 
> I haven't had much luck with toothpicks, so I think I'll try a needle or something. Maybe a syringe:
> 
> Best Car Paint Touch up Tools Tips Tricks with Needle and Syringe Subaru Outback - YouTube


It's interesting in that video that he says to not chase getting it perfect as you never will and it's all about improving the look and protecting the bodywork rather than perfecting it.

Which goes back to Soul boy 68's first reply that the only sure way to fix it properly is to respray the affected panel. Which is obviously correct - but most of us can't be doing that to a daily driver every few months. I'd have no money left for detailing products then :lol:


----------



## joe456

SteveW said:


> It's interesting in that video that he says to not chase getting it perfect as you never will and it's all about improving the look and protecting the bodywork rather than perfecting it.


If you see his older videos he is a bit of a hypocrite, he goes through a long process doing a black Porsche and it looks amazing.

There is also another one where he does a cream Porsche for a museum. This also looks great, if I could get my cars close to this I would be happy, but I'm having so many issues applying it evenly.

I hoped the langka would solve this but it changes the colour of the touchup it seems.

I think I will try a syringe, my 00 paint brush just bends and it's already started fraying quite a bit


----------



## SteveW

joe456 said:


> If you see his older videos he is a bit of a hypocrite, he goes through a long process doing a black Porsche and it looks amazing.
> 
> There is also another one where he does a cream Porsche for a museum. This also looks great, if I could get my cars close to this I would be happy, but I'm having so many issues applying it evenly.
> 
> I hoped the langka would solve this but it changes the colour of the touchup it seems.
> 
> I think I will try a syringe, my 00 paint brush just bends and it's already started fraying quite a bit


I guess the main trick is not to expect a quick fix, and to build the paint up slowly.

I've never done that previously, just dabbed or brushed with a touch up paint and always been disappointed with the result :lol:


----------



## joe456

I'm impatient and a bit of a perfectionist, which is not a good combination :lol:

I am getting better at filling the chips now (where I've started over again on some)

The easiest ones IMO are on the edge of the doors and lower down on the sides as there is not much direct light. Wings and bonnets are a pain though!


----------



## Kenan

Iv been working round my MK2 black Leon removing chips/scratches. I just apply the paint and lacquer in a 50/50 mix using the tiny cotton buds type applicator. On the whole most of the repairs have been invisible and I suffer from a lack of any finesse. 

I'm wet sanding the flatten the paint repairs before machine polishing. Are you wet sanding the chip repairs?

Sent from my Redmi Note 7 using Tapatalk


----------



## joe456

I am not wetsanding as I am not confident enough with it, plus the car I am currently working on is not mine.

Wetsanding seems like the best results you can get short of a respray though.

As a note I haven't had much luck with a syringe. Even with a 1ml syringe you can't push it slow enough and you just end up with a blob


----------



## Kenan

I know wet sanding is a jump, was my first attempt not long ago so understand the apprehension. 

Some of the kits come with a liquid wipe (thinners or similar) that you use to wipe the chip down shortly after application to level it. Might be worth a look. 

Sent from my Redmi Note 7 using Tapatalk


----------



## Blanco92

I find these applicators really good for touch up paint:
https://www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=7026&Mainselection=3

I think their kits are very good too (personal experience; no affiliation).


----------



## SteveW

joe456 said:


> I am not wetsanding as I am not confident enough with it, plus the car I am currently working on is not mine.
> 
> Wetsanding seems like the best results you can get short of a respray though.
> 
> As a note I haven't had much luck with a syringe. Even with a 1ml syringe you can't push it slow enough and you just end up with a blob


OK, so without sanding I guess we have to accept there will be blobbing of some sort. I guess it boils down to what looks worse, a bit of a blob the same colour as the car or (in my case) a white dot on a black panel......



Kenan said:


> I know wet sanding is a jump, was my first attempt not long ago so understand the apprehension.
> 
> Some of the kits come with a liquid wipe (thinners or similar) that you use to wipe the chip down shortly after application to level it. Might be worth a look.
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 7 using Tapatalk


I think this is what you get in the chipex kits and the langka stuff?



Blanco92 said:


> I find these applicators really good for touch up paint:
> https://www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=7026&Mainselection=3
> 
> I think their kits are very good too (personal experience; no affiliation).


I've seen those applicators and wondered how the differ to a toothpick, they look actually a bit bigger than the tip of a toothpick and some of my chips are really tiny.

Most people wouldn't notice them, it's just that I do :lol:


----------



## SteveW

Well I ordered a Chipex kit yesterday after not being very careful when I backed onto my drive and opened my door not realising I was closer to my house than I thought I was....

So now I have this towards the bottom of my driver's door:-










Not the end of the world, but very annoying. But it got me thinking that it's probably a good place to use as a first attempt with the chipex kit as it won't really notice if I don't do a particularly good job first time round. Certainly better than trying to use a chip in the middle of my rear door as my first fix anyway 

Every cloud has a silver lining apparently  :lol:


----------



## Andyblue

SteveW said:


> Well I ordered a Chipex kit yesterday after not being very careful when I backed onto my drive and opened my door not realising I was closer to my house than I thought I was....
> 
> So now I have this towards the bottom of my driver's door:-
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not the end of the world, but very annoying. But it got me thinking that it's probably a good place to use as a first attempt with the chipex kit as it won't really notice if I don't do a particularly good job first time round. Certainly better than trying to use a chip in the middle of my rear door as my first fix anyway
> 
> Every cloud has a silver lining apparently  :lol:


Hope you get it sorted - pop you thoughts up / findings up when you've used it, will help others :thumb:


----------



## joe456

Door edges I find are a lot easier as the light doesn't catch an edge unlike on a big flat panel.

Would be handy if you can get some detailed pictures as some of the youtube videos aren't that great.

If I end up redoing some of my chips I will try to post some closeup before/after to give people an idea of what to expect and the isssues touching up :lol:


----------



## SteveW

I'll take some pics. I'm not going to attempt to film it, that'll end in a right mess :lol:

But I will certainly take a few pics and it'll be interesting to see how I get on. I figured that at least with the Chipex kit if it looks hideous I can just use the "blending solution" and remove all the new paint, then start again


----------



## Ant71

I've used a chipex kit and thought it was useless. Probably user error but I found the blending solution just removed the paint no matter how lightly I rubbed it.


----------



## SteveW

Ant71 said:


> I've used a chipex kit and thought it was useless. Probably user error but I found the blending solution just removed the paint no matter how lightly I rubbed it.


It does say in the instructions not to use too much blending solution otherwise colour will be lost and too much paint will be removed.


----------



## SteveW

So I had a go with the Chipex kit this afternoon.

Please don't be too judgy, this was my first attempt and I'm sure I can do a better job with a bit of practice :lol:

Initial thoughts on the kit is that it's very easy to use and the colour match is very good I think.

Contents of the kit:-










This was before anything was done and I used the blending solution to clean the area of the chip:-










Then after the paint was added:-










Then after a wipe with the blending solution. Initially I think I used too much blending fluid because it looked like I'd taken some of the paint out of the chip, so I added a bit more paint then blended again after waiiting for it to dry (which onyl takes around 5 mins)










Then you use the supplied polish to go over the repair, and buff off etc.










Admittedly on the edge of the door it's far from perfect, but again that's probabyl something I could improve on with a bit of practice?










But this will be how most people will see it - and I don't think anyone will actually notice it to be fair.










I'll know it's there of course, but it's a big improvement on what it started as and the metal is protected again, which I guess is the main thing.

There are a few more chips on the lower part of the car that I am going to practice on before I attempt anything that is more at eye level (like a chip I have on a rear door and on the tail gate).


----------



## Andyblue

Looks good - a definite improvement :thumb:


----------



## SteveW

Andyblue said:


> Looks good - a definite improvement :thumb:


It's far from perfect, but it took me probably less than half an hour to do and I'm sure I could achieve better results with a bit of practice


----------



## Kenan

You get better the more chips you do, good start 

Sent from my Redmi Note 7 using Tapatalk


----------



## joe456

Just thought I'd give you example of how the chip changes colour when you use the langka..

The touchup paint is spot on so after you get a blob on the chip you can only see the raised bump (I forgot to get a picture of this)

After I flat it with the langka it is super flat and smooth but is very light (see attached picture)

I am thinking of leaving this for a few days, maybe some of the chemicals in the langka need to go away, and it will darken a bit.


----------



## SteveW

joe456 said:


> Just thought I'd give you example of how the chip changes colour when you use the langka..
> 
> The touchup paint is spot on so after you get a blob on the chip you can only see the raised bump (I forgot to get a picture of this)
> 
> After I flat it with the langka it is super flat and smooth but is very light (see attached picture)
> 
> I am thinking of leaving this for a few days, maybe some of the chemicals in the langka need to go away, and it will darken a bit.


The paint on the door that I did on my Leon with the Chipex kit went a bit lighter after I flattened it with their blending solution, but the polish then restored a bit of the colour back so it didn't look so bad. Does yours improve with a polish afterwards?


----------



## joe456

I will probably give the car a wash (if the rain ever stops!) and then do a polish. :thumb: 

Haven't really had much time to experiment with lots of on/off rain here.


----------

