# Chipex Review - Mazda RX8



## Zukabak (Mar 7, 2008)

As mentioned in a seperate 'Chipex Review' thread, I was given a review sample of Chipex kit and put together a review over on the RX8 Owner's Club forums.. here's a version for my DW brother's though!

All the photos are on my Flickr account, so you can click them to see larger versions and read the comments etc

Let's get straight down to business!

The kit arrives in a pretty unassuming cardboard box, without any labels, exterior packaging etc.
I'm not sure if this is because it's a 'review sample' or whether it's simply like that as it never gets any 'shop' time.

Either way, let's crack her open and see what's inside:


Kit Contents by Zookabak, on Flickr

The kit contains everything you're going to need. It breaks down as follows:
1x Pair Latex Gloves
1x Cotton Cloth Applicator
1x Microfibre Cloth
4x 'Stage 2' Applicator Cloths
4x Paint 'Brushes' - They're not actually brushes though, more like mascara wands
1x Plastic card (to be used like a 'squeegee')

And finally the paint:
1x 'Stage 1' - Premixed Colour matched paint. 
1x 'Stage 2' - Paint Remover - This seems to pretty much just IPA
1x 'Stage 3' - Pigmented Polish


Colour Code by Zookabak, on Flickr

Chipex list the Brilliant Black paintcode (A3F) as 'PZ' - No need to worry though, it was a perfect match.

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Stage 1 - Preparation
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Black Beauty by Zookabak, on Flickr

The car was looking pretty clean, but that's just a combo of light and distance. Get closer and change the angle of the light and..


Filthy Front by Zookabak, on Flickr

Bloody filthy. Time get out the bucket and washmit..


Washed & Clayed by Zookabak, on Flickr

Right, we're looking nice & clean now, so just have to dry it off and get the clay out.


Nice & Clean by Zookabak, on Flickr

Done.. Car dried and the nose is clayed, as that's where I'll be working on. Can't afford to have any tar etc in the paintwork if I'm going to applying some paint.


Clean & Dry Nose by Zookabak, on Flickr

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Stage 2 - Application
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Lets take a look at what we're working with here..
Although Black is clearly the best colour, it's also the worst for showing defects.. get close and you can see the shocking state of the nose cone. It's covered in 'Gravel Rash' along with some pretty hefty stone chips..


Typical Gravel Rash - Right by Zookabak, on Flickr


Close Up - Gravel Rash by Zookabak, on Flickr


Front Nose Acne by Zookabak, on Flickr

Now then, the instructions state that this is a simple '3 step' affair:

Step 1 is to apply the paint to the chip.. without 'blobbing' like you'd do with a normal paint repair kit from your dealer.
You paint the chip and 'smear' it over the area with the side of your thumb.

Step 2 is to wait a few minutes until the paint has dried, then remove the excess with the 'Step 2' solution on a cloth wrapped around the plastic card.

Step 3 is then apply some of the pigmented polish to the area to refine your work.

Sounds easy in theory, until you get to gravel rash..
You see, when working large areas, you're supposed to simply smear the paint all over the effected area with a cloth wrapped finger, then carry with Step 2 as normal.

Trying to work large areas, especially if they're curved like a nose cone, around the headlights etc, was nearly impossible with the card/cloth combo. Just doing one front quarter of the nose cone used almost 2/3'rds of the supplied solution.
After nearly an hour of working just one side of the nose, I was still left with this mess:


Nose Cone - During by Zookabak, on Flickr

As you can see, I still had some chips, huge areas still had loads of paint on which refused to shift with the card and cloth and the whole area was dull and lightly scratched from the paint removal attempts.

I needed a better method.

I decided to try using some good old IPA along with a microfibre cloth. Thankfully, this had no problems removing the excess paint, even though it'd been dried for over an hour. *Phew*
Now I knew I had something I could use to remove the excess, I got braver!

Take one stone chipped section:


Quarter Nose - Before 2 by Zookabak, on Flickr

Liberally apply paint, making sure to evenly cover the rash and the deeper chips:


During - Heavy Handed. by Zookabak, on Flickr

Then remove the excess, give it a polish and apply a little wax.. et voila!:


Finished Quarter by Zookabak, on Flickr

By now, I had my own method down pat.. so tidied up the other side and did the rest of the nose cone.
Once I'd added a little polish and some coats of wax, we were back in business.. Factory Fresh!!


Finished Nose by Zookabak, on Flickr

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Conclusions
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"Does the kit work?"
Probably the most important question.. Yes. There's no denying that the kit worked, but it wasn't quite right 'out of the box'. I only got the level of correction I was happy with after using a machine polisher on the worked area. :buffer:

"Is the kit worth the money?"
I guess this is most people's second question. At £50, it's a damn site more expensive than a £7 repair kit from the dealers.
You do get more 'stuff' though, that's for sure. You get plenty of paint (I've still got around 2/3 bottle left), you get a decent quality MF cloth, plus the other ancillaries. It's also way cheaper than a respray, so with the 25% club discount, I'd happily say it's worth the cash.

Personally, I'd make a couple of changes. I've heard it mentioned before in other reviews/feedback etc, and I'd agree.. you don't get enough of the 'Step 2' Solution. You get plenty if you're just touching up stone chips, but if you're using it to remove paint from large section, it soon goes!

The white cloth provided for applying the polish - Don't bother. It leaves fibers everywhere, so definitely don't use it for applying paint to gravel rash as per the instructions.

Finally, thanks to Johnny Graham at Chipex for providing the review sample. :thumb:


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## stevengeelan (May 10, 2009)

Was considering getting one of these for my last car as it was black and the stone chips were clearly visible. Would definitely get it now after seeing this, if I need it sometime in the future.


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## SootyNicko (Nov 11, 2006)

What was the level of correction like by hand polishing? You said you machine polished to be happy with it.

I have had a look at this kit as I don't have a machine polisher and don't fancy trying to have a go at wet sanding and removing the marks by hand only to find that I can't.

It does look like you got a very good finish there :thumb:


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## Zukabak (Mar 7, 2008)

I didn't use an aggressive pad or polish etc, it was pretty much just using the DA as an aid.. why bother working the polish by hand for 10 mins when I can do double the work in a minute.. 

I did a couple of stone chips with just a mf and some polish, but I wouldn't fancy doing a gravel rash section with just elbow grease.


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## evilnickwong (Jul 17, 2007)

When you used IPA to remove the freshly dried paint, what mixture did you use with water or was it neat?


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

That looks brilliant - very impressive. Love your guide as well - most enjoyable.:thumb:

Great correction achieved and like you say, it looks brand new now.


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## Zukabak (Mar 7, 2008)

evilnickwong said:


> When you used IPA to remove the freshly dried paint, what mixture did you use with water or was it neat?


I was using it neat..I was so afraid that I'd buggered my paintwork, I went straight for the good stuff!

I'll try a 50:50 solution when I do the girlfriend's car as neat IPA was probably overkill.


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## ben3486 (Nov 1, 2009)

fancy doing my stone chips lol.... looks really good mate.

Do you think you could get that ind of result from hand polishing?

And whats IPA?


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## Zukabak (Mar 7, 2008)

I'll happily sort out the chips if the money's right.. :thumb:

Honestly? No, I don't think you can get the same results with just hand polishing.. I'm sure you could get pretty close though given enough time and elbow grease.

IPA - Isopropyl Alcohol. It's a solvent used to remove stuff like overspray, sticky residue etc.. think Nail Polish Remover.*

*Only that's Acetone, and will probably melt your plastics if used neat..lol


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## NissanMan (Aug 24, 2010)

Hi there, im new here but have read this thread a few times now:thumb: It may be just the thing to get rid of the one small scratch on my black car 

Ill take a pic tomorrow and see what you think if thats ok


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## cracker666 (Sep 10, 2010)

We need to do stone chips on our Mini Cooper S and been looking at Dr Colorchip
but this is american and chipex is from the so quicker delivery.
Amazing work
So can you use IPA mixed 50:50 and dealer touchup paint to get the same effect?.
obviously needs a buffer to get the shine.


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## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

whats the stage 3, pigmented polish, is it like the coloured turtle wax stone chip polish stuff?


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## Zukabak (Mar 7, 2008)

I've no idea whether you can mix paint with the IPA.. it's not something I'd try to be honest.. from speaking with Johnny at Chipex, he did say that they've spent ages developing these paints etc..

Not sure about the Turtlewax Stone chip stuff as I've never tried it I'm afraid.
The Stage 3 stuff is just a runny, coloured polish. No idea how abrasive it is compared to others either.


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## Itchy (May 18, 2010)

Wow, a marked improvement.


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