Langka, Dr Colorchip, Touchup 123 - which to buy?

[Ladidah]

Anybody have any experience with any/all of these three systems, or any other suggestions? Despite my car having a clear bra it has chips on the bonnet and other areas where the bra doesn't cover. What on earth does Colorado put on their roads? My MCS with no clear bra and over 60,000 miles didn't have a fraction of the chips this car does.

I have never used any touch up paint before but I do have lots of experience fixing chips in my nail polish.

[Ladidah]

No one has used any of these?

Is there another way people are touching up rock chips?

[kenchan]

yes, we OCD just buy a new car when we find one chip.

[old81]

Ladidah, minimaybe is the resident expert on chip repair. He seems to attract a few to his show Cabrio.

We will tell you more after our Garage Day next month, I plan on doing some touch up then.

Chuck has the Langka kit I believe. Now that I mentioned his name, I'm sure he will appear soon.

[kenchan]

yah, where is minimaybee these days?

[mrdirosa]

I've got the Dr Colorchip kit and used it on a couple chips on the roof. The system works well and the paint matches perfectly. Probably have to do another coat on the big chip I had in order to fill it in better - but it looks perfect from a couple feet away right now.

BTW - Colorado puts "sand" on their roads, but it's more like GRAVEL!

[kenchan]

yah, i know what you mean. i encounted a blizzard in April about 12yrs ago while driving to LA through Denver...had cars in front of me shoot rocks at my car.

where the heck is minimaybee?

usually i post something silly and he comes back with some smartarse redneck comments while replying with something worthwhile reading (at times).

you might want to run a search under langka. i saw a few posts about it here.

[Ladidah]

Here's a bad one:

[kenchan]

i would use a toothpick with tip tapped on a table or something
to make it flat as your applicator.

mix your clearcoat and basecoat 50/50 so that you dont
need to do a final coat.

i dont use langka and im not too picky about chips so
i apply, let dry 4-5hrs. reapply, let dry 4-5hrs.

and depending on how deep it is (is not) reapply and
let dry for one week. then i pull out my 2000grit
sanding block and wet sand it down to match the
height of the surrouding paint.

then let it be for another week, then polish/wax.
if you rush to do your polish/wax your touchup will
also come off.

[Ladidah]

Thanks! kenchan, what are you using? Just touch up paint from the dealer? I am looking into the kits because it seems like they make all of it easier, provide tools, etc. I know I'm not going to get 100% match, but the white dots on my bonnet really stand out. I have chips around my headlight chrome rings, the A pillar, and where the clear bra meets the uncovered bonnet paint. Most of the little chips don't bother me, but the one pictured above is visible from some distance away and in photos.

I am starting to think that this car has much softer paint than my '05 had.

[kenchan]

yah, im using the factory touchup from the dealer.
even with factory paint my color is metallic so it will
never be a perfect match... (the metal flakes are not
oriented the same way as rest of the paint).

im not 100% sure, but even with the langka kit, dont
you still need to use your own touchup paint you bought
from the dealer or online?

[Ladidah]

I know the Dr Color Chip and 123 systems provide paint and you have to specify the paint code. Langka looks like you need to buy the paint separately.

Langka Kit includes:

1. The original LANGKA "The Blob Eliminator" (2oz) (enough to do 20-30 chips)
2. PREPAINT (2oz) for cleaning the chips prior to applying touch up paint (ordered separately)
3. Paint Sealant (2oz) to protect and seal the finished repair
4. MicroBrush (3) a unique tool for applying touch up paint.
5. Plastic Squeegie Card (1) a unique card used in this process
6. Microfibre Cloth (1) for wrapping around the plastic card

123 Kit Contents:

2 oz. ColorFill (your color)
4 oz. Final Touch Compound
2 ColorFill applicator towels
1 Prep Towel
1 Polish Towel
1 pair vinyl gloves
1 fine point touch up brush
2 touch up cups
Easy to follow instructions

Dr Color Chip contents:

Repairs up to a dozen chips

1/2oz custom OEM match paint
1oz SealAct™ blending solution
1 Dr. ColorChip Tandem Paint Brush
1 chemical-resistant glove
Instruction sheet

Seems like all three run about $40/kit. I was hoping someone had tried all three and maybe one was a clear winner.
I thought you OCD detailers would know these chip repair kits like the back of your hands!

[Gluhwein]

I too have just emerged from a long winter and have started noticing all the damage done by cinders, salt, gravel and rocks. I'm kind of depressed because I normally have gotten doors scratched in parking lots when I owned Toyotas. I've been careful parking my MINIs, but the damage they sustain on the road is worse than any car I've owned in 40 years of driving. Sounds like touching up the damage may require a lot more work than this extremely unpatient driver might be willing to do. "let dry 4-6 hours....reapply....wait 4-5 more hours...." Yikes.

[kenchan]

Gluhwein- let me guess, your wife said Langka is a gimmick system as well, so can't buy it?

[Gluhwein]

Hey! How do you know my wife?



Actually, I'm too afraid to even broach the subject with her.

I'd have to order the system behind her back. The real problem would be me having the tenacity to finish the project. Ever see those houses where the guy starts to remodel the siding on the house and gets about halfway done, then the place sits for 5 years with half of it sided and the other half just showing the insulation? That's pretty much my approach to DIY projects.

[kenchan]

i think in your case just dont wash the car and you won't see it.

most dealers have a mobile airbrush contractor come in to
touchup their used cars. perhaps you can get one of those services done?

unfortunately most of them just coat the chip so color matched, but you see the
missing layer (not flat).

[cadfael_tex]

I wonder if you could hire someone to do a real professional touch-up job without it costing a fortune. The whole sandpaper bit scares me.

[gwl]

I have the TouchUp 123 kit/system and I just tried it this morning.....so far I'm not that impressed, but am going to give it another try when the wind dies down....

[ltphoto]

I wanted to try the TouchUp 123 kit, but they have made it impossible. I ordered their standard kit and the "Glob Doctor" at the beginning of April. Two weeks later, after nothing arrived I contacted them and they said they had an ordering system problem and would take care of it right away. A couple of days later I had a notice that it was shipped.

After another week I contacted them again. UPS records showed that they prepared a shipment, but nothing was ever given to UPS. TouchUp 123 said they would immediately ship it out. Once again, it was three days before they shipped, but at least this time they really did ship something.

When the package arrived it was a "deluxe" kit and no "Glob Doctor." Once again I contacted TouchUp 123 and they said they upgraded my kit to make up for the ordering and shipping problems. They said they would ship the "Glob Doctor" right away.

As you might have guessed, nothing has arrived. I went ahead and used the kit yesterday, or at least tried. The paint they shipped is the wrong color. And then I checked my credit card charge, and the upgraded kit they sent to make up for the problems was also what they charged me for.

To summarize, it has been almost two months, they shipped and charged for a higher price product than what I ordered, and the wrong color was sent. Right now I am out about $60 and am going to write Visa to get this charge reversed.

I don't know what kit is best, but I sure would not ever deal with TouchUp 123.

[Ladidah]

Thanks! Maybe I'll try the Dr Color chip. What an awful experience, ltphoto.

I'm not expecting perfection, but my chips really bother me.

[muladesigns1]

Originally Posted by Ladidah

Anybody have any experience with any/all of these three systems, or any other suggestions? Despite my car having a clear bra it has chips on the bonnet and other areas where the bra doesn't cover. What on earth does Colorado put on their roads? My MCS with no clear bra and over 60,000 miles didn't have a fraction of the chips this car does.

I have never used any touch up paint before but I do have lots of experience fixing chips in my nail polish.

As a body shop owner I would recomend the following. Go to an autobody shop and ask that they make you a little touchup for your car. (it's a better match then the dealer) they will go off of your vin #. there are always alternates to almost every color and this assures the best match.

Depending on how handy you are and what tools you have access to, or friends of tools needed, this is the "correct" way to a flawless finish with rock chips.

with a very small brush (think hobby brush) place a small dab of color in the chip. you will notice that it sits lower then the paint surrounding it. after it dries take a dab of clear over the color. this will be higher then the paint now. after drying, sand it level with 1500 or 2000 sand paper till it is level.
then polish with a machine buffer to remove the sanding scratches.

if your mini is chipping so easy, it is a possibility that your bonnet has been repainted at one time.
if you have a lot of chips then it may be better to have it repainted. Ive used this method on cars that had a few chips. But if there are a lot say more then 20, I repaint it.

[Ladidah]

Thanks for the advice! I wouldn't say the bonnet has more chips as compared to the rest of the front end - the chrome grill, headlight rings, windshield, and even the A pillars have been pelted too - if I look closely at the windshield it looks like the car has been driven through a sandstorm.

My front end is covered by a clear bra, and even the bra is showing signs of rock hits. There is one spot on the lower bumper where it is nicked and while I'm thankful it is the bra and not the bumper itself, it looks bad.

A repaint would be expensive (too much for me at this time, I'm afraid). Then I'd need to replace the bra, too.

I'm just looking for a cheap solution to cover up the most obvious ones. I can live with the more subtle chips where the bra meets un-bra'd paint at this time.

[Gluhwein]

None of my local body shops are willing to mix the paint for me. They contend it costs them too much to mix a small batch.

[muladesigns1]

Originally Posted by Gluhwein

None of my local body shops are willing to mix the paint for me. They contend it costs them too much to mix a small batch.

I know that any auto body supply will mix a min of 1/2 pint. depending on color and brand (spies hecker is best for european cars) will be the $ amount. but it shouldnt cost more then $30. and you will have an almost perfect color match

[Ladidah]

So muladesigns1, do you not take much stock in the systems listed above? They just seemed cheap and supply all the things needed, for the most part, and that is why they sound attractive to me.

1/2 pint of paint sounds like a lot! Do they also supply clear coat? I am also not liking the sandpaper part!