Ok.... So I got my first rock chip Now what? I've read several threads via the Forum Search - but am looking for very specific details on how to make my Mini all better Please Help?!

 

Here what I did. First I went to BMW and got some touch-up paint I think it was like $18. Then I went to Langka and got their chip kit ($26 I think). When it came it had the cleaner, a chemical, some very tiny brushes and a scraper looking tool.
I cleaned the chip using some 3M wax remover and then used the Langka cleaner. Then I used a toothpick and blobbed some of the touch-up paint into the chip. I wanted to get it in contact with the edges, but I also wanted to leave it raised above the undamaged paint. Here was the hard part - had to wait like 2 or 3 hours for the paint to dry. Then following the Langka directions I put some of their chemical on a cheap microfiber glass cleaning cloth from target and wrapped it around the supplied scraper. Then you start smoothing the blob of touch-up paint down until it is even with the rest of the paint. I then used one of their very tiny brushes to apply just a tad of clear cost that came with my touch-up paint. I then let it dry a couple of days before waxing that spot again.
The nice thing about this product is that you end up with a totally filled chip that is even with the rest of the paint. You can't even tell where my chips were. Downside is that the Langka chemical smells like lizard puke, but it works well.
Hope that helps.

Chuck

 

i would get a tooth pick and pick at it until your car is silver. jk

try Minimaybee's idea, then also try getting touchup and applying it with
a toothpick with the tip flattened a tad.

dont brush, use capillary action.

 

Well that's it...you car is crap now!!! I'm kidding, of course, but it is very difficult to psychologically deal with that first ding, isn't it?

My '03 MINI looks awesome...people comment on it all the time! So shiny it'll put your eye out. But I know, yes, I know....every little ding, chip, scratch, and scuff. They're there...I know each and every one. They say is is part of a car's character...and they are right, really. Still, it sucks.

Good luck w/ repairs.

 

I guess I am little de-sensitized to rock chips after seeing the MCS that spent the weekend in a college town. Forget the guys handle that owns it... In any case, someone hurled a full beer bottle at his Mini. It banked off the rear quarter panel leaving a nice deep gouge before smashing the rear drivers side window into a million pieces.

Now there's a guy with a real problem. Rock chips? I would expect I have a few if I looked close enough. But I'm not about to get too nuerotic about it.

Now door dings, that's different. If I ever get a door ding I might have to be institutionalized for depression. That's why I always park about 600 yards from the nearest other vehicle.

 

Kenchan - I was just in Chicago last week for business - 1st time in Chicago, fantastic city.. saw Alice in Chains @ the Riviera.

GoKartRide.... yes very difficult

MiniMaybee - Did u need any special tools besides what came in the kit?

 

Yay, I'm not the only one! *high fives*

 

cool! im actually out yonder in the burbs with em
there racoons and skunks... not a city boy. yall


i was exactly the same way. when my beloved car got dinged right
in front of me by a shopping cart (previous car) on a windy day i
knew i had to do something about it... and spent over $3k in training
and tools to be able to fix dings myself. i still dont take my
garage queens to the stores as some dings are not repairable by PDR,
but when my brand new commuter cars get dinged, i could careless.
it's fixed by the time sun goes down. i park at the best and
closest spots.

 

I did exactly what MiniMaybee did, and it was a huge improvement (there were about 8 by the time I got to it) . The smallish ones were totally invisible - the biggest was detectable if you knew where to look.

 

Just the kit, cheap microfiber and the high-tech, solid wood toothpick.

 

No door dings for me YET <<knocks on wood>>. Yep, I'm one of those that would rather walk half a mile than to park close to the doors wherever I go.

Last week, I had to stop at the grocery store. Parked WAY out in lot, far from the other cars. When I come back out, wouldn't you know somebody in a beat up old pickup truck had parked right next to me with at least a hundred other open spaces around us. And he parked within 18 inches if my car. I thought for sure I'd find a ding but no... guess he just wanted to scare the crap out of me. He did. A-----le.

 

yeah, add me to the 600 yards or more group. i park way away from others, too, and have found people parked right next to me when I get back, although one of them was a MINI!! My only fear about doing this is that it calls attention to the car and either someone comes to park next to it or i'm worried someone is going to vandalize it just for fun. oh well. I definitely thinking parking away from the usual crowd is better since most people are oblivious to other's cars.

 

I think the best parking solution is to park where the cars are very sparse, but not so far away that it does bring a lot of attention to the car. There's too many people out there with their ***** where their heads should be who think it's funny to ding a car that is obviously trying to avoid getting them.

 

Good advice and all too true. Not only do you have to worry about door "dingers" but if you're too isolated you're inviting theft as well.

 

Yep, add me to both lists. I found my first stone chip right below one of the headlights . It stands out because it's down to the gray primer and my car is AB . I might think about getting some touch-up paint and that chip kit. I understand that it's gonna happen, but the car is only 2 months old and it just stands out a lot!!

I also walk a mile from where I park. To me it's worth it and I get a little exercise! My last car had a lot of dings (although less noticeable due to the color) because it went with me to college where the parking spaces were so small, sometimes people had to get into their car through the trunk! Thankfully I don't deal with that anymore!

 

Now, just exactly do you know how lizard puke smells?

Thanks for the info. I've been trying to ignore the chips, but you have given me something new to contemplate. Now about that lizard puke.....

 

I'm yet another member of the park-far-away club. I used to laugh at my boyfriend when he did this...never again. (If anything, I've gotten even more obsessive than he is!) This is the first time I've had a car that I was really proud to drive, and I finally understand the "you can't just use a towel and dishsoap to wash the car!" comments.

 

heheh, I DO!!! And it's not all that bad

 

Once when in Indonesia I turned on the window air conditioner and out flew a lizard and then a horrific smell from the a/c. I figured that must be lizard puke.

 

Okay. I guess you are qualified to determine the smell then!!!

 

that's some very encouraging and good instructions there. thanks. hopefully never will I have to do this but never know.

 

Prevention is the best way to go in my opinion. That's why we got a clearbra installed from the get-go. Drove it from the dealer to the clearbra install shop, and then home. Even then, I was worried that we would get a chip on the 4 mile trip to the clearbra install shop. Luckily, we didn't and we still have zero rock chips. I will never have another vehicle WITHOUT the clearbra product. Ours is a 3M film installed by the local UltraShield dealer in Charlotte, NC. Well worth the $$$!

 

Touch-up paint and Langka work wonders.

For larger chips, the paint applicators (mini Q-tips) that Langka sells are great.

You should be able to get at '95% gone' repair w/ Langka and MINI factory touch-up paint if it's a non-metallic... maybe a '85% gone' repair if it is... the metal flake just never lays down the same way w/ the touch up.

 

wow a paint chip!!! its all downhill from here lol Dont sweat it. Maybe use some touch up paint or you could have a body shop fix it (cost a lot more, but looks a hell of a lot better)

 

I park Flo as far away from the crowd as I can. Came out of Costco last night and found a grocery cart right behind her. Nearly had a heart attack! No dents, however.