rock chips anyone?
 

so i was checking the front of my car already i got rock chips how the hell can i prevent this **** from happening? anyone here have rock chips already? if so how did u repair it, what did u use?

A lot of people opt for the clear bra. You could have the bumper resprayed, the put on a clear bra, and then you could avoid the chips.

best investment on a new Z is a clear bra

clear bra? is that that leather **** that goes on the hood and bumper.

clear 3m

Besides the Clear Bra just stop driving so close 2 the car in front of u. Since acquiring some chips I have changed the way I drive.

to u get them fix or left it if u got them fix how much was u charge

Yeah, I try to stay far back from trucks if possible.

I have a nearly 3 year old car with only 2 little chips on the front bumper. I stay well back from the car in front, which means I am not tailgating idiot.

Your biceps are as big as my thighs.

WTF?

Clear bra will definitely prevent a lot of rock chips from happening. You can install it, or have a professional do it.

haha i have nothing to do but workout on my free time. do u think these rock chips are worth fixing or should i just leave it

it will just keep getting worse, after a couple of years it will look like the bumper was sand blasted depending on the color.

If it is just a couple of chips talk to a clear bra installer, you can usually just use some touch up paint or permanent marker to color it in and then put the clear bra on to prevent further chips

Small chips can be "repaired" as follows:

NOTE: Best to do when ambient temperature is 70 degrees F or greater. Surface should be slightly warm.

1. Buy a set of crayola crayons and pick the best matched single crayon to the car's color paint. Also buy a Clear-coat pen.

2. Buy some paint preparation fluid (autozone or advanced aut parts). Put some on a micro-fibre towel and gently wipe the chip and surrounding area off with the fluid. This removes wax and residue around an in the chip. Dry the area with a soft cloth.

3. Take the crayon tip and rub it across the chip until it is filled in. Wipe the excess crayon around the chip off using the paint prepartion fluid again.

4. Then take the clear-coat pen and with its fine and flat tip, apply a thin layer of clear-coat across the chip surface (with the crayon filler in the chip) in the longitudinal direction of the body part having the chip.

5. Let the clear-coat dry for about a 1/2 hour and apply another thin layer of clear coat. Let it dry for a 1/2 hour.

7. Put a light coat of liquid carnuba wax over it, let it haze and lightly hand-buff with a micro-fibre towel using the weight of the towel as pressure in the longitudinal direction of the body part.

The chip will be now blended into the surface of the surrounding area. The crayon will be resistent to direct sunlight and heat as it is now sealed with the clear coat. I just did this to my Pearl White 370Z hood that picked up two chips a 1/4 inch apart from each other. Can't see them now unless you get right down on top of them from about 2 inches away. The car sat in direct sunlight an entire car show this past weekend from 11:00 AM until 9:00 PM that evening. Absolutely no problem and still undetectable with no change.

This technique can also be used to fill in "dug-in" scratches as well.

get Dr. Colorchip to fix the chips.

i gave up on caring about it, rock chips on black suck..... just learn to live with it.

after the car gets hit with them, should be repaired before clear bra'ing it.
i don't feel it repairing it...lol

Clear Bra it.
http://img.skitch.com/20090713-jqrw7...jks3dsuay3.jpg

Nissan Paint and Rock Chips
 

I had a pre-ordered 350 that I took delivery of in August of 02. I had 56K on the car when I traded it for my new 370. I also had more rock chips on that car than I have ever had on any new car that I have ever purchased in the past 45 years........................ Nissan paint SUCKS, PERIOD! I had rock chips where I have never seen rock chips on a car. Now I just returned from a 3000 mile vacation last week and even with a Clear Bra, I have rock chips on this new "Z". Like I said Nissan Paint SUCKS. Your Nissan dealer will tell you there is nothing that he can do about it because Nissan will not let him. My guy wants to, BUT.................

Oh and BTW don't let bugs stay on it overnight or they will eat their way into the paint also.............:wtf:

BTW, Did I say Nissan Paint SUCKS....................................:mad:

never heard of this fixer upper hhhmmm wat about the sparklies that come with the car

wtf r u serious bugs u mean dead bugs right i have alot

Link / testimonials?

need a paint job here and theres a tiny rock chip near the gas tank

i couldnt show the front didnt have enought space in the garage for me to bend down

how much is a full body paint job i like that orange color with the zele body kit

A lot of money...for a decent job. A ton of money for a killer job.

Off subject question if I start the car and step out can a random person jump in and drive it without the keys inside even if the car is started

I have it used it on my black G37S and my black FX50S works amazing. a 100% must have. I have clear bra but i sill get chips where it is not. ie side of door 1" above where clear bra stop etc. They will match any paint just give them the pain code. even matalic paint.:tup:

I feel like killing someone after all these damage already to my car

+1. I drive 60 miles of highway a day and have one paint chip in 8000 miles of driving. I stay well behind the car in front of me, I go the same speed just a good ways back.

so i ask the paint shop if they can fix the rock chips since there fixing the hit n run dmg they said they would have to repaint the whole thing just to fix tiny dmg

That's a lie.
They're trying to get money out of you.
Which rock chip are we talking about, the ones on the front bumper, or the one near your fuel door?

That's true for body shops - they do it by the panel...

You can't touch up the paint and have it look perfect to every customer, that, and it's not profitable to do small spots...takes time from addressing the money-makers...

i think i was really just paranoid with the car when i first got the Z. honestly, i didn't want to invest in the clear bra because i wanted to get exhaust and intake, etc.

it hurt when i got my first rock chip in the paint. it was on the driver side door and it was small but i knew it was there even though no one could tell.

dr. colorchip work OKAY. not the best from my experience. i got one for my girl and she has a black is250 and it really didn't help out with the chips on that car. moderate success at best with the dr. colorchip.

i've learned to live with the tiny chips and whatevers. what you want to do is get that baby repainted and apply the clear bra all over your car. i think they do have options where you can actually cover your whole car with that stuff. my co-worker, who WAS a car freak had that stuff done few years ago. and at the time it cost him around 2-3 grand for the whole shabang but he said no chips what so ever.

up to you. but i would try and get that bumper repainted. unless it's just dirty from the video you posted.

2-3 grand is about right for touch-up feathering, and reshoot clear over top of the whole car...I'd guess...

Even then there's no guarantee that a clearbra will protect the car...

As a biker, I can say that stonings happen on the highway more often than anywhere else...

They do it by the panel because of the lack of cut-lines (seams) where the repainting can end at a clean line so as to best look like it hasn't been repainted and to be able to "hide" slight mismatches in paint hue.

Its done soley to produce a professional result and has nothing to do with trying to run up the bill as someone else suggested.

That's what I was basically alluding to - in addition to what I was saying! :)

:iagree:

The bumper of my '06 350 looked like it had been shot with a shotgun. I don't tailgate, but it is almost impossible to stop the chips if you live in a heavily populated area and drive the interstate daily. Had my 370 clear bra installed right after purchasing the car, and the bumper is perfect 4 months later. I highly recommend one.

John

The self-sealing paint is an option in the UK, don't know why it's not available here. Does anyone know if it actually works?

In the US some major car manufacturers such as Ford spray a layer of epoxy down after the primer is applied but before the paint is applied. This reinforces the strength of the paint from a hardening perspective and also provides a measure of adhesion so chips are minimized. They still can occur but it literally takes a very hard wack to cause a deep chip.

I learned this when a truck retread blew off the truck and plowed directly into the front of my Shelby's air-damn. There was some minor knicking. I expected to find alot more paint damage but there wasn't. The dealer explained to me at that time about the epoxy-paint process they employ.

What I am wondering is if this s the "self-sealing" paint you have referred to that is dominant in Europe?

"Using a special highly elastic resin, the Scratch Shield process can take anywhere from one day to a week depending on the ambient temperature and depth of the scratch . This resin is combined with a conventional clearcoat to increase its flexibility and strength. The Scratch Shield will not be able to repair damage that gets past the clearcoat and into the paint."