Re-painting the Hood to eliminate rock chips

Fconic · 10-20-2011, 08:22 AM

Hello Everyone,

I recently bought a 2011 BMW 135i CPO w/ only 7,000mi titanium silver. The car is wonderful but I just recently notice that there were rock chips on the hood and the BMW badge. I spoke to the dealer and they suggested to sand and repaint the entire hood for only $250 which is great and replace the BMW badge.

I am not sure about the sanding of the entire hood getting rid of the original paint and getting repainted. I am afraid that the re-paint may not have the same quality. I am sure the dealer will send it to somewhere good, but just not sure about the whole repainting thing. Please any advise as to replacing the original paint is a good idea.

thanks in advance

DriveHard · 10-20-2011, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fconic

Hello Everyone,

I recently bought a 2011 BMW 135i CPO w/ only 7,000mi titanium silver. The car is wonderful but I just recently notice that there were rock chips on the hood and the BMW badge. I spoke to the dealer and they suggested to sand and repaint the entire hood for only $250 which is great and replace the BMW badge.

I am not sure about the sanding of the entire hood getting rid of the original paint and getting repainted. I am afraid that the re-paint may not have the same quality. I am sure the dealer will send it to somewhere good, but just not sure about the whole repainting thing. Please any advise as to replacing the original paint is a good idea.

thanks in advance

Ill give you my .02

Recently my 2003 Special edition ( # 112 of only 1547 produced) Miata had a front fender dented in a parking lot... it had also had since it was nearly new 2 dimples in the front bumper from someone elses lic plate screws... I lived with the dimples for 8 years so as to not have to paint anything on the car because it was a special color... when the fender damage happened.. i had no choice but to have it repaired requiring paint work..I took the opportunity to finally repair the front bumper at the same time... Mind you this car has 40,000 miles on it.. all put on on sunny weekends in the NE

i was so upset that i had to paint the car that i didnt look at the big picture... the work the shop did matching was 100% everything came out fine... and thats the problem the HOOD which i failed to paint showed all of its rock chips in their glory next to the freshly painted fender and bumper ... i was at odds as to waht to do.. i could have done nothing, or send it back and get the hood sprayed..... or what i settled on

Dr. Colorchip... Man I tell you what a difference it made. it really does do exactly what they say it will.. It took me over 2 hrs to do the hood and all of its specs but it was worth it 100%... i taped off the hood in 12" x 12" squares and attacked each section.. i am telling you its the best that you can do without painting the hood. it waxes well and shows well from even up close.. and no the hood does not look like it has the measels or anything like that..

hope that helps.

Regards,

Red Bread · 10-20-2011, 09:01 AM

A few things to consider. Factory paint is done all at once, meaning the metal flake will look the same. Repainting is a crap shoot, they might get close to matching the color, but it will never be perfect, and the metal flake will be different, how different is relative and the amount of orange peel will almost certainly be noticeably different. There's a reason that good body shops blend the sprayed area into surrounding panels, to lessen the visibility of different finishes. Further, factory paint, as weak and fragile as it is seems to hold up better than any respray.

If it's just a few rock chips, either live with them, as you'll get more, or get them professionally air brushed. If they're not too large consider touch up paint, just use a tooth pick and use very small amounts, it should take five to ten applications to fill a small chip and then wet sand it down. Meguairs makes great sanding blocks specifically for this.

Final word, I know we're not dealing with concours level show cars, but I would bet that any body shop, car appraiser or reasonable enthusiast will be able to tell that your hood is resprayed even without the ubiquitous paint thickness gauge, whether you care about that is up to you, but I'd recommend going that route as a last resort. I'd personally pay a good bit more for a used car with tons of rock chips than one that's been resprayed.

thez99 · 10-20-2011, 11:45 PM

Honestly I wish I could say the same good things bout Dr.Colorchip but I cant. I spent over 3 hours sweating and swearing with that kit on my hood and mainly front bumper with barely any decent results. I followed the instructions, etc. but honestly I could EASILY tell there were patch-ups done where I did them after. Also I love how on their instructional videos they make it seem SO EASY how to apply the paint and rub it off and all that shit, really its not that easy at all, and unless you're only doing a couple specific chips you end up with a sticky glove and problems shortly after beginning. Maybe its just not for me, I was trying to get rid of the main amount of road rash and noticeable little rock chips on the bumper and it just didnt help much. I think if you were looking for a colormatched kit to cover up 2-3 chips, dr.colorchip would work, but even thou they claim it works well for road rash as well, it does NOT. I really just ended up blowing several hours of my time.

With how fragile the paint is on our cars, if you have a good amount of lil chips and road rash on ur front end, eventually best bet is either light wetsanding, or more serious sanding with repainting. I found a wetsanding kit from ChemicalGuys that is gentle enough to not cut thru the clearcoat so I should be able to cut down the intensity of the front road rash without having to repaint. Havent tried it yet, im still a lil scared of it

HeyMoe53 · 10-21-2011, 12:38 AM

If you have access to a quality body shop, where they have worked on high-end vehicles, and the owner of the shop is a personal friend, well, that's my advantage of living in a backwoods, small town, for once, where everyone knows everyone.

That shop has never disappointed me, other than I have to talk baseball with the owner, a rabid Yankee fan (ugh!).

I've a few rock chips on my 128. Today's post-VOC regs paint is pathetic. It will chip if you just look at it. Orange peel is the way it is nowadays, and chips, too.

My old, winter Focus has less orange peel than my 1er.

Not gonna do anything just yet.

I do believe that paint issues will be the wave of the future, given today's water-based paint.

10-20-2011, 08:22 AM	#1
Fconic Enlisted Member 18 Rep 35 Posts Drives: Lexus IS350 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Orlando, FL iTrader: (0)	Re-painting the Hood to eliminate rock chips Hello Everyone, I recently bought a 2011 BMW 135i CPO w/ only 7,000mi titanium silver. The car is wonderful but I just recently notice that there were rock chips on the hood and the BMW badge. I spoke to the dealer and they suggested to sand and repaint the entire hood for only $250 which is great and replace the BMW badge. I am not sure about the sanding of the entire hood getting rid of the original paint and getting repainted. I am afraid that the re-paint may not have the same quality. I am sure the dealer will send it to somewhere good, but just not sure about the whole repainting thing. Please any advise as to replacing the original paint is a good idea. thanks in advance
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10-20-2011, 09:01 AM	#3
Red Bread Major General 4463 Rep 9,160 Posts Drives: Smog machines Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (0)	A few things to consider. Factory paint is done all at once, meaning the metal flake will look the same. Repainting is a crap shoot, they might get close to matching the color, but it will never be perfect, and the metal flake will be different, how different is relative and the amount of orange peel will almost certainly be noticeably different. There's a reason that good body shops blend the sprayed area into surrounding panels, to lessen the visibility of different finishes. Further, factory paint, as weak and fragile as it is seems to hold up better than any respray. If it's just a few rock chips, either live with them, as you'll get more, or get them professionally air brushed. If they're not too large consider touch up paint, just use a tooth pick and use very small amounts, it should take five to ten applications to fill a small chip and then wet sand it down. Meguairs makes great sanding blocks specifically for this. Final word, I know we're not dealing with concours level show cars, but I would bet that any body shop, car appraiser or reasonable enthusiast will be able to tell that your hood is resprayed even without the ubiquitous paint thickness gauge, whether you care about that is up to you, but I'd recommend going that route as a last resort. I'd personally pay a good bit more for a used car with tons of rock chips than one that's been resprayed.
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10-20-2011, 11:45 PM	#4
thez99 Colonel 152 Rep 2,757 Posts Drives: 2017 Audi A4 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Arden, NC iTrader: (5) Garage List 2013 BMW 135i [0.00]	Honestly I wish I could say the same good things bout Dr.Colorchip but I cant. I spent over 3 hours sweating and swearing with that kit on my hood and mainly front bumper with barely any decent results. I followed the instructions, etc. but honestly I could EASILY tell there were patch-ups done where I did them after. Also I love how on their instructional videos they make it seem SO EASY how to apply the paint and rub it off and all that shit, really its not that easy at all, and unless you're only doing a couple specific chips you end up with a sticky glove and problems shortly after beginning. Maybe its just not for me, I was trying to get rid of the main amount of road rash and noticeable little rock chips on the bumper and it just didnt help much. I think if you were looking for a colormatched kit to cover up 2-3 chips, dr.colorchip would work, but even thou they claim it works well for road rash as well, it does NOT. I really just ended up blowing several hours of my time. With how fragile the paint is on our cars, if you have a good amount of lil chips and road rash on ur front end, eventually best bet is either light wetsanding, or more serious sanding with repainting. I found a wetsanding kit from ChemicalGuys that is gentle enough to not cut thru the clearcoat so I should be able to cut down the intensity of the front road rash without having to repaint. Havent tried it yet, im still a lil scared of it
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10-21-2011, 12:38 AM	#5
HeyMoe53 Captain 64 Rep 671 Posts Drives: '17 M240 AW/Coral MT Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Central PA iTrader: (0)	If you have access to a quality body shop, where they have worked on high-end vehicles, and the owner of the shop is a personal friend, well, that's my advantage of living in a backwoods, small town, for once, where everyone knows everyone. That shop has never disappointed me, other than I have to talk baseball with the owner, a rabid Yankee fan (ugh!). I've a few rock chips on my 128. Today's post-VOC regs paint is pathetic. It will chip if you just look at it. Orange peel is the way it is nowadays, and chips, too. My old, winter Focus has less orange peel than my 1er. Not gonna do anything just yet. I do believe that paint issues will be the wave of the future, given today's water-based paint.
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