Rock Chip And Scratch Fix

[LexusNWGuy]

got a 2009 ES 350, silver i drive mostly on the freeway and the darn trucks put rock chips in my paint..whats the best way to get these covered up?, i also ahve backup scratches on the doors...almost looks like it took away clear coat and not a deep scratch in the paint :D

tips and products will be helpful.

[SW03ES]

All you can do is touch them up with touchup paint. I'd have a clearbra put on the car.

As for the scratches on the doors, can you describe them a little better? Can you feel them with your fingernail?

[F4DPhan]

I'm in complete agreement with Steve; can't do much about chips but touch up. Prevention is the best defense....

...my 2006 Black IS 250 suffered the same problems, especially during the winter, with constant rock-salt & gravel dings on my hood & front end...

...unfortunetely (or fortunately), that car was totaled in June in a front end collision, and I've replaced it with a 2008 copy, BUT, installed a clear bra right after purchase, per my own observations and experience, as well as Steve's sugggestion...

...so far, it has worked out great, although is has not been given the acid test (no significant snow fall, and thus, no significnat salt, sand, etc, here in DC)....

But so far, no dings, and no touch up paint, and the car looks much better than my previous iteration....

SO,....I would recommend a clear bra if highway travel is your norm; it is minimally conspicuous, but the benefits outweigh the downsides...

Just some thoughts...

Cheers,

Mike

All you can do is touch them up with touchup paint. I'd have a clearbra put on the car.

As for the scratches on the doors, can you describe them a little better? Can you feel them with your fingernail?

[LexusNWGuy]

i have the clear bra as well, some dam rock made it above my windsheild...and the scrtaches ..i can't feel them but its visible when i wash the car,

[cduluk]

Can you take some pictures and post them here? If the scratch is still visible when washing the car (when water is over the scratch) my guess is it's through the clearcoat and took some of the color away. What color is your car again? With water on the scratch, if it was just in the clear, the water would fill the gap and the scratch would disappear.

As for the chip, all you can do is get some touch up paint and add a layer or two a day until the chip is filled and rising above the surrounding area. Then you can take 1500grit sandpaper and sand the chip down. If you're careful, you can fill the chip in very nicely. If you're NOT careful, you can sand the surrounding clearcoat off showing the base color, and that's BAD.

[SW03ES]

If you can't feel them with your fingernail they can be buffed out, whether you can see them when the paint is wet or not.

[Nick Carberry]

I just joined, and as I roll through some of these posts, I just posted a company that custom makes paint pens (not messy brushes) specifically to your paint color. The name is Auto Visuals, and I just ordered one for my new one, but have had much success with them before.

[Leahy]

All you can do is touch them up with touchup paint. I'd have a clearbra put on the car.

As for the scratches on the doors, can you describe them a little better? Can you feel them with your fingernail?

Agreed! Clearbra is a good preventative measure but sometimes the chips happen before you can get it on. You'll learn your lesson after the first one's installed. Try to shop around online for touch-up paint retailers... they're actually often cheaper than the dealer.

[Thornton449]

Something else you might try is the Langka paint chip and scratch repair. Instead of snading the excess paint around the chip, you take it off with "blob eliminator". I just ordered some for myself so we'll see how it goes!

Thornton