Originally, I had plans to wash/claybar/wax my car today. Normally, I go to a nearby touchless automatic wash and drive through to get the big chunks, like bugs, off the car. Then I come home, do a quick inspection, then start either hand washing or claybaring, followed by Zaino application.

During my inspection, I noticed a HUGE and DEEP rock chip on my hood. It really isn't all THAT big, but to me, it might as well be the size of a baseball. It is maybe 1/8" - 1/4" in diameter, and seems to go all the way down to the sheet metal (a greenish/brownish metal). Once I found this, I went inside and pouted. My poor baby has an injury. What can I do to fix her up?

 

I suggest finding a sprayless paint repair guy in your area, let them take a look at it. Where is it on the hood? You could get some matching/factory touch up paint and layer the paint to fill the chip, this will take time but if done right you will only know where it is in the end.

 

I feel your pain I had the exact thing happen. I did as Brandon suggested and purchased some Touch Up paint from ford and filled in the hole/chip. I know it's there and you can see it at certain angles but if you take your time and do multiple layers you can fill it in. At some point i am going to have to have it painted.

Richard

 

The chip is located on the passenger's side, on the little "lip" at the front of the hood.

EDIT: Thanks for the replies! I'll probably head out to a Ford dealership tomorrow, or possibably later today if I get the claybar/zaino applied before they close.

 

Moss Mustang sells the original Motorcraft touch-up paint for $10.95.

http://www.mossmustang.com/Shop/View...3&SortOrder=14

 

http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/bodygauges/touchup.html
I just did a search for paint chip repair.

 

Get her touched up and put that clear bra on!!!! I don't know how many times it has saved my paint!!!!!

 

Just don't buy from Xpel, their service sucks! I bought some film for my car and decided not to use it because it's just too obvious on my black car. They wouldn't let me return it since I had it past their 30 day return period. It turns out their return policy is NOT posted on their website. It appears at some point during the checkout process. I never saw it that's for sure. They were a bunch of a-holes when I tried to ask to speak to someone else. So, if anyone wants any film for a GT500 nose or rockers, or quarters shoot me a PM.

Now, regarding the OP's chip, the Ford paint comes in a bottle with a pen type applicator that lets you carefully meter out the paint. Do several thin coats until you've filled the chip just below flush with the surrounding paint. Then switch to clear and fill it so it's above the surrounding paint. Give it a few day or even a week to cure, then wet sand it with a sanding block with 600, 1200, 2000 grit paper in that succession. Then use a little compound to finish it off. You'll never know it happened. Do a GIS for "paint chip repair" and you'll get hundreds of hits with good info that expands on what I've listed. Good luck!

 

I paid $9.00 at the dealer.

 

I haven't tried this stuff yet, but I plan on buying it in the near future. It smooths out the paint after you build it up above the chip, allowing for an almost invisible repair. I've read nothing but postive comments on it.

http://www.langka.com/

 

The Clear shield I had installed was made by 3m, very high quality like I had seen at SEMA in a demo. 5 year guarantee and he covered the front of the hood fenders and all the lights!!! A little pricey at $400 but how much to repaint the front after a while. The guy in the Phoenix area is Atlas Armor, and he did it right in my garage...This is the same material that all the Porsches have installed on them from the dealer and it's all custom cut for any Mustang.

 

Heh... my advice is to get used to rock chips.

I obssessed over my first one but now with over a dozen in my hood I don't worry about it any more. (I live in a newer area with lots of construction)

I'll probably have it repainted or replace the hood with something else one of these years.

 

I've used it to fix chips to my hood following Rob K's process for filling the chip:

But instead of wetsanding the repair, I used langka. It doesn't affect the original paint at all, unlike wet sanding.

One thing I've found using langka is that just putting some langka on the touchup paint blob and using my index finger to smooth the out the blob is easier than using a cloth and the plastic card. I was able to get get it perfectly smooth the first time, because I could feel it. Using the plastic card/cloth, I'd rub too much and remove all the paint from the chip or not enough.

The repair is pretty much invisible unless you look at really closely under the right light.

 

Yep, same stuff Xpel uses. It is high quality and it does have a 5 year warranty. I've had it on my BMWs in the past, but never a black one. I paid almost $1k for all of the film I bought. Now it's sitting on the shelf in my garage. I may go ahead and install the film everywhere else, just not on the hood. The few chips I have picked up thus far would have been beyond the reach of the film anyway. They're further up the hood.

 

Yeah, rock chips and scratches are gonna happen, unfortunately. There's just no way around it. I've had a couple. I just touch them up. While not perfect, it sure does look better than a bare metal spot.

 

Exact reason I opted for the clear bra... within the first 3 months of ownership, I had two nasty hood chips (down to bare metal) on the 1st third of the hood. I bought some paint pens (1 factory paint-code match pen... and 1 clear-coat pen) to repair. Paint pens work great. Just put multiple thin layers of paint (i.e., don't blob it). I let each coat dry 2 days before next. Took about 4 coats to fill chips... then 2 coats with the clearcoat pen. After it cured for a month, I had the 3M clear bra installed. Trick to the clearbra: GET AN INSTALLER WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING. Pic of clear bra below... almost invisible and provides stellar protection.

 

Hey, you're right Vermillion 06, just using your finger with the Langka works great! I can barely tell that there were ever any chips!