Stonechips!

[alexanderfoti]

Hi all

I have a fair few stone chips in the clear coat on my C class.

Its mainly on the front doors where the wheels throw debris up to the bodywork.

They are only in the clear, not down to the paint. Do you think I will have much luck polishing them out?

 

[grahamcol]

How about investing in some mud flaps to help prevent this ? Assuming they'e not already fitted.
Having said that, I've had cars without and I've never had stone chip damage as far as the doors.

 

[Jim2]

Hi all

I have a fair few stone chips in the clear coat on my C class.

Its mainly on the front doors where the wheels throw debris up to the bodywork.

They are only in the clear, not down to the paint. Do you think I will have much luck polishing them out?

From the pics, it seems that the chips are pretty deep, so what we are seeing is:
(A) polish which has dried out in the chips, if this is the case a tiny drop of petrol on a cloth may remove them or use some other cleaner, tar remover etc. They will be less noticeable then.
(B) If this fails, then the chips have penetrated the clear coat, and its the colour coat that is showing. Colour coats are a matt dull finish, ( gloss is provided by the clear coat ) and often show in a stone chip as grey in colour. If this is the case. then re-spraying is the only answer. It's a bit strange that the door is more affected than the wing. Do you have the same problem on the other side, or the front of the car? While not doubting the evidence of the camera..these are stone chips, and not spatter from paint? Just asking.
Regards, Jim2

 

[Rotorhead500]

I have very similar on my 63, although not as many.

Mine do feel like they're through the clear-coat.

 

[V6Matty]

Worth a try claying them and buffing if it is just into the clear clay Alex but have a feeling it will be too deep for that. Looks like you will be getting the chip repair paint out very soon

 

[umblecumbuz]

If you buff the clear coat to the point where the chips are almost invisible, then you have thinned out the clear coat around each chip to a major extent, diminishing your protection.

Buy some clear auto lacquer instead (rattle can will do), put a little in a small container (rattle can lid) and apply it with a tiny artists camel hair brush to each chip - after cleaning out each chip by careful wiping with thinners or brake cleaner. Wait a couple of days for this to dry off, then with a small block (preferably a rubber block like bodyshops use), and some Farecla G3 or similar gentle compound, work across each chip till the lacquer is level with the surrounding surface.

Doing this, you will not thin out the clearcoat unnecessarily.

 

[Binnedit]

If you buff the clear coat to the point where the chips are almost invisible, then you have thinned out the clear coat around each chip to a major extent, diminishing your protection.

Buy some clear auto lacquer instead (rattle can will do), put a little in a small container (rattle can lid) and apply it with a tiny artists camel hair brush to each chip - after cleaning out each chip by careful wiping with thinners or brake cleaner. Wait a couple of days for this to dry off, then with a small block (preferably a rubber block like bodyshops use), and some Farecla G3 or similar gentle compound, work across each chip till the lacquer is level with the surrounding surface.

Doing this, you will not thin out the clearcoat unnecessarily.

Agree with Umblecumbuz. Although you may need to build up the clearcoat in layers.

Although I would use tar and glue remover to clean out.

As already said, just buffing will reduce the clearcoat in thesurrounding area to an unacceptable level, produce a lot of heat, and stress the surrounding paint. If its not through the clear - wet sanding with 3000 + 5000 grit and then polish should sort it.

 

[Jim2]

If you buff the clear coat to the point where the chips are almost invisible, then you have thinned out the clear coat around each chip to a major extent, diminishing your protection.

Buy some clear auto lacquer instead (rattle can will do), put a little in a small container (rattle can lid) and apply it with a tiny artists camel hair brush to each chip - after cleaning out each chip by careful wiping with thinners or brake cleaner. Wait a couple of days for this to dry off, then with a small block (preferably a rubber block like bodyshops use), and some Farecla G3 or similar gentle compound, work across each chip till the lacquer is level with the surrounding surface.

Doing this, you will not thin out the clearcoat unnecessarily.

That's a good suggestion Umblecumbuz. I have used it myself several times, and its especially successful on solid colours on the bonnet, which is prone to stone chipping, more so than on the sides. Still interesting as to how it was chipped....and how to prevent it happening again.
Regards, Jim2

 

[rorywquin]

If you buff the clear coat to the point where the chips are almost invisible, then you have thinned out the clear coat around each chip to a major extent, diminishing your protection.

Buy some clear auto lacquer instead (rattle can will do), put a little in a small container (rattle can lid) and apply it with a tiny artists camel hair brush to each chip - after cleaning out each chip by careful wiping with thinners or brake cleaner. Wait a couple of days for this to dry off, then with a small block (preferably a rubber block like bodyshops use), and some Farecla G3 or similar gentle compound, work across each chip till the lacquer is level with the surrounding surface.

Doing this, you will not thin out the clearcoat unnecessarily.

Looking at the extensive damage, I reckon you need a proper respray. You will never repair that properly with a chip repair kit.

However if you decide to try.......I wouldn't use petrol, thinners or brake cleaner --- buy some IPA on line - it is dirt cheap and probably better for your health as well.

If the car is clean and you wet the chip and it becomes invisible - clear coat damage - if you can still see the chip then it is down through the clear coat and you will need your paint colour.

I usually do a lot of online research before tackling a new job and there are all sorts of way to repair chips....

You will never get rid of the chips without a respray - you will only reduce their 'visibility' by using one of the chip repair kits on the market.....quality & application skills (by authorised agents) vary. Doing a bad job will make it look worse.

One of the products that looks good is where you put a blob of colour and wipe it away with your finger and then "polish" it with some sort of solvent. Vertical surfaces will be difficult and most chip repair videos only show work on horizontal surfaces.

Most important is to make sure the colour is an exact match! Some of the mobile boys will have a range of colours and will use what they consider a "close match" if they do not have your exact colour.

I purchased a kit in Oz and although the supplier said it was an exact match, it was not..

I had a couple of tiny chips on my front splitter - tried 'colour, then clear coat' method, and then tried 'colour mixed with clear coat' which really worked well as it made the colour less runny after mixing for a while (useful for doing vertical surfaces).


Never seen chips on the doors like you have and I've done 10s of 1000's of miles on dirt roads, with and without mud flaps....

 

[alexanderfoti]

Thanks for all the advice all. Like others, I find the chips very odd, it must be the body work design. The dark colour does not help as I have not seen chips like this on other MB's I have had, but they have all been light colours.

For some reason I did not receive notifications on this thread, so I went off and did the following:

Tar remover and Iron X removed 80% of what you see in the picture. Its was lots of semi-transparent particles stuck onto the paint.

The remainder was very light chips and marks in the clear coat. I polished with a random DA and hexlogics pads and Chemical guys V32/34/36/38 and got the following:





Much better. The longevity of the paint is yet to be seen, but I was not agreesive with the polish or the pad pressure/choice so I think it will be fine.

 

[grahamcol]

Nice result !

 

[Wighty]

Thanks for all the advice all. Like others, I find the chips very odd, it must be the body work design. The dark colour does not help as I have not seen chips like this on other MB's I have had, but they have all been light colours.

For some reason I did not receive notifications on this thread, so I went off and did the following:

Tar remover and Iron X removed 80% of what you see in the picture. Its was lots of semi-transparent particles stuck onto the paint.

The remainder was very light chips and marks in the clear coat. I polished with a random DA and hexlogics pads and Chemical guys V32/34/36/38 and got the following:





Much better. The longevity of the paint is yet to be seen, but I was not agreesive with the polish or the pad pressure/choice so I think it will be fine.

That young man is one extremely impressive shine . Even Mrs Wighty was impressed

 

[alexanderfoti]

Thank you sir! The sun certainly helped

 

[Binnedit]

Good job fella!

 

[Jim2]

Thanks for all the advice all. Like others, I find the chips very odd, it must be the body work design. The dark colour does not help as I have not seen chips like this on other MB's I have had, but they have all been light colours.

For some reason I did not receive notifications on this thread, so I went off and did the following:

Tar remover and Iron X removed 80% of what you see in the picture. Its was lots of semi-transparent particles stuck onto the paint.

The remainder was very light chips and marks in the clear coat. I polished with a random DA and hexlogics pads and Chemical guys V32/34/36/38 and got the following:





Much better. The longevity of the paint is yet to be seen, but I was not agreesive with the polish or the pad pressure/choice so I think it will be fine.

That's a very good result.........would need to know from before hand that it was damaged. So in the main, the blemishes / marks were not the result of stone chipping,but some kind of "Spatter"?
Well all's well that ends well. Good job.
Jim2

 

[alexanderfoti]

That's a very good result.........would need to know from before hand that it was damaged. So in the main, the blemishes / marks were not the result of stone chipping,but some kind of "Spatter"?
Well all's well that ends well. Good job.
Jim2

Yes indeed! It could very well have been dried on salt deposits as that's what they felt like when removing with my fingernail to test.

Its not perfect but much better, you can still see them in person, but the phone camera has issues focusing on the blemishes rather than the reflection. Need to do the other side too now.

Thanks!