In the two weeks I've had my 997, I've already gathered a handful of rock chips and a couple scratches (inflicted by me within 36 hours of ownership, when I backed out of my garage into my Honda at < 1 mph...dumb-***).

How much touch up is too much? If you touch up a bunch of chips, does the car end up looking pock-marked, like just a poorly done paint job? Are you better off leaving the rock chips un-touched and seeing the imperfections?

What are some of your touch up criteria and practices?

 

Someone backed into my driver side rear. I just noticed this morning! Has some gouges and the surrounding impact area has spider web type cracks where the bumper flexed-in. I'm sooooo pissed.

 

IMHO, leave the chips alone. I used to fret over them, one by one, until one day I noticed the car's finish looked ridiculous. Now, when I see a nice car with normal wear-n-tear, I simply notice the nice car. Never mind the small chips, the little scratches, the minor imperfections. But when I see a car that has been touched up, I notice the slop, but miss the nice car.

 

If your car is black (or guards red) try Turtle wax color magic. Its wax that is dyed black or red. It kinda really works, not perfect, but now I have to get within a foot of the rash on my front bumper to really notice it while before, it was obvious at ten feet.

Clean the panel with a strong dishwashing soap solution to get all the old wax out of the chips then really goober on the wax and rub it in on the bad spots. More is more. Wipe off the excess, let it dry and buff.

 

From what I know over the years, you have to put some touch up if panels chipped are metal, otherwise it will corrode.
Touch up may look crappy some times but its better than rust spots.

Personally I get a fine artists brush and tapper the end with a scissors. Then apply a tiny droplet of paint. The paint will also flatten out so it may need building up after a few days.

 

I noticed the same thing after I used swirl remover and glaze on my car. All of a sudden what used to be a flawless hood now had about 20 chips pop up. I have the touch up but haven't done anything yet....

 

anyone every try Dr. Color Chip? http://www.drcolorchip.com/

 

Dr. ColorChip works quite well, depending on color. On heavy metallics like Midnight Blue does not work very well, but it works great on others. There's no harm in trying it, as you can always remove it as per their instructions.

 

I would put touch up paint and clear especially if the chip occurred on metal. I'd be concerned with preventing rust - that is far worse when it takes hold. You can pickup a kit from the dealer that includes paint and clear coat.

Have you thought about using paint protection film on your car? I picked up my car end of Feb and slapped one on the entire front end, side mirrors and rear impact area in fear of chips on this particular car. I wanted to do this to prevent chips and scratches from road debris on the car because I'd like to keep the car. I went with VentureShield Ultra which looks and feels great. Another driver for was a stone that gouged my Acura TL on the front hood last year a few days after picking it up. It required a repaint of the front hood, which I paid for out of pocket instead of filing insurance claim.

 

hate parking my car in public...

 

It worked well on the fifty billion rock chips on my Meteor Gray '07. Definitely follow the instructions.

 

Welcome to the real world. These cars are no different than any other car--except that you obsess far more over it! Recognize that our highways are littered with crap that can and will be flung up at your ride. It's completely unavoidable. I recommend that you touch up anything that penetrates the paint enough to get to the metal--and do it soon. Anything that bad may have scored the galvanic coating. With some damage you can fill it in and then take a buffer to it sort of blend it in. Face it, you can't keep it perfect forever. You will obsess over it far more than anyone else who looks at your car--because it's yours!

 

I have to say that adding the clear bra has been one of the best car accessory investments I have ever made. Note that not just any clear bra installation will do, you really should go for the full coverage of the hood, fenders and front bumper. Not only will this protect the paint in the most vulnerable places but it also eliminates the unsightly lines of a clear bra by placing these lines in the fender gaps and completely out of sight. No paint damage in 3500 miles with plenty of highway driving mixed in.

The alternative is to touch up the deeper chips as already suggested, this will prevent corrosion and it will also make the damage less visible.

 

Dr. Color Chip worked very well on my 09- Ruby Red 997. Very happy with the results and have recommended it for others too. See pictures at:

https://rennlist.com/forums/attachme...a-dsc_0709.jpg

 

That looks gr8 Boom. I ordered a kit last week. Another project for the p-car list.