My drivers door got keyed last week and I'm looking at getting Chipsaway in to fix it, but I'm also contemplating doing it myself.  Halfords and Skoda do touch up paint but I'm just wondering if anyone has experience of any of the paint with regards to a match?

 

Thanks in advance

Pay a professional. You'll always see a DIY job.

I've used Chipsaway before on my previous car and they did a great job and not that expensive either. Pay for a professional if I were you

Thanks guys, that was mu original thought as well but Chipsaway are quoting £210 +VAT, so at that price I'm even more tempted to have a go, after all it will require the whole panel to be resprayed so I can't make it any worse!!

 

So my original question still stands, who's used touch up, from where and what was the colour match like?

Chips away are a franchise so the quality varies to the skill of the franchise.

Spraying full panels requires a bodyshop anything else and the quality will be not as good.

Edited 13 April, 201610 yr by tubbytommy

Touch up paint is ok for stone chips but not for the type of damage you describe. Touch up paint is a generic shade so will never be a good match on large damage. Professionals will colour match to your VIN so best to get this done correctly.

On my previous car I used a company called revive. They did a great job and was a lot less that chips away. Worth a call to them

VRSmatt did a nice guide here:

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/394463-scratches-ever-been-keyed-not-to-worry/

 

If you car is white, it should be quite easy to repair.

My drivers door got keyed last week and I'm looking at getting Chipsaway in to fix it, but I'm also contemplating doing it myself. Halfords and Skoda do touch up paint but I'm just wondering if anyone has experience of any of the paint with regards to a match?

Thanks in advance

If it's candy white, I can tell you that the Halfords one, the colour doesn't match.

Had some idiot hit my citigo just before it was due to go in for part x.

Did not match the colour at all. So the car then had to do a few muddy paths to cover the worse of it up.

Anyway my point is, don't, pay the money and get it done by a professional.

Edited 13 April, 201610 yr by M12MKD

Sorry to hear your problems Matt but, pay a pro otherwise, you'll always see it & it won't be considered fair wear'n'tear at the end of your PCP.

Had Chipsaway work done on previous car and to be honest I wasn't impressed. They came back again(think I've documented this in an earlier thread on the mk2 Octy group) still stood out like a sore thumb so gave up!

 

As said in a previous post you are better off having a proper body shop do the work especially if its a large panel like the door. 

With the greatest of respect. Its white ! Its one of the easiest colours to repair, get a colour match can, how wrong can it be.

If you don't trust skoda's can or there are also some very good can places that will mix for you to exact required proportion ?

 

If me semi Amateur can do it, why can't you.

Mind you, my father was a chemical engineer / ex european salesman that introduced aluminium oxide paint worldwide instead of the silicon sandpaper - which lead in some cases to improvement the 80% ish failure return rate of lumpy paint jobs to very low - with their sandpaper. I guess that is a bit of an unfair advantage lol as he has spent a few occasions showing me a few tricks and supplying me with free materials

- I guess if wasn't for the introduction of the aluminum in paper - you'd all still be sporting scratchy lumpy paint if it wasn't for him and he comes in handy for a bit of advice

 

I personally favoured using an existing can I had of black magic to wasting time getting a repair pen, that will dry out in no time and barely any paint in it,

just spray a bit out so you can work with for a few minutes, then work it with a very fine artists brush across the damage line as if you were painting a very very fine line into a very fine crack. Cos thats what it needs lol. You are leaving a surplus of paint on top which is visible. That's fine though as can be worked down to blend original paint later.

 

Then leave it to dry a good while, many days to harden would be good. Don't worry if it looks crap for a while.

Then you can follow the repair procedure for sanding/polishing down (micron disk and polish not wet and dry lol). If its a fair match of paint, and spend enough time blending in, chances are it will be hardly noticeable.

Edited 13 April, 201610 yr by vRSAnt

Chipsaway did an excellent job on my Saab, the paint was a complex dark bronze. Chap showed me the computer system they use - about eight different paints went into my mix.

Some of them also have small workshops so they can do bigger jobs indoors. Not cheap, but cheaper than a fullblown bodyshop, and miles better than DIY for a scratch, even if just a solid colour.

 

Ask to see photos of some of his repairs - my chap had a binder with loads of genuine photos.

 

Have you had a quote from a bigger bodyshop? And bear in mind therepair cost relative to the value of your car - it's not an old banger.

Find a local spray shop and get it sprayed properly, if it's just one panel and non- metallic, it shouldn't cost much more than a chips away job. You have a £20k+ car and the cost will be approx the equivalent of 2 new decent tyres. Not what you or your bank manager want to hear possibly, however if you pay peanuts and get a monkey job it will prey on your mind.

Its like most thing caveat emptor, like when you pay a lot of money for dealer services, and then find out they only change spark plugs every 40k lol.

I'm sure though the scratch people do competent jobs, and even moreso if prepared to

I just prefer free and not much in it IMO, then again my car is a 47k "banger" that needed scratches so of course my priorities might be a bit different from others lol

 

To the OP, if you did want to drive quite a long way to mine you are welcome and I'd try and help if you really want to do that distance to drive to Northants for some free help ?

I wouldn't really recommend in one day though and one day to paint into the scratch to fill it out, leave to harden for as long as possible, ( I left mine a week) then return for final finishing.

 

If I'd buy a can from chosen source, spray a bit of a test on card and compare with the car. If you aren't happy then take the can back for refund, no harm done ?

Its only the price of a can lol. I think the official skoda ones are about £24 but there are plenty of reputable paint firms, one in St Helens and Northampton I've used that seem very competent and can't see how they could get WHITE wrong lol.

 

Also this is thread is useless without pics ??? What is the scale of the damage.

OK, pic of damage attached. (Excuse the dirtiness)

 

I should maybe point out that I do have a dual action polisher with a good selection of pads and products and I have been known to attack paintwork with 2000 grit paper so this bit does not scare me, but as already mentioned I'm trying to find a paint with a good match.

 

This is my current thought - I'm willing to give it a go as best case it will disappear, worse case it will stick out like a sour thumb, and then the panel will need a respray anyway, so I can't really do any harm.

As you have got the kit I would give it a go, worst case is a poor match and you have to go to a body shop anyway - so not much to loose.

 

There are several paint suppliers on Ebay who mix to the colour code for you car - I used one in Ireland for my Octy and it was a good match for the Silver metallic so a flat white should be easy to match

OK, pic of damage attached. (Excuse the dirtiness)

 

I should maybe point out that I do have a dual action polisher with a good selection of pads and products and I have been known to attack paintwork with 2000 grit paper so this bit does not scare me, but as already mentioned I'm trying to find a paint with a good match.

 

This is my current thought - I'm willing to give it a go as best case it will disappear, worse case it will stick out like a sour thumb, and then the panel will need a respray anyway, so I can't really do any harm.

 

If you get paint you are happy with and want me to try and replicate the success I've had on my BLACK car ( more difficult) you are more than welcome.

Of course its a fair old trip might be 200 round, but you are welcome.

 

Perhaps a single return trip only - if you can do the work to carefully paint with very fine brush only just prioud/into the damage line with the finest amount of paint, the more paint the more work, its like you are an artist drawing carefully into the line if you get me.

 

( i.e. not using a chip repair kit, those things aren't even suitable for repairing chips, the brushes are way to big and deliver way too much paint) and then leave to set for a good, good time ( just forget and don't go OCD about, let the paint go properly hard over many days before going anywhere near with polish/paper etc).

The product I used on mine for abrasives is called Trizact (not sure the exact grade, may be on the disks) but its micron paper not sandpaper lol

 

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Electronics_NA/Electronics/Products/Electronics_Product_Catalog/~/3M-Trizact-Diamond-Tile-677XA-3-0-Micron-Generic?N=8704942+3294002787&rt=rud

 

That isn't the right one, but the product name is correct. The ones are used are very small round self adhesive and about 2 - 2.5cm diameter as in my other post.

Edited 14 April, 201610 yr by vRSAnt

....and you need something similar to this

http://www.vinnybyrne.com/3m/3m-abrasives/3m-sanding-pads-blocks/3mtm-9-micron-abrasive-disc-sanding-block-13441.html

 

Noting the technique for sanding, not left/right, up/down or around, its "random orbital sanding" movement, if you can imagine what that means. Also spinning the disk frequently.

 

I also think application of water to clean the disk and paint reside to avoid oversanding because you end up using residue as harsher abrasive then the disk you are using whcih can cause scroring. I just sprayed it down with a water bottle to keep disk and paintwork clean.

 

I'm told the polishing can us "around" small circles by hand, not leftright/updown again etc, as this can build ridges without you knowing it. I think most of us fine polish with smaller circles without thinking about it to be honest, but that's what I'm told.

BTW is it down to basecoat ? Or can you see metal, I should have asked, you might want to ensure you have something like an acid etch primer or something like covered the metal or you will get rust !

Thanks for the offer Ant, but as you say it's a long way.  I think I'll see how it goes.  I'm pretty sure it's not back to the metal but I will do further checks after a wash on the weekend.

Edited 15 April, 201610 yr by mk4gtiturbo

Thanks guys, that was mu original thought as well but Chipsaway are quoting £210 +VAT, so at that price I'm even more tempted to have a go, after all it will require the whole panel to be resprayed so I can't make it any worse!!

 

So my original question still stands, who's used touch up, from where and what was the colour match like?

 

Bloody hell how much!!! Are they doing the whole panel?  I had a smart repair done on my front bumper due to a chip and it was £120+vat and that's from a rip off BMW stealer!!  Matched the Estoril Blue perfectly - you'd never know it had been done......

Yes, that's the whole panel, he said there are no lines to go to.  I'll try a fix and if it looks bad I'll get a bodyshop to quote to do the whole panel.

Just remember whatever material you are using and you are always putting perfections/marks into the paint when you are sanding. Thats why I used micron as was literally just rubbing down the surplus paint (and in no particular pattern so you won't end up with scratches or even ridges in one direction) very carefully without introducing marks.

I didn't really want to rub the hell out of the existing paint as they aren't that many microns of paint to start with. So go extremely easily please and consider the materials you have are appropriate to the job in hand, as important as what you are doing in getting a good result.

 

I'm really not sure 2000 grit is really up to the job, to be honest, its quite fine but sounds a little on the harsh side.

If the trizact is around 3 micron then your paper is least  twice as rough approx so bear that in mind.

 

http://art.jewelrymakingmagazines.com/reference/charts/2008/09/chart-abrasives--micron-vs-sandpaper-grits