Dr. Color Chip - Impressions

[j.fro]

I was able to get the bumper cover painted for $550. I cut 2hrs labor from the bill by removing/installing the cover myself (I just took them the cover).

[Tomikaze]

Do a little research and find the best auto body in your area. A place that deals with restorations or classic cars. Give them a bottle of the factory touch up and ask them what they can do for you. I know some good body guys and I have seen some amazing results. A few layers of touch up with a very fine detail brush/applicator. Some very LIGHT wet sanding and a good buff. Those repaired chips that look good from 10 feet away will look as good from 1 foot away. Scratches take to this process even better than chips. I have seen a car that got keyed down the side have the scratch virtually disappear. I'm talking 98% gone. Gotta find the right body shop to do this. A couple chips they might charge $25 to $100. More chips and scratches could cost a few hundred but it's cheaper than repainting and you retain the factory paint.

[d18mike]

There is a thread on this 2 months ago -- similar feedback/impressions. Seems the best results come with darker cars. Even Dr. Color Chip himself notes on his website that the results on silver cars (which many of us have here) are usually less impressive. And that is indeed the case with my car. Using it on my wife's blue Mercedes, however, we found the results to be excellent, following much of the advice noted below.

[Cloudsurfer]

If you want to spray the nose of the car (bumper, hood, and fenders) $1500-$2000 is much more in line with what a good shop will charge. What you want to find, if you want good work, is not a production body shop, but a shop that does restoration and custom work. These guys are usually small shops who actually care about the quality of work that they put out. If you want cheap, well, there is always Maaco

[schnellman]

Last year I was pretty unhappy with the results I got (Guards Red). This year I have changed a few things and the results are considerably better.
1) I use a Q-tip as an applicator.
2) I don't use rubber gloves to smear the paint, I do that with the Q-tip.
3) Let it dry two hours.
4) Don't get in a hurry with the solvent. Rub softly and like the directions say, let the chemical do the work.

It all comes down to patience -- something I have very little of. That, and a little practice and your results with improve greatly.

[RandallNeighbour]

It's been a decent scratch and chip fix on my Bimmer, but not perfect by any means.

Jfro, $550 to respray a front bumper when it's been removed from the car is 2-3x more than you'd have to pay here in Houston. I do hope they gold plated the thing for you.

I've got touch up paint from Porsche for the boxster and I'll use that until I can afford to have the whole car resprayed ... and 3M film installed.

I wish I could afford to have my car wrapped like the Ferrari boys do

[986Roadster]

Try not to run out of solution/thinner like I did.

Works well.