I have a few scrapes on my Q5 that need touching up. What are some good non-bodywork places that can do touchups?
I have a few scrapes on my Q5 that need touching up. What are some good non-bodywork places that can do touchups?
x2, I have a few chips down to the metal on my S4.
you could try chippy auto apperance, never dealt with them before however.
Anybody use Chippy and can offer some feedback?
What's the range of cost for these paint chip repairs from a professional? eg. a front end or side skirts speckled with minor chips.
Been hearing a lot of stupid radio ads lately about Micropaint...no idea how good they are though.
micropaint/chippy auto apearence in the ne does good work and are usually very easy to deal with.
I used send bike parts there to get fixed/repaired and usually with the exception of a few jobs that we had to send back to be redone as it didn't match the rest of the bike. that being said they never had the rest of the bike there to match it.
Pricing is very good as well.
Originally posted by rage2
Ya, I built some crazy ass shit with Lego as a kid. I had a thing for AMC Eagle AWD's as a kid for some bizarre reason, so I spent a lot of time going to the library and reading up on how AWD works in that car. I even hitchhiked to the library once cuz my parents were too lazy to drive me haha. Ya, I'm a nerd.
So without a complete repaint, I wonder how good the professional job is compared to something DIY? I was considering the Langka or Dr Color Chip kits which are supposed to be some of the top DIY kits out there.
Called Chippy. The (nice) guy on the phone said it was $250 to go over the entire car and fix chips. He said it wasn't like repainting your car, as in you can see the repairs up close but they're almost invisible from several feet away versus repainting which should leave no evidence it was ever done. He also said for $250 they'd repair a scrape and would negotiate better deals for multiple scrapes etc..
I'm going to stop by their shop to see the work they do. For $250 I'd gladly hand over the chip repairs to them as I have no doubt the results would be better than my lame-ass attempts.
I took my GTI to Chippy NE last summer on VW's dime as the car had a huge scrape across the back when i showed up to pick it up...
Here is the Before
And After
Note that the yellow line along the curve where the scratch was is just the parking line next to the car lol
Overall they did a great job. The first time they did it the whole area bubbled up once i got it home and in the garage, fortunately they agreed t take it in the same day and have it back to me the next morning (They had their head detailer come by the shop on his day off to check it out for me).
My advice is that if there is any chance of rain make sure you confirm with them that they will leave the car INSIDE until you come pick it up as apparently with their new water based solvents rain can make the pain bubble up.
Cant comment on cost since i didn't get the bill.
I posted this experience with Chippy in another thread... beware!
These are independently owned franchises, and this experience was with the Chippy in the industrial strip mall by Coast Plaza Hotel in the N.E.
I have had work done there quite a few times, since I had a conection that got me a discount, and I must say that they are really hit-and-miss.
If you have a small rub-mark or ding, then they should be OK, but anything more than that, and they will just make it worse... be prepared to clean-up rubing compound splatter and overspray.
They did a couple poor jobs for me that had to be re-done (with much appologies from Frank, the manager/owner), but the last straw was a rediculously poor rust repair job that I had to take back 3 times (the second time they lost my key fob and had to buy me a new one for $300). Frank complained that he was losing money on my job, but seriously, I could have done a better job myself... with some boxing gloves on, in the dark!
Half the the car was speckled with tiny dots of finishing bondo (probably from a power buffer) that would not come off the paint... even with your finger nail! I was pissed... and out about $1000. BTW, the rust returned aout 3 month later (no warranty on rust work), so I took it to a real body shop.
I also asked them to keep one of my cars inside at night, and I specifically said to call me if they couldn't keep it inside and I would pick it up (really sketchy hood at night). They said "no problem we'll make sure it's locked in the bay." Well, I had a bad feeling that night, so I drove by with a spare key to make sure it was inside... and guess what, my car is sitting, alone, in the huge parking lot behind the building!!! I looked in the Chippy bay window and they had cars packed like sardines in there, but mine was the only one outside.
I took my car with the spare key and waited for them to call me the next day. They called at about 8am and said my car was missing! Ha! I made them sweat and said "what do you mean, I thought it was parked INSIDE!" They said "Umm, no it was outside." I then proceeded to tear a strip off of him... NO MORE CHIPPY FOR ME!
They seem to have a real transient immigrant work force and most of the guys don't know what F they are doing.
bump - Any thoughts on where to go for small touch up work? Like a crumb sized paint chip?
I use Renu auto, formerly knows as Chippy auto appearance at the dealership I work with all the time.
They are great for minor paint damage
Colorworks autobody express