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Old 10-15-2017, 01:36 AM   #1
lcut81
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Default Rock Chips

Hey there,

Drove my 06 STI home tonight, parked it in garage. Checked the hood and noticed white little specs. Thought it was bird crap or something. They were very small specs. Tried wiping it off but didn't come off. Started worrying. Added some water and tried again, still wouldn't come off.

I think it's rock chips from the freeway.

What's the best fix here?

-Wax
-Clay Bar
-Repaint
-Something else?

Pretty bummed.
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Old 10-17-2017, 11:55 PM   #2
Jasondk
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my 2016 has rock chips as well, I have used very small amounts of touch up paint. Seems like Subaru paint is not the best, you can look at a clear bra in the future but you may have to learn to live with them or use touch up paint. No amount of detailing will remove a rock chip. I have heard dealerships have a new technique using a paint wand? I've never seen or heard much about it.
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Old 10-18-2017, 10:05 PM   #3
Scorpius
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The front end of your Subaru will look like the surface of the moon sooner or later. Get a clear bra or learn to live with it. Subaru paint is brittle like most modern car paint.
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Old 10-19-2017, 12:01 PM   #4
whiplash willy
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You can try to repair it yourself with DR Color Chip, or if you want to spend money, take it to a pro. Check out the other recent threads on rock chips.



Personally, I have had a good experience with DR Color Chip. It will fill the chip, but you will still have a divot, but that isn't visible, unless you are close up.

They also have a "road rash" kit, that makes it easy to fill multiple small chips in a pass, which it sounds like is what you have.

Last edited by whiplash willy; 10-19-2017 at 12:07 PM.
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Old 10-20-2017, 08:53 PM   #5
jschweg
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whiplash willy View Post
You can try to repair it yourself with DR Color Chip, or if you want to spend money, take it to a pro. Check out the other recent threads on rock chips.

My Thoughts on Clear Film & Dr Colorchip Application - YouTube

How to use the Dr. ColorChip System to fix rock chips on your car! - YouTube

Personally, I have had a good experience with DR Color Chip. It will fill the chip, but you will still have a divot, but that isn't visible, unless you are close up.

They also have a "road rash" kit, that makes it easy to fill multiple small chips in a pass, which it sounds like is what you have.
I second this. Dr. Colorchip takes about 2 seconds to fill anything and looks 10x better than screwing around with a touch up pen for an hour and having it look worse than when you started.
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Old 11-07-2017, 10:16 PM   #6
madeinbih4492
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3M clear bra. Pricey but worth it.
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Old 11-08-2017, 04:29 AM   #7
drpoop
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Subaru paint is total ****, a lot of manufacturers are. Even within the same manufacturer some clear coats are as soft as plastic and some are quality (all of Subaru's are **** though).

To keep them from rusting: sealant (synthetic wax) every 3-6 months.

To prevent more: clear bra and/or rock deflector.
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Old 11-08-2017, 06:34 PM   #8
Scorpius
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drpoop View Post
Subaru paint is total ****, a lot of manufacturers are. Even within the same manufacturer some clear coats are as soft as plastic and some are quality (all of Subaru's are **** though).

To keep them from rusting: sealant (synthetic wax) every 3-6 months.

To prevent more: clear bra and/or rock deflector.
Coming from someone with a username of drpoop.
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Old 11-10-2017, 08:18 AM   #9
lap682
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3m is life
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Old 11-10-2017, 01:39 PM   #10
snoopaloop
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Clearbra for sure!
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Old 11-14-2017, 08:53 PM   #11
lse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drpoop View Post
Subaru paint is total ****, a lot of manufacturers are. Even within the same manufacturer some clear coats are as soft as plastic and some are quality (all of Subaru's are **** though).

To keep them from rusting: sealant (synthetic wax) every 3-6 months.

To prevent more: clear bra and/or rock deflector.
not sure about the new stuff but my 06 hood is made of aluminum so rust is not an issue. but yeah there is no avoiding the chips.
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:12 PM   #12
WRX Vinyl
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Yeah if the paint is missing there is nothing you can do. You either have to repaint it if you want it perfect and get a clear bra or learn to live with it unfortunately.
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Old 12-06-2017, 01:50 AM   #13
Thetrumpwon
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Poop swezr
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Old 12-06-2017, 01:31 PM   #14
Six WRX
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Probably want to get a re-spray. Rock chip repair, whether Dr. Colorchips, Langka Blob Remover, etc, is never going to build up the divot enough to look good. It will look better, but still not as good as before the damage.
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Old 12-17-2017, 05:44 PM   #15
Ernest
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search ammo NYC video where he fixed chips with a small pint pen. he did a good job on an old Porsche. if you drive on the highway its inevitable. I have more rock chips on my 16 brz -highway driven, than my 04 wrx - its crazy, mostly local driving. I have given up though, not gonna win with a 78 mile round trip commute.
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Old 02-24-2018, 04:24 PM   #16
sammiesmom
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My dealer added a glass sealent that repairs tiny chips. Cheaper than a new window.
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Old 02-25-2018, 02:11 PM   #17
ncv2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasondk View Post
my 2016 has rock chips as well, I have used very small amounts of touch up paint. Seems like Subaru paint is not the best, you can look at a clear bra in the future but you may have to learn to live with them or use touch up paint. No amount of detailing will remove a rock chip. I have heard dealerships have a new technique using a paint wand? I've never seen or heard much about it.
+1 on touch up paint then keeping a solid amount of wax on it can help. Ultimately the best bet is likely light body work and a clear car bra, as the paint can be brittle as ive experienced in my WRX as well.
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Old 02-27-2018, 01:47 PM   #18
MtnXfreeride
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3m will protect the hood/bumper.. but your windshield will still look sandblasted in the sun within a year..

To OP: Just get used to it.. youll get new nicks and chips every day. Its a losing battle.
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Old 02-27-2018, 07:41 PM   #19
jasonwrx86
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Dr. Colorchip
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Old 03-04-2018, 12:31 AM   #20
FujiLightIndustries
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lcut81 View Post
-Wax
Wax has two purposes: (a) to make your car shiny temporarily, and (b) to protect you from sun damage, and with modern paint technology it's not even clear (b) is much of a reason anymore.

Wax does not really protect you from contaminants or damage as far as I can tell. Indeed, it can even help some contaminants find somewhere to lodge.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lcut81 View Post
-Clay Bar
Maybe. Clay bar removes contaminants from the surface. It is super common for people to mistake some clear coat damage and embedded contaminants for deep chips or gouges. If the damage is confined, clay bar and abrasives should let you clean it up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lcut81 View Post
-Repaint
If it's a true chip, if the paint was removed, then this is the only option. A skilled person can do this cheaply with local touch ups. This is easily botched though. Repainting the whole part is of course better, but it's hard to justify the expense for a car you are going to drive.
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Old 03-05-2018, 09:12 AM   #21
fabiandw
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I find that for chips, it's best to use touch up paint from the manufacturer and to apply it a few times to get it level... then cover with clear coat and buff!
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Old 03-08-2018, 09:34 AM   #22
whowhat
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Maybe try some factory touch-up paint from Subaru and then some clear coat on top of that. Sand it smooth with fine grit paper and buff it with a clay bar or something. Works well for me usually!
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Old 04-14-2018, 01:10 PM   #23
ryai3
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Also have that problem with Salt on the highway in my area during the winter. Sometimes chips the paint.
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Old 04-24-2018, 01:03 PM   #24
mcursch88
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Yeah, I have only had my car for less than 2 months and the amount of rock chips I have noticed is alarming.

It seems that once a rock hits my car it tumbles along the entire profile of the car scratching and digging into the paint. Sort of like a rock magnet.

Being a black car, I'm sure these will show up much more than other colours.

Touch-up pen ftw
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Old 04-26-2018, 08:07 PM   #25
RawrImAMonster
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In my experience pretty much all of the Japanese car manufactures have super thin paint. I had my old Evo front end repainted because the hood and front bumper were so chipped up even at 60K miles.

On the other the other hand my german cars have had paint that help up pretty well even after 100K+ miles.
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