My new-to-me 997S came with a collection of stone chips on the hood. I'm contemplating a clear bra, but before I do I need to deal with these chips (about a dozen or so).

What's the best route for fixing this? I'm in the Cleveland Ohio area if someone can recommend a local solution.

Thanks!

 

I am also interested - I have a couple nasty onces to fix....

 

hey guys, me too.. My 997.1S came with a nasty collection of rock chips on the hood.

I'm going to get my hood resprayed, and then will get a clear bra put on. There's guy on ebay that sells some pretty good 3M clear bra kits if you've the time and patience to do it yourself.

 

Funny, but when I bought my (new to me) 2007 P Car, it too has a bunch of rock chips, both on the hood and front bumper.

And, I was going to clear bra it, but figured I'd wait until I had it repainted.

Problem is, I dont believe the front bumper can just be repainted. I believe it has to be replaced...

I did do some minor touch ups with a touch up stick like pencil thingy (matched to the color of the car)...It works a bit to make them less noticeable...But, not close to perfect.

In a perfect world, someone backs into the front end of my car just lightly enough to need the bumper replaced and the hood resprayed. And, of course they have GREAT insurance!

Steve

 

I don't see any reason that the bumper can't be re-painted - it's done all the time. You just have to use the right flex agent in the paint - standard procedure.

 

I neglected to say that the stone chips in the bumper are pretty deep. Is there a way of fixing that? Its not just repainting...More of filling in, then repainting.

Thanks,

Steve

 

You should really try Dr Colorchip. I did my wife's acura yesterday and it did a pretty amazing job. It is an odd but simple system. You should check out
http://drcolorchip.com/how-it-works.php

I am waiting to do my 911 until I get my camera working to do a before an after.......

 

Can't clear bra over a re-paint unless you never plan to remove the clear bra as it will lift the paint. If the chips are numerous I'd suggest a respray. Minor chips can be dealt with by a pro with and air gun or you can try Dr Color Chip. Have never used it myself but looks like a reasonable solution. If you're really particular though I don't think you'll be happy with anything less than a professional respray.

 

having used various 'systems' for fixing rock chips over the years, I put them in this order according to ease:

1 - Dr. Colorchip
2 - Langka
3 - ?
4 - ?
5 - Just regular touch up paint, wet sand, buff/polish

In terms of effectiveness and longevity, they rank as follows:
1 - Just regular touch up paint, wet sand, buff
2 - Langka
3 - ?
4 - ?
5 - Dr. Colorchip - really doesn't last long IMNSHO. Guess that's why it's easier to use up front.

For repairing rock chips, nothing beats touch up paint overfilled in layers then wet-sanded level and polished. Langka is a good second choice especially for those afraid to wet-sand their finish. Dr. Colorchip does an ok job of quickly and easily recoloring the chips - not leveling them to un-noticed status. Good from 6-10' out as it were. That being said, it doesn't last. In fact they tell you polish the car before applying. Not necessary w/ Langka or just plain touch up paint wet sanded.

Also, yes - bumpers can easily be resprayed and a shop who works w/ P-car paints can get you an almost 100% perfect match. They can easily fix dings and shave previous plate holes, etc.

 

don't ever respray if you don't have to. The dealership often know of a guy they use to fix small chips. I would call a Porsche dealer or two and ask them who they use. Once you get the touch up, then I would put on clear bra. Ventureshield is currently the best stuff out there. I went through this very thing and did more research than you can imagine. I spoke to a friend who owns a bodyshop and he told me never respray a car unless you must. Just touch it up and clear bra it.

 

I called my dealer this afternoon about asking for their advice. They'd need to see the car. They have a guy who does minor touch ups with factory paint and a squeegee (how she described it) and he should be around tomorrow. I'm going to head out that way in the morning and see what they think.

She also is very down on a respray since it "breaks the factory paint". I watched the cable movie on the Porsche factory and saw how all the pieces were sprayed at the same time. I can understand how a respray could make the hood stand out from the rest of the car...

Anyway I'll report back here when I've had a chance to talk to their service people.

 

A good detailer can take a stone chip and make it about 98 percent invisible. Only you will see it because you will know it was there. They can carefully fill the space with touch up paint . It may even take two applications followed by wet sand or some other wizardry . Do not repaint anything . It's better to hand a car to the next buyer with a scratch and let hi see exactly what needs to be repainted instead of having him guess the previous damage.

The hood is very low and seems to attract pebble chips in construction zones or behind trucks .

 

Steve - I've heard the same from one body shop I did business with in a previous car. They said the labor to sand down the front bumper and prep all the rock chips/minor cosmetics would cost the same if not more than just buying a new bumper and getting it painted. Don't know if they were trying to up-sale me, but I have heard this before.

I also know from doing a lot of research on the used car market that people tend to prefer cars with no paint work. IMO, there will come a time when it needs it but I plan to hold out with just touch-ups as long as possible. Black cars are the worst with road rash! Makes me miss my previous silver car!

 

Same issue with rock chips on the hood, none on the bumper since i use a bra. I've tried Color chip and langa. None were 100%, just less visible. Worked better on solid colors for me and sucko on my metallic colors - better than nothing i suppose.
As mentioned above, i'd rate color chip first than langka.

As for resprays, I had the front clip of a boxster resprayed from the doors forward. it turned out perfect. i had the body shop (specializing in german cars), put a note on the invoice that the paint was for rock chips (for whatever that's worth).
I also had the front of the cayenne resprayed twice for rock chips. that was fine too.

I seriously thought about a hood respray, then changed my mind. good luck!

 

forgot... it was $500 for bumper prep (filling in chips) and respray