Stone chips - what to do

You can get a specialist to come out and fix them (which is likely considering the value of the car) or you can do it yourself. If you want to do the repair yourself, you may want to try first on your daily driver to get the technique down. You should order the paint to exactly match your factory color code. I ordered through Paintscratch.com and you can get a kit that includes the base color, clear coat, wet sand paper, rubbing compound, etc... The kit is around $40.00. You should also use the blob remover from Langka.com. This is what the professionals use. It is basically a selective paint thinner that will remove the inevitable blobs from dabbing the touch up paint on the car and make the touch up spots flat with the factory paint. The Langka blob remover kit must be used from 2 hours - 4 days after you apply the touch up paint to work properly.
From what I have read, it is not recommended to have large portions of the car resprayed as it reduces the value of the car for resale.
Hope this info helps. Read about the Langka touch up using Langka as the search word in Yahoo or Google.
BT

 

Yep, Langka stuff works very well. And if you use this link to get to the Langka.com website and eventually buy something, they'll even make a donation to the Ferrari Club!

 

Re-spraying the front bumper will not reduce the value of your car.

 

A stoneguard finish on the spoiler helps too.

 

Re-spraying the front bumper will not reduce the value of your car.......
as well as a respray of the hood.

 

Correct, besides, what will NOT respraying scratches do to the value? That's the first thing a potential buyer will point out, "...it needs painting - how much will that cost?" vs "...nice paint!"

 

Its called patina. It is an indicates that an enthusiast owns the car rather than a poseur that just owns it to impress others. When it gets real bad, have the front end resprayed.

 

I use my 360 4 or 5 times a week and got tired of stone chips. Put on the 3 m auto shield works wonders. Have not had a chip since. I have a Swaters Metalic Blue and it looks good.
Buzz

 

Had my front, including bonnet resprayed...I don't care thoug if it reduces the value...I'm never going to sell. But I agree that respraying due to stone chips does not affect value. Collision damage may, but not chips.

 

Get it painted, put on the 3m and don't worry about it again, if they do a good job.

I had the bumper (unfortunately needed to do both front and rear) done, and then put on the 3m, and haven't had to worry about it since then.

HOWEVER has anyone noticed how many nicks the windshield gets in the 1st 20k??? looks like before I sell it, I'll probably have to do the windshield because of the pits.

Art

 

I like that. I will remember this.

 

I've been Ferrari shopping and I agree.

I turned a car down that was blu chiaro, had many chips and some awful brush touch-ups that didn't match. I added the cost of respraying those panels, and risk of a poor color match, to my mental checklist and decided the price was too high. If the seller had taken care of it, it would have been one less concern (and the car was nice overall).

If the car's 15 years old, I can accept that a first-rate respray is normal.

 

Paint is there to keep the metal from rusting. That's all.

 

Yup. I have a annual 'chip touchup' as part of my normal yearly service.

 

Maybe polishing is what caused it, it's probably polish residue! On my Rosso Corsa car I had a similar problem, but on close inspection it wasn't primer showing through, 'cos the factory primer was pink, not white!

Where can I get the 3M product in the UK, supplied and fitted?

 

http://www.invisiblepatterns.com/showcase.asp

 

It's a structural adhesive on some vehicles.

 

Do you have any websites of these specialists?
I have a 328 and 512TR, the TR colour is still immaculate but 328 GTS although the colour is still great but a lot of chips: bonnet, door edges etc.
In Bangkok there is no such specialists, the advice I get is always have been repaint the whole car. Should I or shouldn't I?

 

Very true.

 

Your middle name DeLorean?

 

agreed....just drive the car.... its just a car!!!! i dont notice the stone chips on my cars because i dont look for them..most of the chips you cant see unless you get down on your hands and knees...or when you washing or waxing the bumper....if it gets bad enough where it can be seen by the human eye, then respray it...or do what one of my friends does...3m bra, seat covers on the seats at all times, car cover at all times in the garage, and then take the car at on clean local streets every sunday for 5 miles, then wash and polish and then back in the garage...now thats enjoying a 512 tr!!!!finally a good solution to the dreaded rock chip problem....

 

aluminum does not rust...eg. a 360....

 

Who wants an ugly chipped up Ferrari though?
Unless an ex-racer with chips from past experiences.

Most Ferraris I have seen don't have very many chips, if I see one with many chips I think either the owner doesn't care about his car or can't afford to keep it nice. Concerning the casual I'll just respray the front everyso often you can't do that, after about 3 layers of paint you can have problems show up down the road as its too thick and you will need a complete restrip then.