I just got back from my first road trip in my new GT and while I was washing it I found a small but VERY deep chip in the paint on my hood. I must have caught a rock on the freeway or something. Its about a 1/4 inch long and 1/8wide and it goes through the clear coat, paint, and basecoat down to the hood. I went to the dealer ("bummer" he says) and, besides repainting the whole hood ($660) all I can really do is apply some touch-up paint - which I did. It looks ok in the shade but is still visible if your up close and in the sun it is still very visible. Does anyone know of anyway other methods to get this problem solved? any tricks or voodoo magic? Like I said my car is just over 1 month old and the jet black paint looks so awesome (besides the scratch of course) - this whole ordeal is killing me. Please someone give me a fresh idea!
Nothing i know of man. I think the only way to fix it is to get it repainted. Try to find a buddy that know how to paint.
I also have a black 05, no chips ("bummer") someone like a dent doctor or detail shop might be able to make it look a little better but with black it's going to be hard. Don't waste your $ on over the counter stuff, (won't work to your satisfaction) you can try to buff out the tuch up but if you don't know what your doing you will make it worse.
Heres a thread I saved some time back in case I ever had to do a chip repair. The instructions are on page 1. http://www.2005stang.com/viewtopic.php?t=720&highlight=paint
On the way to the track last week I rear ended my son's 86GT with my 05 GT when I let my foot off the clutch and rolled into him (I know, dumb) at a stop sign. After buffing off the scuffing and small scratches with NuFinish scratch remover, I used the correct touch up paint and spent 3 days putting VERY THIN layers of paint in all the paint chips (6 of them). One was huge and a half circle representation of his right exhaust pipe!! I kept adding paint to the point so that when dry, the level of the touchup paint was slightly higher than the level of the factory paint in each of the chips. The key is being patient and taking your time. Even with this step only, most folks can't see the places I've chipped the bumper unless I point it out. But I still want it perfect. I estimate 8 layers of touch up paint were built up. The next step is smoothing out the touchup paint. On the advice of a auto paint guy ("Well, if you INSIST on doing it yourself and not a professional..."), he recommended I get this: http://www.langka.com/complete-paint-chip-repair-kit-p-30.html The polish will slowly rub down the touch up paint "blob" until it's level with the factory paint. Add wax and it should almost be invisible except to the discerning eye. John
Don't go to the dealer, find a good body shop somewhere in town and have them do the hood. And if you know someone at a body shop, thats even better. I got a like 4 rock chips on my stock front bumper and one right smack dab in the middle of the hood just above the pony in the grill. Drove me crazy, so I got the hood redone and a new bumper. The cost of doing the hood and a new bumper was the same as re-doing the stock one and doing the hood also.
Good to know, but like I said, my GT is only 1 month old and I'm sure that I'm gonna pick up a few more rocks or scratches so I'm gonna wait until re-do the whole hood until something unbearable happens. For now I'm just trying to mitigate the damage that is already done.
Southern Colors I know someone who has used this place many times with good results: http://www.southerncolors.com/ I would probably go to them if I got a bad enough scratch since I live in the Atlanta area. From what I've heard they can professionally fix all the dings you've got while you wait for maybe a hundred bucks or so, matching the paint, clearcoating, etc. A good body shop should be able to do the same, but may charge more.
Anyone know of any shops in the san diego area that will do similar work?? I've been calling around but I'm not sure who is just B.S.'n me and who is for real...
Excellent advice! It will work, I've done similar repairs myself. Take your time, wait for the touch up to dry.
