Whilst washing the car today I noticed a small paint chip low down in the centre of the passenger wing mirror. it might have been there all along but its the first time I’ve seen it since collecting it last Friday week. Now I’m sure I’ll see it every time.
I have the Mazda touch up paint kit so could try touching it up myself but I’m not confident of doing a good job and afraid I might make things worse. The other thing is, the car has been treated with A-Glaze paint protection and I don’t know if this will have an impact on how to fix it.
The other option would be to get a smart repairer like Chips Away to come and do it. I imagine they wouldn’t charge too much for something that small - or should I just try to ignore it for now?
Colour is aluminium silver.
Thanks for any suggestions. If anyone knows of a good repairer local to Bromley/Kent that would be great.
I have used chips away a couple of times over the years though not on my mx5, they do an excellent job but i think the problem you may have with them would be the price they would charge you if it is only a small chip.
They did a scrape on a bumper for me that cost about £75 at the time, the scrape was about 6 inches long and i think that was their basic starting price then. As it was in the middle of my bumper my husband did not attempt to do it for me, however he has touched in small chips many times and although it is difficult to get a perfect result you can make a decent job of it yourself.
Robert, it’s easy! Clean the mirror with a bit of detergent, or whisky, gin, vodka on a tissue, I kid you not! Give the touch up paint a good shake, put a little dab of it on the chip. Don’t try rubbing it down, cleaning it up, or anything like that beforehand. Don’t try speading the paint out, smoothing it out or anything. When it’s dry, assuming you’ve got the two pack touch up paint, put a dab of lacquer on it. If you feel really fussy, buy an artist’s brush, the one in the touch up paint isn’t very good. Job done! You’ll know it’s there, no-one else will. It’s worked for me for 50 years, and it’s what the trade would do.Trust me!
Yes completely agreed with Bernard. These little chips are a normal part of motoring and nothing to get worried about. You’ll fix this and have another next week, our car has loads but you’d never notice them walking by. Most, like yours, are on plastic so will never rust, just dab a spot of paint on and let it dry. If you’re impatient warm it gently with a domestic hair dryer (not a hot air gun) and leave it 20 mins before a dab of laquer. If you really mess it up it can be wiped off with meths or cellulose thinners without damaging the original paint
Will follow the great advice from Bernard and Rich tomorrow. Already bought the artist brushes!
Jan, thank you too for the feedback on Chips Away. I guessed they might be a bit expensive for such a minor repair so will skip them for now but keep them in mind should anything more major be needed in future (hopefully not!!).
If you use a cotton bud instead of the brush that’s with the touch up pen you will get a better result as shown to me by a local car detailing company. Might take a few more coats but the aim is to fill the chip with paint so it blend’s in, as with all paint/body work patience is a big factor.
