AAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!! First chip!

[Jim C]

Well - it had to happen eventually. Found a chip on my brand new, not-even-broken-in-yet, 42 day old Murano. Crap!! The kicker is that I just put on a Colgan bra. Of course, I'm sure the bra helped with other stones, but it didn't prevent damage from a rock flying off of a truck that belted the hood about three inches up from where the bra ends.

I guess I'm about to try the Langka stuff I got in the mail last week for the wife's minivan. I also have to pick up some touch up paint. Anyone got views on whether to go with Nissan touch up paint, Pep Boys stuff or Advance Auto stuff?

Thanks in advance.

[Stoker]

I have used the touch up paint from Nissan, it comes with a two ended pen with paint at one end and clear coat on the other. It seems to match the paint code alright. However, really shake the pen up for at least two minutes so that the paint end is throughly mixed.

I had to go over my rock chips twice as when the paint is not mixed up, it comes out darker than it should. My Mo is silver so you want the paint to match properly.

[Eric L.]

I also recommend the Nissan touch up pen. It has color coded paint on one end, and a clear coat tip on the other end.

[Gonzo]

Don't feel bad.... 2nd day with my MO I say a pebble coming at me on the highway in slow motion.... BLAM! hit the window and put a large chip in it. The 2nd day!

[bob1]

I'm feeling your pain. I can still boast a chip free MO but the second week I bought my Altima I had the dreaded slow motion rock off the back of a truck. Unless you have this happen you won't know what we are talking about, it looks like the rock is flying at you in super slow motion but you gotta just hold the wheel and steer straight and don't panic. Windshield was trashed. Called insurance and they said unless the crack was as large as a dollar bill they would not help. They asked me for the plate number of the truck! Are you kidding me!!! Well, if it happens to you, make sure you embelish the crack with a towel over the window and a hammer!
Now I'm not getting caught behind those trucks, I recently peged the pedal to get around one and noticed I was at 100 MPH.
Try not to get too crazy, sooner or later we are all going to get nailed by a dreaded flying object on the highway. I hate when that happens.
Bob1

[bigdogrambo]

Originally posted by Eric L.
I also recommend the Nissan touch up pen. It has color coded paint on one end, and a clear coat tip on the other end.

i too have the dreaded nissan pen to fix a stone chip on the passenger door - guy in front of me answered his cel phone and drove off the road into the gravel - lucky to get only one hit - i'm wondering if folks can suggest some dos & don'ts to get the best out of stone chip repairs - should i expect the repair to make the blemish disappear or will i always notice it? - thanx - cj

[EdMPT]

ok, this may make some of you cringe but I use the touch up paint (not pen) and brush with thin layers lof paint letting them dry for about a week in-between coats (actually more like small dabs in each chip). I do this until there is just a small indent where the chip was. Then if the touch up pain is uneven (here comes the cringing part), I use a VERY SMALL amount of laquer thinner on a q-tip to try and smooth out the touch up paint. Once that is done, I then start the process with the clear coat until the clear coat is actually a little bit higher than the surrounding paint. Now I haven't gotten to this point yet but the plan is to next use the thinner to smooth and blend the lines between the old and the new clear coat. Again only a SMALL amount on a q-tip and wiped right away with a clean lint free cloth. After that maybe a small amount of rubbing compound to further blend and smooth out... When I finish I will let you all know how it turns out. I am doing this someone hit the front fender well of the Murano in a parking lot leaving a thumb size scrape in it. So I figure if worse comes to worse I will have to get the whole front painted anyways...but I might as well try to learn how to best fix the chips in the process..

[MarkY]

EdMPT:

That is basically what the process of using Lanka is. It takes some practice and patience though.

[Gonzo]

Nice EdMPT. I use clear nail polish as my top sealer coat. I don't have the descpline to wait a week between coats just usually a few hours works. This stuff dryes fast.

[EdMPT]

What's Lanka? I've never heard of it...

[EdMPT]

I tried waiting a few hours inbetween but when I used the thinner it would take off too much because the paint hasn't cured enough. It takes a lot of patients which I am not known for...well according to my girlfriend, but this is my car man!!!!! lol

[mgthe3]

I guess Atlanta is the place for windshield dings....didn't take my Mo but 1 week to get two small chips from a lowboy with a tractor on it spraying gravel down I-20 on 6 flags hill. Couldn't get away from it...all 6 lanes were being sprayed....
I went GRRRR.....but now I have about 6, none staring, so I live with them.

[nissanlove]

is there any special way to use the paint pen. when i try and put on the clear coat the touchup paint turns really dark and it like melts it. strange, maybe i'm not letting it dry enough. any suggestions??

[SIM]

The very last coat to apply is the clear coat but only after the little hole has been filled up completely (overfilled slightly and buffed leave only a very slight gap for the clear to fill. I always waited at least a week before applying clear coat over paint though and I don't think you can go on and applyt it just a few hours after the paint.

My last test involved using the clay bar to buff the area before applying the clear coat. It worked perfectly well. You got to get used to this whole process because chips appear faster than you can fix them and eventually, you have to have that bumper painted again.