Door dings; there is nothing more annoying and upsetting to a gearhead than discovering a new one. No matter how hard you try to park away from everyone else, it’s almost inevitable. When I saw the ding above on my driver’s side door, my heart sunk and then I slowly filled with rage wondering how anyone opened their door that aggressively to take such a massive chunk of paint off my door. You can see it went through the clear coat, through the paint, and all of the way down to the skin of the door – in other words, it won’t buff out. For situations like these, I’ve discovered a way to fix it without an expensive visit to the body shop is by using a product called Dr Color Chip. This product is basically really thin paint that is about the size of a nail polish bottle that you dab into the spot. The touch up dries quickly, and while it doesn’t look OEM perfect, it helps cover it up and keeps the car looking “far from perfect, but perfect from afar.” The product is made in virtually any color, and carried on Amazon with quick shipping: http://amzn.to/2i6B25n. Below is the product in Ibis White, which is my particular paint color, but chances are they carry it for your car too.
The product is made best for scratches that aren’t too wide – the manufacturer suggests anything wider than 1/16″ is questionable. As such, it’s most ideal for rock chips, door dings, and smaller scratches. Below is an after picture of what my car turned out like after the fix:
As you can see, it’s not perfect up close, but my door ding was on the larger side of what works best for this product. Despite the finish not being perfect, it’s a ton better than a giant black dot on my door like it was before. And if you step back and don’t know where to look, it’s nearly impossible to spot, or easily confused for spec of dust:
If you’re going to use on your car, here are a few tips to get the best possible outcome:
- Clean the area VERY thoroughly before applying with alcohol (to remove any wax, coatings, etc.) to get a smooth area that the touch-up paint will bond with
- Shake the paint thoroughly, and start with thin, light coats giving a few minutes between coats to dry
- Dab into the center of the ding, then smear with your thumb (wear gloves) in one direction
- Let it dry at least a few minutes, then wipe away using the supplied solution, and add extra layers as needed
- After a few days, apply a coating or spray wax to help protect the area and give the touched up area the same shine as the rest of the car (assuming the rest of the car has some kind of wax or coating on it)
- Don’t expect perfection, this product is ideal for minimizing dings but not making them disappear
For more pointers, check out this thread on Autogeek: https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2009-2016-how-articles-mike-phillips/83526-how-use-dr-colorchip-paint-chip-repair-systems.html
