Not in a good mood. Sprayed by the gritter at 5:30 this evening on the Leek - Macclesfield road. That's the third time this winter I've been caught. Result is some nice new marks down the side to add to the already marked front bumper. I pulled over and stopped when I saw him coming, flashed lights, sounded horn but didn't make any difference. Roof was down and even had grit coming over the top of the window! Any recommendations on best products/techniques to remedy apart from complete respray? Is it worth trying a professional detailer? Thanks for any advice.

 

Wow that's pretty unlucky I feel your pain, thought we'd made it through winter now?

Unfortunately the only advice I can give is to buy a t-shirt like Balotellis'

 

hate it when they get me. feel sorry for you mate

 

I keep having to get the misses from work at 10-11pm, seems prime gritting time. Been f@#ked over by them 3 times in 2 months so far. Not impressed. Paintwork on my frontend is basically a bag of shit now. Peppered to f@#k - even got a chip in the wind screen

Did my best when the sun was out this weekend to touch up paint the worse ones. Then when the sun ever bloody arrives I'ma get a pro detailer to go over it all, hopefully most of it will be sortable. Its just so annoying trying to keep a car nice now, in between all the pot holes and shitty weather. So hard

The piss take is when it was actually snowing and icey there where no gritters to be seen anywhere round here. arghh.

 

Absolutely in the same boat. I was taking a mate to the pub with the top down one night and saw one coming the other way, end result? I was picking bits of grit out of the seats and centre console! I bet they love seeing us coming the other way!

 

I put a full V12V Ventureshield kit on my new Aston S
Not a single bit of salt or gravel rash
Works really well.

 

My friends got Ventureshield on the bonnet, wings and front end of his black 911. It's great for resisting stone chips etc but you just can't get it to shine like a polished black car. He's thinking of removing it for that reason.

 

You will need to detox paint, ironX and tardis, Get it machined (can be done by hand as well)something like gtechniq p1 is good. Then a good quality prime like lime prime it has a small abrasive and fillers,(Glaze is optional)Get a nice quality wax or sealant (Sealant for light colours wax for dark) and your done, Honda has one of the softest paint going, it marks so easily. Where are you based mate? i can recommend a detailer that is near you as am on detailing valeting forums hope this helps buddy

 

Dave, thanks for the advice. I'm in Cheshire. I de-tarred, clayed, polished with Carlack 68 and sealed with FinishKare 1000 before winter. There are quite a few small white spots on the silverstone paint where it's been chipped. Is the idea that they would be individually touched-up before the polish, or that polishing alone will cover/repair the damage? I have looked at products like Chipex on the net but I think I would make it worse. I have found a contact on detailing world not too far away, so I may get some advice next week before deciding.

 

So I thought I would explain how making chips these less noticeable.

Items required: A can or two of lighter fuel, small tub of matching or similar colour paint (Humbrol enamel paints are ideal - I used black), polishing pad (ideally lint free), protective gloves.

1. Wipe surface over with a cleaner - I use lighter fuel.
2. Squirt lighter fuel on to pad and add some paint.
3. Apply paint on to surface ensuring it is well rubbed in to the chips.
4. Leave for half an hour and repeat the procedure at least three times till the chips appear 'full'.
5. For large stone chips get a toothpick and dip in the paint and apply to hole.
6. Leave for a few days for the paint to dry.
6. Using 3000 grit wet and dry rub over the entire surface, taking particular care with the larger toothpick filled stone chips.
7. Machine polish and finish with a wax.

This will get rid of 80-90 percent of pinholes.

I know it may sounds a bit frightening but a steady nerve and taking time will reap rewards. As explained it will reduce thee appearance of chips rather than remove them completely. Anyway another coat or two and then I will leave it for a while for the paint to harden.

For wet sanding I use an old cork block - don't try it without some sort of block, ideally something not too hard such as rubber. Use plenty of soapy water as a lubricant and do a small area at a time, keeping the strokes in the same directions. I made sure I didn't take too much off - a way to check is when you have finished, wipe the panel and leave to dry. The entire panel should have a flat dull finish.

You may find there are a few pin holes that may have been missed, so use a toothpick and paint to fill them.

It will then have some Menzerna Final Finish (i have a bottle for sale if needed)

finish of with a nice sealant or a wax. This is a DIY to http://www.chipex.co.uk/ and works along same lines does same thing just cheaper, i have done this method a few times and had great results.

Hope this helps.