Dr. ColorChip on Metallic Paint

[Themikerobe]

I have a metallic dark grey car and here's the results of using Dr. ColorChip on many chips and scratches. These pictures are closeup so you notice the imperfect repair a lot more than in real life when you're looking at few square feet at once.

Dr. ColorChip has the color and metallic sheen perfect but as soon as you start to use the SealAct solution to remove the excess paint, it changes the color of the paint because it starts to expose more of the metallic bits.

This is shown here where inside the scratch, the ColorChip paint is still dark but the excess paint is much brighter as I start to remove it using the SealAct solution.

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In chip #1-2 below, I didn't use the SealAct solution and instead just applied paint with a tiny brush and let it dry and you can see how close of a match the paint is but without being able to level off the chip, it's still visible. I'm sure that Dr. ColorChip on a non-metallic/pearl paint would look so good!

As you can see, with metallic paint, it totally just depends on the chip - if it's deep and small enough that the SealAct solution doesn't touch the ColorChip paint inside the chip, it'll look pretty good but if the chip is too shallow or wide, the solution lightens up the ColorChip paint inside the chip and it looks better but still visible. I did a ton of chips on my hood (not pictured) and they usually were small but deep, just like chip #1-3, which are the perfect candidates and I never notice those repairs cause they look so good and I can't even find most of them when I'm intentionally looking for them.

I've done 20 tiny chips like 1-3, 7 chips of various sizes like you see here, the 3 scratches you see here, and several chips on the roof that had rusted so I had to make them at least 1/4 of an inch (6mm) to remove the rust and I still have 90% of the paint left from the "1 dozen chip" kit! It would last anyone the life of the car unless you were doing the "squirt and squeegee method" over a decently sized area. However, I have used about 30% of the SealAct solution. Another one of those will be $12.

Overall, I definitely would buy it again. I'm so glad I heard of it. It doesn't remove most chips but it improves all chips at least enough that I don't notice them, some enough that I can't find them and scratches are still noticeable but at least they're closer to the paint color than before.

One tip I have is to cut the included cloth into many pieces and wrap them around a card like this so you get a flat surface that is less likely to reach into the chip.


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Note: Some of these have the IPA/water solution I used to clean them chip or the SealAct solution residue still visible.

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[WRAPT C5Z06]

Dr. Colorchip is top notch for its intended purpose.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Overall, I definitely would buy it again. I'm so glad I heard of it.

It doesn't remove most chips but it improves all chips at least enough that I don't notice them, some enough that I can't find them and scratches are still noticeable but at least they're closer to the paint color than before.

That's pretty much the goal of the Dr. Color Chip system, that is make chips in the paint a lot less noticeable to the human eye from about 5 feet away.


I've been answering questions about fixing rock chips and scratches in paint for years now and the thing I've learned is to first set a person's expectations. You have real-world expectations.

Too many people think and hope that by using the Dr. Color Chip system that if they put their nose on the hood of tier car they'll never be able to see where the rock chip used to be.... that's not real-world. For these people I tell them they will be happier to have their hood or car repainted. (Of course they never like that answer either).

So as long as a person has real-world expectations then the Dr. Color Chip repair system works great.

For anyone reading this into the future, here's my write-up on how to use the DR. Color Chip system...


How to use the Dr. ColorChip Paint Chip Repair Systems


I cover the topic of keeping expectations real-world in post #9

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Dr. ColorChip has the color and metallic sheen perfect but as soon as you start to use the SealAct solution to remove the excess paint, it changes the color of the paint because it starts to expose more of the metallic bits.

Interesting observation. Metallic paints bring with them unique challenges for repair, be it a tiny rock chip or a re-paint to a body panel.

One tip I have is to cut the included cloth into many pieces and wrap them around a card like this so you get a flat surface that is less likely to reach into the chip.

Thanks for the tip... I'll have to give this a try. What kind of car? Business card? Credit card?

 

[Themikerobe]

For anyone reading this into the future, here's my write-up on how to use the DR. Color Chip system...


How to use the Dr. ColorChip Paint Chip Repair Systems

I saw that you recommend waiting an hour before using the SealAct solution to allow the paint inside the cheap to harden. Ive always waited about 10 minutes so I'll have to try the hour and see what happens with my metallic paint. On some chips it seems like the chip only gets brushed a couple times but that's enough to make it brighten up. Waiting the hour might make it more resistant to that.



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[Themikerobe]

Thanks for the tip... I'll have to give this a try. What kind of car? Business card? Credit card?

It must be a MasterCard haha, just kidding! I use a credit card. An expired credit card just in case the SealAct discolors the card but I haven't experienced that so far.
Using a card does require more passes to dissolve the excess paint since the card has so little surface area but on metallic paint at least, it's worth it to reduce the amount of paint you brighten up inside the chip.

 

[glfnaz]

I've gotten good results (pleasing results, not perfect) on flat color paints.
I usually get fair at best results if I am working with metallic paint.

 

[Finick]

I've gotten good results (pleasing results, not perfect) on flat color paints.
I usually get fair at best results if I am working with metallic paint.

That’s disappointing to hear since I’ve been meaning to get this to touch up the wonderful amount of chips on my metallic red hood.

I imagine it would still look better than seeing the chips, at any rate. Some are pretty deep/jagged. They tend to snag my towels if I’m not mindful of them.


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[Themikerobe]

I've gotten good results (pleasing results, not perfect) on flat color paints.
I usually get fair at best results if I am working with metallic paint.

Good to hear from someone who's used it on both types of paint. I imagine it's very impressive on flat paints.

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[Themikerobe]

That’s disappointing to hear since I’ve been meaning to get this to touch up the wonderful amount of chips on my metallic red hood.

I imagine it would still look better than seeing the chips, at any rate. Some are pretty deep/jagged. They tend to snag my towels if I’m not mindful of them.


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It will definitely look better. And one bottle is a lifetime supply in my experience so it's definitely a worthwhile purchase.

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[Bruno Soares]

It will definitely look better. And one bottle is a lifetime supply in my experience so it's definitely a worthwhile purchase.

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What do you do to avoid having the paint in the bottle get dry? Of course keep the bottle closed but I once bought a kit for a car that I ended up selling. Less than a year later (with a bottle that I never cracked open) I could feel it wasn't as liquid in there anymore every time I shook the bottle. So now I got the color for my current car but I wasn't counting on having it for much more than the initial application as I assumed it would get dry once I open it up.

 

[Themikerobe]

What do you do to avoid having the paint in the bottle get dry? Of course keep the bottle closed but I once bought a kit for a car that I ended up selling. Less than a year later (with a bottle that I never cracked open) I could feel it wasn't as liquid in there anymore every time I shook the bottle. So now I got the color for my current car but I wasn't counting on having it for much more than the initial application as I assumed it would get dry once I open it up.

I don't intentionally do anything special but I have happened to keep it in the box it came with which would make it always be in the shade so that could effect it. That's the only thing I can think of.

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[Senna1]

I've had similar experience w/ Dr. Colorchip on dark metallic paint (Ford Sterling Grey). The look of the final repair is VERY dependent on the metallic flake, how you apply it, and how 'it' chooses to behave that day.
-If you do not mix the paint thoroughly by mechanical means (i.e. shaking it up isn't going to cut it), the flake won't suspend evenly/fully, and you'll get a color mismatch AND the metallics won't match.
-For application - forget the 'dab and smear' bit. Maybe this works great for flat colors, or if you're just slapping the stuff onto a road-rashed panel, but for a precision chip repair, it looks FAR better in the end if you dab or flow the paint right into the chip, taking as much care as possible to NOT get paint on the surrounding areas. A microbrush, toothpick, or even paint pen works really well for this, depending on the chip size/condition. If done this way, SealAct is completely optional, reportedly. I had good luck coming back and very lightly applying some 10-30 min after filling the chip. Dr. Colorchip claims sealact has some curing/hardener properties, and I wanted to be sure the chip repair fully hardened, so on it went. If you did a clean job with the paint, this shouldn't even really remove any from the repair (of course, if you have some spill-over outside the chip, this is the time to take care of it).
-Even doing everything carefully as above, some of my chip repairs look better than others. They all look better than bare chips though, which is the point to bear in mind about all this.

Another thing to note about it is that the Dr. Colorchip paint has very little 'filling' properties. That means you can layer multiple touch-ups into the same chip if you're not happy with your first attempt. Some of my best-looking repairs with it have 3-4 applications in them. Just make sure you let the prior touch-up fully dry before going in there again. This may sound like a pain - but remember - this is an alternative to doing the full sand, fill, paint, polish chip repair routine, and it's still far less effort (and potential to do damage) than that.

 

[Belo]

I've had similar experience w/ Dr. Colorchip on dark metallic paint (Ford Sterling Grey). The look of the final repair is VERY dependent on the metallic flake, how you apply it, and how 'it' chooses to behave that day.
-If you do not mix the paint thoroughly by mechanical means (i.e. shaking it up isn't going to cut it), the flake won't suspend evenly/fully, and you'll get a color mismatch AND the metallics won't match.
-For application - forget the 'dab and smear' bit. Maybe this works great for flat colors, or if you're just slapping the stuff onto a road-rashed panel, but for a precision chip repair, it looks FAR better in the end if you dab or flow the paint right into the chip, taking as much care as possible to NOT get paint on the surrounding areas. A microbrush, toothpick, or even paint pen works really well for this, depending on the chip size/condition. If done this way, SealAct is completely optional, reportedly. I had good luck coming back and very lightly applying some 10-30 min after filling the chip. Dr. Colorchip claims sealact has some curing/hardener properties, and I wanted to be sure the chip repair fully hardened, so on it went. If you did a clean job with the paint, this shouldn't even really remove any from the repair (of course, if you have some spill-over outside the chip, this is the time to take care of it).
-Even doing everything carefully as above, some of my chip repairs look better than others. They all look better than bare chips though, which is the point to bear in mind about all this.

Another thing to note about it is that the Dr. Colorchip paint has very little 'filling' properties. That means you can layer multiple touch-ups into the same chip if you're not happy with your first attempt. Some of my best-looking repairs with it have 3-4 applications in them. Just make sure you let the prior touch-up fully dry before going in there again. This may sound like a pain - but remember - this is an alternative to doing the full sand, fill, paint, polish chip repair routine, and it's still far less effort (and potential to do damage) than that.

glad you posted this. tried some repairs yesterday on my silver metallic pontiac. My biggest issue is with depth, and I too found that just filling the hole seemed to work better, but I struggled with this because all their literature states not to do this and if you do, you might not have good results. I've let a few deep chips dry and plant to just redo again and again until they fill. I never expected perfection, but what I got yesterday was not worth the money I paid either. I think I had better luck with the much cheaper duplicolor kit and was hoping this would be worth it.