Repairing chipped areas behind wheels?

B

blinkme323

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Hey guys, I've had my car for a few months now and I installed a clear bra the day after I bought it new. Well, I gave it a good wash today and to my surprise, I have tiny chips on the inner fender behind each of the four wheels. This was the ONE spot I didn't put the clear bra. The damage seems to be very localized at the moment, but from what I've been reading the only way to completely correct this is to repaint the affected panels, which I'm hesitant to do on a car with 3k miles.

My question to all of you detailers out there is, do you think there is any way that I can completely correct this without repainting the panels? Some people have mentioned spot painting, but I know results can vary with that. I've attached a pic of the damage behind one of the front wheels, but it is duplicated on all four corners.

Your help is MUCH appreciated.

photozfi.jpg
 
Being this is your first post:

Hi and.... :welcome: ...To Ago!!!

What kind of clear-bra do you have (3M, XPel, etc.)?

Most of 'em have either pre-cut pieces, or buy-by-the-foot, PPF film to fit/form to these chip-prone areas.

Depending on how long you can afford to have your vehicle out-of-service, will be the deciding point in either:
-A total re-spray repair ($$$$$$$$)
-A Dr. ColorChip type repair
-Polish/Clean-up affected areas as best as possible; and cover with PPF ASAP to avoid further damage!

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.

:)

Bob
 
I'll just re-post what I wrote in Autopia. If you ever plan to drive the car again you're still going to accumulate more tiny chips/pitting over time whether it's in the paint or the clear film, period.

tom p. said:
Res, welcome aboard! Once you have a satisfactory repair, are you going to park the car, permanently? Seriously...
Click to expand...

Agreed. They are only going to continue to accumulate and the clear film will look similar over time. Factory color matched mud flaps are the best option IMO...and I'd probably install clear film under them. ;)

Here is what clear film looks like after some miles of being peppered with dirt/sand.

20110828-_MG_5281.jpg
 
EDIT:

So apparently BMW makes mud flaps for pretty much all their cars except some of the M series cars, M3 being one of them.

So I guess your best bet is going to be the clear film then, just know that it will look like crap over time and will have to be replaced...should be very affordable though. I've not tired the Dr. Color Chip but it's probably your best bet for fixing them short of a full panel repaint.
 
Thanks for the follow up guys. I think I may just bite the bullet and repaint followed by the clear bra. It's not something I'd like to do on a M3 with 3000 miles, but there doesn't seem to be any other surefire way to repair.
 
I've used dr.colorchip then install mudflats on cars and trucks to keep up the maintenance.
 
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