Polishing Dr. ColorChip

[MikeC78]

Anyone here lightly polish Dr. CC to level it out? I know its not made for this, just wondering if anyone had any luck leveling it out. I used for a bit of a different purpose and used it cover a wear area on the door sill. Paint that was wore from being stepped on showing primer. Maybe it would of been better to use regular touch up paint, but figured it would be easier to level for a better appearance with Dr. CC. Dr. CC paint is a bit tackier and seems to be easier to work with when its dry.

Gonna try using my 3" GG6 with a white pad and possibly some light polish. Maybe it would be better doing it by hand, since this area seems very thin. I'm not sure if this area is even clear coated. Thanks for any replies!

Mike

[Natron]

Never tried it, let us know how it goes.

[JCDetails]

I would be wary of it unless it's had a LONG time to cure or has been IR baked.


If you get too aggressive polishing it, you could pull it out of the defect altogether.

[RippyD]

I haven't had good luck getting Dr. Color to level out. It's odd to me b/c it doesn't have any clear and always has different reflective. The pros are that it's easy to use and easy to remove before it fully cures. You can also build it up as needed. Cons for me are the it seems to be nearly impossible to get it to fill a deep chip, and it seems like I'm always inadvertently removing much of the product I just applied when I'm cleaning up around it.

I previously had a 4Runner with some deep chips in the front of the hood. Using Dr. Color masked them, but they were quite visible up close. I finally went with touch up paint and touch up clear. I did went sand after applying to get them leveled out - probably not necessary and somewhat risky. But it looked great when done. Another pro tip I learned was to mix the color and clear and apply together. In most cases you won't see the difference. This may not work for larger chips or scratches. For smaller chips it worked well for me.

I am a rank amateur and novice at this, so take my experience for what it's worth (not much). Go slowly, make sure the chip is clean, small, small applicators, and a good magnifier so you can see what you're doing all helped me a lot. I also used a heat gun to dry my work. GENTLY and slowly.

[DaveT435]

Anyone here lightly polish Dr. CC to level it out? I know its not made for this, just wondering if anyone had any luck leveling it out. I used for a bit of a different purpose and used it cover a wear area on the door sill. Paint that was wore from being stepped on showing primer. Maybe it would of been better to use regular touch up paint, but figured it would be easier to level for a better appearance with Dr. CC. Dr. CC paint is a bit tackier and seems to be easier to work with when its dry.

Gonna try using my 3" GG6 with a white pad and possibly some light polish. Maybe it would be better doing it by hand, since this area seems very thin. I'm not sure if this area is even clear coated. Thanks for any replies!

Mike

Actually if you add some mineral spirits to the blending solution it makes leveling quite a bit faster without using polish. That tip came fro someone at Dr Colorchip. I'm sure polishing would be fine as well.

[Aaryn NZ]

It can be achieved for sure. First we need to remember we're dealing with a "repair" & not actually "refinishing" - if greater results are what you're after, I would suggest refinishing/painting. On that note though, I have done a few sill repairs where peoples feet have worn away the paint on the sill from getting in & out of the vehicle. You can flatten it off quite well without the need for polishing & using the supplied Seal-Act & cloth & work by hand. Be patient though & work gently.

I have come across some colours that have a heavier flake to the mettalic that at times changes the appearance of the colour when working this way but usually taking it one more little step will remedy this too.

As for polishing to level - sure. Again though I can't stress enough - be patient. If leveling with a polisher try & wait as long as possible for the paint to cure fully before doing this.

Good luck with it, please do follow up & let us know how you get on, & even cooler - post some pics? And hey, if it doesn't work out at least you can try again & you're not breaking the bank. :xyxthumbs:


Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

[MikeC78]

Awesome response, gents! It's just a black finish, so it makes it a bit easier to mask and work with. I noticed on this vehicle (Cadillac Escalade) that the jams and hinges that are painted is fairly thin and there are spots that didn't even get painted correctly. Gonna let it cure a couple days first and I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

If it doesn't work out or looks horrible, I'm gonna locate some sill plates to install over the area. Might need to do thatanyway for some protection and mitigate future wear.

Edit: I found this tape on Amazon. This might be the ticket after I paint the repaired area or just apply this over top.

Amazon.com: XPEL Black Universal Door Sill Guard (60" x 2.75") Paint Protection Film Kit: Automotive (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EP52I8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

[DaveT435]

Awesome response, gents! It's just a black finish, so it makes it a bit easier to mask and work with. I noticed on this vehicle (Cadillac Escalade) that the jams and hinges that are painted is fairly thin and there are spots that didn't even get painted correctly. Gonna let it cure a couple days first and I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

If it doesn't work out or looks horrible, I'm gonna locate some sill plates to install over the area. Might need to do thatanyway for some protection and mitigate future wear.

Edit: I found this tape on Amazon. This might be the ticket after I paint the repaired area or just apply this over top.

Amazon.com: XPEL Black Universal Door Sill Guard (60" x 2.75") Paint Protection Film Kit: Automotive (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EP52I8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

I got a black Camaro that was missing paint like that, even worse, there were spots on the fender that when you put direct light on them you could see right through the color coat. They replaced the car for me.