Polish/Seal, fix chips now or later?

[SoCalE]

Okay, so my car is in need of a polish/sealant job (don't think there's much wax if any left on the car), however there are a few chips on the hood. So the question is which should i do first:
- Fix chips then polish
- Tape the chips, polish, then fix the chips and polish that area
- or whatever option 3, 4, etc might be..

I am kind of leaning towards polishing first, and not touching the areas near the chips and revisit them after the chips are fixed.

Any opinions or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[mleun481]

I think you should do all polishing first and fix the chips afterwards. If you fix the chips first, you would have to wait (30 days?) or so before polishing to make sure its cured.

[SoCalE]

Sounds like a good plan. Do you think I should polish and seal over the chips or tape off the chips and a small radius surrounding it so it doesn't get polished?

[mleun481]

Don't think you want to seal the chips so when you fix it, its not bonding to the sealant. I would prob polish around the chip.
Maybe if you have some pics, others can weigh in too?

[conthedon]

To my knowledge, or with my touch up paint w/ clearcoat you can polish after48 hours (touch up doesnt follow the same general 30 day rule like repaints of entire panels). But id polish the whole car skipping the chips, and then deal will it afterwards since youre going to want to wipe chips with IPA since you dont want anything in the chips.

[mleun481]

the time to wait is entirely your decision, but if this helps - from Dr. Colorchip's site:

Wash & dry the vehicle. Do any "hard" detailing first, like wet-sanding, compounding and buffing. Then use our paint. Follow up with standard waxing a week later. Refrain from using a circular buffing wheel and wool pad for at least 30 days. We suggest using a random-orbit buffer with a foam pad and quality compound at all times for the best, swirl-free results (rather than the circular buffer and wool pad.)

General Info - Surface Prep, Repair Life, and General Product Questions - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems (http://www.drcolorchip.com/faq-general-information.php)

[POPPAJ]

DrColorchip for the best results. Use a heat gun or hair dryer to accelerate the cure before final polish. Easy to use, great results!

[SoCalE]

I ended up taping up the spot, polished and sealed the rest of the car. I have some touch up I got from the dealer. I think these are the three stage paint. It's a pearl white, so I guess it has some kind of metallic flakes. Would DrColorchip be better?