Brand new XC60 - stone chip already!

[XC60Owner]

Originally Posted by Lzygo

my xc90 booked in for the scratch repairs next monday at volvo so will let you know how it goes!

Yes please. I phoned another Volvo dealer and they recommended against them doing it. Said they would respray the section and and then re-lacker the whole panel which is a bit excessive for a chip. So he recommended I just do it myself with touch up paint. I've tried b4 and its gone wrong so I'm not doing that. My thinking was that its better to stick with Volvo as opposed to another company as if anything goes wrong ultimately Volvo will be able to fix it whereas another company if it goes wrong may just say hard luck.

I asked if they could do the touch up for me and they said they didn't think they would be any better than myself

[alexx]

the fact is on a job like this you just need time and patience, prepair the area well, have the right colour matched paint get a could of strands of brush fibre and build it up carefully then when you use your laqour or gloss nail varnish (which i do highly recommend) you can buff it to the same level and it looks really good

esp your colour grey is well easy to match, try red on a top of a range audi

[XC60Owner]

By coinicidence my mum's car is in the garage having a respray on insurance due to vandalism. I called the company doing it (specialist body work/spray company) and they said that Volvo dealership will probably just sub-contract chip repair to local garage or mobile chip repair guy. Results can't be guaranteed, sometimes ok sometimes not. They said touch up paint is never accurate as paint varies slightly in factory when cars built and that it is always darker if not sprayed on. He said for best result smooth chip, fill, respray part panel then laquer entire panel - ARGGG. No way am I having that done for a tiny chip on a lovely new door it might make things even worse. So he said they could mix some paint and paint just into the chip - said it won't be perfect but means it won't rust and doesn't require respray of door.

So my question is ... is this what Volvo dealerships do, i.e. outsource repairs to other places? Is it better therefore to go direct to a specialist respray company used by insurance companies?

[alexx]

Its best to do it yourself like I said or pay a mate with a steady hand!

and yes lots of garages out source if not have a dabble in it themselves, before you do it for now id at least put some nail varnish on it so it doesnt start oxidising

[RoyMacDonald]

If you have every chip you get resprayed it will cost you a fortune. Most of the car, except for the roof, is zinc plated anyway.

Dark colours are dead easy to touch up. Get a Volvo touch up kit,the paint in a tube with big brushes in the lid. DO NOT USE THOSE BRUSHES. Buy the finest artists brush you can, and mix a small amount of the laquer and colour together and touch up your chip(s) with the smallest overlap possible. You may need some thinners in hot weather to keep your paint nice and fluid.

All the best.

Roy

[XC60Owner]

Originally Posted by RoyMacDonald

If you have every chip you get resprayed it will cost you a fortune. Most of the car, except for the roof, is zinc plated anyway.

Dark colours are dead easy to touch up. Get a Volvo touch up kit,the paint in a tube with big brushes in the lid. DO NOT USE THOSE BRUSHES. Buy the finest artists brush you can, and mix a small amount of the laquer and colour together and touch up your chip(s) with the smallest overlap possible. You may need some thinners in hot weather to keep your paint nice and fluid.

All the best.

Roy

Yep that is what I have decided to do. Have some plastic toothpicks that will work a treat for the touch up. I thought you did the colour and then put the laquer over the top, what is advantage of mixing them together?

Am going to do it very slowly in stages a bit at a time and build up the layers. Am interested in the zinc plating. I can see silver at the base of the chip would this be the zinc coating? All the dealers told me the chip would rust if not treated, is this not the case?

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by XC60Owner

Yep that is what I have decided to do. Have some plastic toothpicks that will work a treat for the touch up. I thought you did the colour and then put the laquer over the top, what is advantage of mixing them together?

Am going to do it very slowly in stages a bit at a time and build up the layers. Am interested in the zinc plating. I can see silver at the base of the chip would this be the zinc coating? All the dealers told me the chip would rust if not treated, is this not the case?

It gives a more invisible repair with less lumpy build up and you can generally do it in one go.

I don't know if you are seeing the zinc or it's gone through to the steel. The coating has self healing properties though. I've never seen a stone chip go rusty on the XC90, even left for months. I try and go over my car about every 6 months.

All the best.

Roy