Dr.ColorChip Review Black Sapphire Metallic

[TwinTurboGTR]

So my '04 4.8is had ALOT of paint chips. From some rash here and there to deep nicks in the paint. So someone a few months ago wrote a review on Titanium Silver using Dr. Colorchip, I just wanted to share my experience on Black Sapphire.

Color Match: So the color from Dr. ColorChip is black. Is it Black Sapphire Metallic? In my opinion, no. When applying the paint, it looks like Jet Black and not Black Sapphire. I personally do not think there was enough pearl placed into the paint. Now I was told they mix each bottle of color as orders come in. But I don't blame them totally because it is difficult to mix metallic paints anyways.

Blending: So I followed the directions to the T. Used a q-tip and cleaned each chip out with alcohol and let it dry. I shook the bottle well to distribute the pearl and paint. Used the supplied brush and laid the paint on and swiped. Think MESS when applying and not NEAT. I found if you try to control the paint, it is not as good unless you lay the paint and just swipe it. The trick is to swipe it thin. Globs will require more energy to buff off. Lay it thin, and it is easy to remove. Now I laid a thin amount down, let dry and buffed. but the deeper chips will still show. So I used their Micro Brush and filled it with paint and made the chip into a high spot. Then used the supplied cloth and fluid and blended the high spot to level. Some places it worked great, some the paint shrinks and makes a divot again. I Just refilled it, let dry, used the cloth, VERY LITTLE FLUID and VERY LITTLE PRESSURE and blended the high spot back in.

Scratches Vs. Chips: Now this kit works great on chips. It fills them in, hides them, and protects the metal underneath. Is it by all means a perfect repair? No. If you want perfect, you either need to have 40 hours to kill on a 12"x12" section of your hood, applying, drying and blending numerous times. Or a few hundo to drop at the body shop to respray the section you are trying to fix. But if you want it to look good from afar, then this is worth it. I think it works much better than the paint from the Dealer and WAYYY better then those dumb Paint Pens. Use the felt tip once and see if you ever want to use that godforsaken thing again.

As for scratches, this is what I have found. If it is a very thin scratch, it is difficult for this system to work. There is just not enough for the paint to hold on to. The way I got it to "work" was to use the micro brush and heavily fill the scratch in. First push the paint in. just make a mess of it. Then apply it onto the scratch deep before the first layer dries. Take the cloth and fluid and lightly buff it off opposite of the direction of the scratch.
Again, this will not eliminate the scratch, but will mask it pretty good, if you can get it right. For deep scratches, it requires alot of blending. You basically fill it like a chip and float the paint above level then let dry and light buff.

Final Thoughts: So before buying this, I did my research. Dr.ColorChip seemed to be the best, atleast compared to touch-up paint at the dealer or whatnot. I also did see alot of people on here compaining that the system doesn't work. It is too hard to use. To difficult to remove the excess, etc... Also saw a lot of poor reviews outside of the forum. One video that comes to mind was on youtube.com. This person used a Honda S2000 in red as the test subject. He was complaining up down and sideways that the system sucked, didn't work, etc. Here is what I noticed. Paint was applied too thick, polyester blending towel not used, Microfiber towel used to blend paint, not enough time to dry.

So here it is. Paint applied too thick will be difficult to remove. If a microfiber towel is used, it will suck the paint out of the chip. The Polyester blending towel needs to be used. Now I bought the Road Rash kit, enough to do more than 2 dozen chips, which included the paint, 3 brushes, 4 ozs of the blending fluid and a microfiber towel and blending towel. I also bought an extra 4 ozs of the blending solution and 5 extra polyester towels. Now I pretty much repainted the entire hood. With that said, I only used one poly towel and still have a clean square left, plenty of paint left, and only used an ounce of the blending solution. Remember, I did the whole hood with that. So for those that are complaining there isn't enough, you are either using too much fluid, or your paint is applied too thick. I still have enough of everything to do probably 10 more hoods. So by the time I redid my entire car, I still have 2/3rds of the solution left and used one whole polyester towel.

So there you go. I am no genius or rocket scientist, I am just the one that reads the directions.

Any questions, contact me.

[tmv]

Would you recommended it for another X5 owner?

[TwinTurboGTR]

I certainly would. So even today, I am going to go back out there and fill in and blend a few more places. So this would be day 3 spending about 4 hours each day, normally towards the night. So it does take time. its not just apply and let dry. More like apply, make a mess, dry, wipe, not perfect, do it again, and again, and again... lol.

[Echo46]

I just ordered it for my Orient Blue ZHP. Hopefully coming today so I can delve into this project this weekend. I will post my results.

[mrbmwx5]

It's ok...Just ok.I used that on my 7's...

[blktoptrvl]

So... After two years, how is this repair holding up?

[Ricky Bobby]

OP's X was totaled a few months back.

[blktoptrvl]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

OP's X was totaled a few months back.

Shame... Thanks for the 411.

[e30cabrio]

Nice write up. I bought this for my 06 350Z and had similar results. It was better than anything else I tried though.

I'll be buying it for my X soon.