ZPOST
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Go Back   ZPOST > BMW Z4 Roadster and Coupe > General BMW Z4 Forum
  TireRack

SUPPORT ZPOST BY DOING YOUR TIRERACK SHOPPING FROM THIS BANNER, THANKS!
Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      12-07-2015, 01:54 PM   #1
The HACK
Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class
The HACK's Avatar
1817
Rep
5,337
Posts

Drives: 2006 MZ4C, 2021 Tesla Model 3
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Welcome to Jamaica have a nice day

iTrader: (1)

Doctor Colorchip the crap out of the front end...

I sort of wished I had taken pictures, because this second time around, the result was pretty darn impressive.

More than half a dozen year ago I had tried Dr. Colorchip on the MZ4 Coupe to "hide" some of the chips from numerous times spent on Auto Club Speedway following cars in front through turn 2 at 120+mph. The first time through I wasn't too impressed, the product was difficult to apply and even more difficult to remove, all the meanwhile it stank like crazy and I was getting high from the fumes. And while it did a pretty good job at hiding all the minuscule, pin sized blemishes, it did NOTHING to hide anything larger than a pin and deeper than clear coat.

After nearly 10 years of operation, quite a few more times following traffic at high speeds at various local tracks, the front end of the MZ4 Coupe is sand blasted far more than I can possibly stand at this point. So I took the front bumper off to the local trusty bodyshop to have it resprayed (rather than stripped and resprayed, I just have them fixed the scrapes on the fins and repaint it. More on that later). After putting the newly repainted bumper on, it made all the small chips that much more obvious than ever before...At least before, with the bumper so badly sandblasted, it was easier to ignore the amount of carnage on the leading edge of the hood and front fender.

Under various light conditions, from more than 6 feet away, it just looks like the front hood and fender is dirty no matter if you've just washed it. I got the Dr. Colorchip product about a month back intending to fix 2 moderate sized chips on the door (thanks to my 7 year old) and a longish, deep scratch on the fender from probably another track event. I though I give the front hood and fenders another shot with the Dr. Colorchip.

The results were far better than I could have hoped for. The application is much easier this time, although I wished I had known about the "drip and squeegee" trick beforehand. But with the massive number of tiny chips on the hood, it would have been easier to just drip the paint and squeegee it across the surface. Instead, I dabbed the touch-up paint across small sections, and just used my fingers (wearing a glove) and spread it out. Each dab covers about a 3"x3" area and just methodically worked across the front 12"-15" of the fender and hood.

The big improvement on the product is their "blending formula." With their old formula, it smelled of nail polish remover and after 20 or so minutes of working with the product, I would get light-headed and couldn't continue. The new blending formula has no smell, and is a lot easier to work with than the old one. Again, with the old one I ended up breaking out a moderate polishing compound to get rid of the excess, and it still required quite a bit of elbow grease to remove with a machine orbital polisher. The new blending formula takes off the excess completely, and was easy enough to know when all the excess has been removed (you'll feel no resistance when wiping on the blending compound) to know to wipe off the compound with a terry or microfiber cloth.

The end result was significantly better too, where as with prior generation Dr. Colorchip, it still left the majority of the chips slightly larger than a pin prick visible. I don't know if the paint has been reformulated to stay in the chips better, but the last time when I ran the polisher in an attempt to remove the excess, it took off enough of the touch-up paint for about 20-30% of the chips to resurface. This time, using nothing but the blending compound to remove the excess, the result is much MUCH better. About 80% of the visible chips are gone. The only ones that are still visible have chipped past the clear coat or paint. Those will likely require multiple passes with the touch-up paint and maybe even some light polishing after it's dried to remove, and at this point I'm unlikely to take that next step to correct it. But at least, from 3' away, they're invisible. Only when you get up close and personal do you see the chip.

Again, I wish I had the foresight to take some pictures...Because the before and after, even as I was working my way across the hood, was quite significant. What I really liked though, is that the reformulated paint actually does quite a good job staying in microscopic surface scratches too. There were a few spots where the top most layer of paint has rubbed against either jeans or fingernails or whatever polyester material and had left very fine scratches that won't polish off, and with a quick application of the product and the blending solution, it completely disappeared. There's a small spot on the hood where I accidentally dragged some cardboard boxes across and those scratches are completely gone.

Whatever it is they did to improve the product, between when I tried it last about, oh, most have been 8 years ago, to now, has made it significantly better. Enough so I'm going to forego my plan of clear-braing the front end of the car, and just repaint the bumper every 5 years like I had originally planned, and just Dr. Colorchip every 2-3.
__________________
Sitting on a beat-up office chair in front of a 5 year old computer in a basement floor, sipping on stale coffee watching a bunch of meaningless numbers scrolling aimlessly on a dimly lit 19” monitor.
Appreciate 0
      12-07-2015, 05:29 PM   #2
Finnegan
Dog Listener
Finnegan's Avatar
United_States
701
Rep
7,850
Posts

Drives: Z4M/. Z3M, E36/46 M3
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Teaching the dog to slalom

iTrader: (22)

Same experience here with a black car I bought. It looked like it got shot peened by a gravel truck, but that cut the cost.

Must have done 50 or more chips, some through to the primer. Blended with finger/glove, did a second pass, pretty much similar results as yours. You could see things from 2-3 feet but only if you looked hard.

I don't have experience with the older product or metallic finishes--but solid colors (wife's Imola, solid black) it's a damn good product.
Appreciate 0
      12-07-2015, 06:25 PM   #3
gas-can
Second Lieutenant
25
Rep
204
Posts

Drives: 2006 3.0i Roadster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: USA

iTrader: (0)

Hi Hack,

Thanks for the review.

Questions: how good is the colour match? And do you think that this should be permanent?

I once had a gravel truck turn on its hopper right when I passing that gave me some nice chips. If this is permanent, this sounds like a nice way to remove those.

Thanks,
-gc
Appreciate 0
      12-07-2015, 06:28 PM   #4
The HACK
Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class
The HACK's Avatar
1817
Rep
5,337
Posts

Drives: 2006 MZ4C, 2021 Tesla Model 3
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Welcome to Jamaica have a nice day

iTrader: (1)

Quote:
Originally Posted by gas-can View Post
Hi Hack,

Thanks for the review.

Questions: how good is the colour match? And do you think that this should be permanent?

I once had a gravel truck turn on its hopper right when I passing that gave me some nice chips. If this is permanent, this sounds like a nice way to remove those.

Thanks,
-gc
I don't know how permanent it is. I'd have to assume it's just like paint.

Match is VERY good. Body shop good. Once blended it's impossible to see.
__________________
Sitting on a beat-up office chair in front of a 5 year old computer in a basement floor, sipping on stale coffee watching a bunch of meaningless numbers scrolling aimlessly on a dimly lit 19” monitor.
Appreciate 0
      12-07-2015, 07:14 PM   #5
Finnegan
Dog Listener
Finnegan's Avatar
United_States
701
Rep
7,850
Posts

Drives: Z4M/. Z3M, E36/46 M3
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Teaching the dog to slalom

iTrader: (22)

Quote:
Originally Posted by The HACK
Quote:
Originally Posted by gas-can View Post
Hi Hack,

Thanks for the review.

Questions: how good is the colour match? And do you think that this should be permanent?

I once had a gravel truck turn on its hopper right when I passing that gave me some nice chips. If this is permanent, this sounds like a nice way to remove those.

Thanks,
-gc
I don't know how permanent it is. I'd have to assume it's just like paint.

Match is VERY good. Body shop good. Once blended it's impossible to see.
Mine lasted at least a year. That's when I sold that car (did very well on the sale too as the car looked so much better). What happened after I have no idea.

At even a 1 year life the price as ease make it a pretty good deal. Unless you clear bra a respray you're going to have chips from time to time. This lets you stay on top of that.
Appreciate 0
      12-08-2015, 06:51 AM   #6
Huz-Z
Brigadier General
Huz-Z's Avatar
Canada
843
Rep
4,051
Posts

Drives: Z4 3.0si, 328 XDrive, X5 35i
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Canada

iTrader: (0)

I tried some on my car a couple of years ago and it worked great and matched the Montego Blue Metallic of my car perfectly. I'm intrigued to get a new batch to see how much better it is than what I used in 2013.
__________________
Huz-Z


BMW Z4 3.0si Roadster. Montego Blue Metallic. Premium and Sport Package.
Appreciate 0
      12-08-2015, 01:45 PM   #7
eujiji
New Member
2
Rep
17
Posts

Drives: Z4 M
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Cambridge, MA

iTrader: (0)

Has anyone had success with touch ups for Black Sapphire Metallic? I've used Dr Colorchip on my BSM car and the initial color match looks good, but the blending solution makes the touch up paint dull down to a flat black. The touchups still remain noticeable because of this, otherwise I would agree it works fantastically...
Appreciate 0
      12-08-2015, 01:49 PM   #8
The HACK
Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class
The HACK's Avatar
1817
Rep
5,337
Posts

Drives: 2006 MZ4C, 2021 Tesla Model 3
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Welcome to Jamaica have a nice day

iTrader: (1)

Quote:
Originally Posted by eujiji View Post
Has anyone had success with touch ups for Black Sapphire Metallic? I've used Dr Colorchip on my BSM car and the initial color match looks good, but the blending solution makes the touch up paint dull down to a flat black. The touchups still remain noticeable because of this, otherwise I would agree it works fantastically...
For chips larger than the size of a pin, and deep enough to go past clear coat, you don't use the blending solution. You dab the paint into the chip and wait for it to dry, then build up until it's almost even with the surface, then you polish off the excess before it fully dries and cures.
__________________
Sitting on a beat-up office chair in front of a 5 year old computer in a basement floor, sipping on stale coffee watching a bunch of meaningless numbers scrolling aimlessly on a dimly lit 19” monitor.
Appreciate 0
      12-09-2015, 07:41 AM   #9
Twixboy
Captain
United_States
124
Rep
904
Posts

Drives: '04 Z4 3.0i 6spd
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: MA

iTrader: (2)

I was searching for an answer about whether it's okay to compound/polish the car before applying Dr Colorchip and found these before and after pictures on a subie. He claims he didn't even compound the car before applying Dr Colorchip. Did you get similar results on the Z4?

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...82&postcount=4

HACK: you seem pretty knowledgeable about paint correction. I was planning on giving the Z4 a 2-stage polish, but ran into this thread and now you've got me thinking. I've got a lot of white specs on my hood like the "Before" pictures on the blue subie I linked above. Would you recommend compound/polish first, then apply the Dr Colorchip, then seal/wax? Or apply the Dr Colorchip first, then compound/polish/seal/wax in 30 days after it cures?

Last edited by Twixboy; 12-09-2015 at 07:50 AM..
Appreciate 0
      12-09-2015, 10:29 AM   #10
The HACK
Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class
The HACK's Avatar
1817
Rep
5,337
Posts

Drives: 2006 MZ4C, 2021 Tesla Model 3
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Welcome to Jamaica have a nice day

iTrader: (1)

My result wasn't as dramatic, because I do have a fair share of chips that were deep into primer area and bigger than a pin prick. You can't hide those. They need multiple stages of application. It is pretty good though, enough so that I'd say it's probably about 85% between his "before" and "after" results.

I do plan on going over it with glaze/sealant/wax this weekend to further reduce and protect, since Dr. Colorchip recommend 1 week curing time. But no, I did not do any compound and polish before hand either.

I'm but a lowly amateur hack when it comes to paint correction. there's a guy on E90Post that seems to know what he's talking about:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1196641

My experience with the Dr Colorchip product, the prior application I DID apply polish before hand to reduce the chips first, and the result was the blending solution took off the majority of the touch-up paint. This time, I washed the car and thoroughly dried only, and the result was pretty satisfying.

The only thing I will add, is I wish I would have gone with the drip and squeegee method. For the amount of chip I had to repair that would have been the better technique.
__________________
Sitting on a beat-up office chair in front of a 5 year old computer in a basement floor, sipping on stale coffee watching a bunch of meaningless numbers scrolling aimlessly on a dimly lit 19” monitor.
Appreciate 0
      05-01-2016, 01:29 AM   #11
XMetal
Colonel
XMetal's Avatar
United_States
1097
Rep
2,846
Posts

Drives: Anything
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SoCal

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2008 Z4M Coupe  [10.00]
2018 Audi S3  [0.00]
2004 X5  [8.50]
I was planning on eventually respraying the bumper, until I remember seeing this thread. Couldn't be happier with the results

My front bumper was/is in pretty bad shape after going on a few road trips following cars **cough** Porsches **cough** that have steam rollers as tires

Here are a couple of before and after shots. It's good enough for now when looking at about 3 feet away. I may eventually go over another pass with the kit after this summer road trip. For now, it's decent and I'm happy with how it turned out.

I've learned that using the "shoe polish" method of applying the paint is best for large coverage over curved areas. Dab and smear method took too long for all these tiny dots. Squeegee method isn't good for vertical/curved surfaces as the paint runs too quickly.
Attached Images
  

Last edited by XMetal; 05-01-2016 at 01:50 AM..
Appreciate 0
      05-01-2016, 02:40 AM   #12
Finnegan
Dog Listener
Finnegan's Avatar
United_States
701
Rep
7,850
Posts

Drives: Z4M/. Z3M, E36/46 M3
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Teaching the dog to slalom

iTrader: (22)

Quote:
Originally Posted by XMetal
I was planning on eventually respraying the bumper, until I remember seeing this thread. Couldn't be happier with the results

My front bumper was/is in pretty bad shape after going on a few road trips following cars **cough** Porsches **cough** that have steam rollers as tires

Here are a couple of before and after shots. It's good enough for now when looking at about 3 feet away. I may eventually go over another pass with the kit after this summer road trip. For now, it's decent and I'm happy with how it turned out.

I've learned that using the "shoe polish" method of applying the paint is best for large coverage over curved areas. Dab and smear method took too long for all these tiny dots. Squeegee method isn't good for vertical/curved surfaces as the paint runs too quickly.
Tell me a bit more about what you mean by "shoe polish" method. Results look great!
Appreciate 0
      05-01-2016, 07:29 AM   #13
DEG
First Lieutenant
DEG's Avatar
68
Rep
321
Posts

Drives: 2007 Z4 MR
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Michigan

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan
Quote:
Originally Posted by XMetal
I was planning on eventually respraying the bumper, until I remember seeing this thread. Couldn't be happier with the results

My front bumper was/is in pretty bad shape after going on a few road trips following cars **cough** Porsches **cough** that have steam rollers as tires

Here are a couple of before and after shots. It's good enough for now when looking at about 3 feet away. I may eventually go over another pass with the kit after this summer road trip. For now, it's decent and I'm happy with how it turned out.

I've learned that using the "shoe polish" method of applying the paint is best for large coverage over curved areas. Dab and smear method took too long for all these tiny dots. Squeegee method isn't good for vertical/curved surfaces as the paint runs too quickly.
Tell me a bit more about what you mean by "shoe polish" method. Results look great!
Looks great! I'm curious too. Thanks in advance!
Appreciate 0
      05-01-2016, 09:55 AM   #14
XMetal
Colonel
XMetal's Avatar
United_States
1097
Rep
2,846
Posts

Drives: Anything
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SoCal

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2008 Z4M Coupe  [10.00]
2018 Audi S3  [0.00]
2004 X5  [8.50]
This is method was what I was referring to

Appreciate 3
      05-02-2016, 04:14 PM   #15
SaltyNC
Captain
SaltyNC's Avatar
368
Rep
870
Posts

Drives: 2006 BMW Z4M Roadster
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NC

iTrader: (2)

Garage List
I have the paint and need to do this on my side skirts and a few places on my front bumper. Sure looks easy enough. Amazing product. Thanks for sharing the video and review.

Salty
__________________
2006 BMW Z4M Interlagos Blue/Black
Aux Port|LED Interior|LED Strip Trunk|Underseat First Aid Box|Stubby Antenna|Intravee II|BMW Oil Change Kit|Top Down Side Panels|Vibra Technics Engine Mounts|Rogue Trans Mounts|Engine Mount Bolts Upgrade|RS Windblocker|Euro Front Plate|M5 Illum Shift Knob|Supersprint Powerloop Exhaust|Gruppe-M Intake|RPI Scoop|Black Grills|19x8.5 ET35 F 19x9.5 ET22 R Sportline 8s PSS| Besian Vanos|CDV Delete
Appreciate 0
      07-16-2016, 08:03 AM   #16
ricanbandit
Captain
ricanbandit's Avatar
28
Rep
782
Posts

Drives: 2011 30i
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Detroit Metro Area

iTrader: (0)

Love the product. I got similar results. of course it also helps that my wife has some serious OCD issues
__________________
2011 30i
[SIGPIC]/SIGPIC]
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:17 AM.




zpost
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST