Dentmaster/Chipsaway recommendations

[Lynn GT]

Has any one used either of these before, or can you recommend someone really good? And how much is it likely to cost?

Got up this morning and it looks like the storms last night blew something into my driver's door. I've got a crease about 2" long with a triangular pattern of scratches coming away from it

I know they'll only deal with the dent, but I need to cover up the scratches to as they're quite visible. Any ideas what I should use to do this?

I know I've got a way lightly compared to some of you on here, but it's the last thing I wanted

Thanks in advance

[Squadrone Rosso]

Hi, Lyn.

You must be gutted

Dentmaster or Dentwizzard are good. No fix no fee aswell

Chipsaway offer a "complete" service too

The only issue might be the side impact bars. They need to get behind the dent to do their magic

Regards the scratches, get yourself down to Halfords and buy a Mitsubusi Palma Red touch up kit. It's a much closer match than Alfa's own 130R touch up stick which is burgundy

Good luck,

[Lynn GT]

Thanks SR (Especially re the paint colour tip )

[Squadrone Rosso]

Originally Posted by lynnb

Thanks SR (Especially re the paint colour tip )

Pleasure. You could try some T Cut coloured polish if the scratches aren't to bad

[Probusterrace]

If the scratches are only in the top coat (clear coat/lacquer) then they should buff out.

If theyare through the paint to the primer or metal then touch up it is!

[Lynn GT]

They're showing up as white Probusterrace, so I think that means they're through to the primer

[Probusterrace]

Originally Posted by lynnb

They're showing up as white Probusterrace, so I think that means they're through to the primer

Not necessarily. Normally a scratched clearcoat will go white so that could be good news!

Definately worth trying a scratch remover paste, something not too abrasive. Halfords do a selection (Auto-Glym, T-Cut etc) so have a look. The descriptions on the tins/tubes will gve a good indication of their suitablity.

Rubbing it by hand will give you a good indication as to whether you're on to a winner or not. It can always be finished with a powered polishing mop if necessary for the final finish.

If the scratch is through the basecoat then there will be no choice but to touch-up or respray cos polishing will only remove the paint.

Can you feel the scratch with your fingernail? This is sometimes a better guide to the depth of a scratch than appearance!

[Lynn GT]

Thanks Probusterrace - I didn't know that.

It's dark and wet outside now, but I'll check it out in the morning. Till then I'll keep my fingers crossed

[joegals]

Hi Lynn, sorry for your mishap - it's sad when your pride and joy takes its first real knock. I don't see any reason why Chips Away (if you select them - I don't have experience of the other similar companies mentioned) wouldn't do the lot - in fact, Chips Away's speciality is invisible repairs to paintwork and I know that they can handle minor dents also. I used them autumn last year - what looked like a white car or van had scraped down the o/s rear corner of the car. leaving deep gouges in the bumper paintwork (down to the plastic) and a broken parking sensor.

The repair was completely invisible, perfectly colour matched (including the replacement sensor, also painted) and good as new. Frankly, with the car then less than 2 years old, I wouldn't have dreamed having a go myself - some things are best left to the experts.....!

In terms of cost, I paid £175 inc. VAT all-in for the bumper damage and repairs to scuffs on all 4 wheels ( ). Bargain!

[Probusterrace]

Personally, with a 'solid' (i.e. non-metallic) red car I would try everything to get a paintless repair and not to have to colour match.

If the paint is only showing surface damage then the dent removal guys (dent wizard, chips-a-way or whoever) should be able to do the rest.

I wouldn't trust anyone to get a good colour match. Some do, some don't but its a bit of a lottery.

Chap at work has a 156 and the insurance job he had done to his driver door involved blending in the rear door and front wing. He's not having to get the whole car re-sprayed because of the naff colourmatch!

On top of this, you are never going to get the same level of corrosion resistance with a repair that you get with the factory paint system & application process. I'd avoid a wet repair at all costs. But then that's just my preference.

[sandys]

Lynn, Simonstone used to have a guy come around and do this sort of work when prepping stuff for retail sale, I don't have his details anymore but i am sure a quick call to them would land you a good recommendation. The work I had done on my Fiat Coupe was spot on, did it whilst my car was in for a service.

[Lynn GT]

Thanks Sandys - I'll call them tomorrow

[GJ]

I've used Chipsaway twice with superb results

But they are franchises so check out the cars that customers are picking up....

Good value for money

[Kevin Slegg]

Sorry to hear this Lynn - hope you get it sorted soon

[GeeBee]

Lynn,

After I had collected my new red GT, I discovered a small dent on the wing, which had not been there on inspection. I was really distraught, but my local Chipsaway franchise sorted it out brilliantly! However, as alfagj says, they are franchises and could vary in the quality provided, so well worth taking yout GT to your local one and get a feel for whether they know what they're talking about.

[GTS]

Once again, I too can recommend Chipsaway, they did an excellent job of sorting a few scratches on my GT.

[Goonersele]

Hi lynnb have a look at this stuff its very good

http://www.langka.com/index.php

[sensingsys]

Originally Posted by Squadrone Rosso

Regards the scratches, get yourself down to Halfords and buy a Mitsubusi Palma Red touch up kit. It's a much closer match than Alfa's own 130R touch up stick which is burgundy

I read this on the forum some time ago so I tried it on my own Alfa red paintwork - it was far too light. I then bought a genuine Alfa red touch up stick that turned out to be a perfect match. There are obviously many different 130R finishes out there.

I needed to paint a replacement tow bar hole plug and went to Halfords to get an aerosol paint can (Alfa do not do one), there were at least 3 different mixes for Alfa red, again indicating that there are a lot of different Alfa reds, possibly due to paint fading.

[Probusterrace]

Originally Posted by sensingsys

I read this on the forum some time ago so I tried it on my own Alfa red paintwork - it was far too light. I then bought a genuine Alfa red touch up stick that turned out to be a perfect match. There are obviously many different 130R finishes out there.

I needed to paint a replacement tow bar hole plug and went to Halfords to get an aerosol paint can (Alfa do not do one), there were at least 3 different mixes for Alfa red, again indicating that there are a lot of different Alfa reds, possibly due to paint fading.

The idea of more than one version of a colour code would make more sense if the colour code was an aftermarket reference (e.g. car or model year specific such as 155 or 164 etc) because the paint suppliers would have experience of trying to match the colour match across a range of different Alfa models.

They are probably linked to different formulations developed over some years! This could possibly be due to having to delete nasty elements like lead from older colours or maybe even because of the variations between production plant. However, this would seem to buck the industry standard of having a master reference panel for everyone to match to so the idea of having three or more official versions of the same colour is a bit strange.

When Peugeot had to delete lead from their Cherry Red paint (bright solid red as commonly seen on 205), the formulation was quite old and they couldn't get the same colour because of the reduction in opacity. Therefore, they made a new colour which was slightly different. In their case they did the sensible thing and gave it a new name to avoid confusion!

[EddieGTA]

Anyone have an idea what the removal of one small dent about the size of a penny or smaller would be? I am still stewing about my newly aquired ding