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Solution needed: Stone chips damage paint on my brand new car

25th March 2022, 16:14 by Rahul Nagaraj

The car is just 2 months old and has covered only 1200 km.

BHPian TwerkyC0ffee recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all members, I hope everyone is safe and doing great. I would like to discuss and know your solutions/opinions on pebbles which come flying down and damage our cars’ paintwork.

Recently, I also became a victim of it. I was going about 90 km/h on NH27, and a truck was going ahead of me. Suddenly we entered a short stretch of tarmac where some patchwork/repair was planned to happen, and the top layer of the road had been scraped off.

Under the topmost surface, there were loose stones and gravel which were aggressively thrown off the truck tyres. I immediately started braking, however, by the time I slowed down, the car had already been hit several times. I was simply not expecting it to damage anything, as it is a pretty common occurrence on our roads.

The next day when I casually checked the bonnet area of my car, I couldn’t see any damage/scratches because it was thoroughly covered in dust. Today I got it washed and now when I closely checked the surface, I was shocked to see about 6-7 tiny craters on the surface.

The paint has been removed from those spots and when I run my fingernail over it, I can clearly feel the “holes” about 0.5mm deep. My car is in dark green colour (Tata Nexon Foliage Green) so I can clearly see the white surface under the paint.

Now I need your input on what to do here. What are my options to get it fixed? Should I attempt to get it fixed - because it might happen again the next time I go on some highway.

Also, since I can see the white surface underneath the paint, does it create a risk of rusting? I’m attaching the photos.

This is my first car purchased after getting my first job. The car is just 2 months old and has covered only 1200 km. It was very painful to see the damage and now I can’t help but notice it.

Please provide your valuable input.

Here's what BHPian Leoshashi had to say on the matter:

That's sad and unfortunate to see, but it's something unavoidable on Indian roads. For your car, you should get the chip touched up at TASS or any competent body shop. If the applicator is good, it can cover it up almost flawlessly. But don't prolong the touchup as it may cause rust and damage to nearby paint.
One effective but expensive way of avoiding this is getting your car wrapped up in PPF. But if the projectile is sharp, it will certainly create dents on your panel, PPF won't prevent that.

Here's what BHPian johannskaria had to say on the matter:

This is a phenomenon called rock chipping, which is part of the normal wear and tear of the painted surface. In most situations, this does not result in rusting.
Keep a good distance from the car ahead of you on the broken tarmacs to prevent this as much as possible.
Yes, you can touch it up to reduce the visibility, especially on a darker-coloured surface. But make sure it's a multi-layered touch-up to match the paint thickness.
The only protection which is widely used against this is the PPF (Paint Protection Film), this will also reduce the effect of other damages on the paint and make the maintenance of the dark colour much easier.
If going for the PPF route make sure you're touching up the surface before otherwise, these chips will be even more visible when the paint is corrected and sealed for the PPF life.