I'm anal about keeping my car shiny and clean... While waxing her down the other day, I noticed these horrible rock chips on the windshield and on the hood.

Has anyone deal with repairing these themselves? Or is it probably something best left up to a shop? How likely are these things to turn into something bigger and more problematic over time?

I'm not sure if these qualify as being really bad or if they're not as bad as I'm thinking they are... Keep in mind I took the pics with a good camera and decent set of lens. Look at the last pic to get a sense of scale. The M you see there is the M on the BMW roundel on the front.

#1 is on the windsheld, #2 and #3 are on the hood. There are a few others on the hood I didn't grab good pics of, but the ones here are the worst of the bunch.

 

I have had good luck with Dr Colorchip for the hood chips and other scratches.

 

Same here. Dr. Colorchip was the easiest, & quickest to use.

 

I used Dr. Colorchip on my M3 with limited success. It fills in the color, but it never makes the paint level...just colors the hole. Works OK on small scratches. Unless you are a paint/detailing expert, you might need to seek professional help to repair that damage. Those are some pretty huge chips.

 

For the windshield I'd recommend having a glass shop repair it. I'd rather repair my windshield than have it replaced. Too often I've seen installers gouge out the paint when they remove the windshield sealer and then you end up with nasty rust a few years down the road.

As far as the chips. Do something even if it is just over the counter touch up paint. The touchup looks no worse than the chip and it will help keep any oxidation/rust from developing if there is any bare metal (then again the hood is aluminum so it shouldn't rust but I would still touch them up).

I hate chips too but they are a fact of life unless you NEVER drive your car.

 

How about that clear 3M protectant. Anyone using that?

 

Not entirely true. I recently had a nasty gouge on my rear bumper. I used the brush & overfilled the gouge. Then I waited 24 hrs & touchitup again, until I has a good sized bump over the scratch. I waied another 24 hrs, & wet sanded the paint lightly with 200 grit saidpaper. I leveled off the touch-up, & used Meguiar's compound with a lot of elbow grease to smooth out the sandpaper scratches, then finished with a glaze, & wax. Looks almost imperceptible. Have to get really close to see any evidence there was a gouge.

 

Sorry for the errors. I used 2000 grit paper...

 

I'd have a shop work on the windshield. I got a quote from Safelite Auto Glass for $175. Then when I was at the BMW dealer, they quoted me $130, so I had them fill the crack. My crack was worse than yours. Gonna try this Dr. Colorchip, got a few bumper / hood chops myself...

 

Well, like I said you have to be pretty experienced at detailing to actually fill in large chips. I wouldn't recommend anyone wetsanding their paint unless they know exactly what they are doing (I've done it before). The commercials for Dr. Colorchip make it look like something quick and easy, but in reality to fix anything larger than a scratch you will need to put in significant time and effort just like you described.