Chips will most commonly appear in your hood & your door edges.
Chips in your hood will most commonly come from large trucks in front of you on a freeway or practically any vehicle on a gravel road kicking up little rocks from under their tires. That’s why they are often referred to as “rock chipsâ€. Unfortunately, rock chips are pretty much standard fair if you have a car. If you drive, sooner or later your hood will have some chips in it…& usually sooner rather than later.
Chips in your door edges are usually from someone who doesn’t care as much about the car as a new car owner, opening the door into something hard; like a rock or cement wall, garage or fence.
So what can you do about them?
- Well, you can try to avoid them. If you are getting close to a big rig, try to ease off the gas pedal & give yourself a wider margin in-between. Of course, you could also choose to buy a truck with a hood that is well off the ground. You will rarely see any chips on these…& that’s assuming you can see the top of the hood in the first place!
- If you have to park near a wall give your kids a verbal warning to be careful when they open the door. If you have a passenger try to make sure whenever possible that your door is the one closest to that oh-so-dangerous malevolent wall monster.
- Another option is to try to protect your car from those paint-seeking pebbles.
- I’ve heard that some people try to market paint sealants for this purpose. Whereas paint sealants tend to be polymer synthetics that bond to the paint for long term protection, I have never seen one effective enough to keep a high velocity rock from marring the surface of a speeding vehicle.
- So can you protect your paint? The answer is yes, though this answer is definitely not for everyone.
- One way is to purchase a bra for the front of your car. Upside: good protection from rock chips. Downside: often scratches paint & may leave a change in shading if you are parked outside all the time. Something like the tan lines you probably have on your own body if you spend any time out in the sun.
- Another is a clear film that can be placed on hood & bumpers. This gives a lot more resistance, but can be penetrated by a really sharp impact or scrape. It also is NOT invisible & will often “grab†wax residue along it’s edges.
- As far as door edges, it’s possible to buy plastic door edging, though I’ve often seen cars come in with the glue melting right out of these door guards, creating a mess before they finally fall right off.
- So, I’ve already got them (rock chips)…What do I do now?
Unfortunately, I’ve run waaaaayy over my space allotment, so tune in to a future weekly episode of “Adventures in Detailing…& related subjects. 🙂
