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Tailgate Rock Chip - Repainting or Suck it up?

4K views 28 replies 16 participants last post by  nayab 
#1 · (Edited)
Tailgate Rock Chip - Repaint it or Suck it up?

Went camping last weekend and the unpaved road was pretty bad and a rock must have hit the tailgate right between L and V emblems.

It's pretty big and deep enough (quarter inch diameter and about 1/5 inch deep) and it is visible even from 10 ft away, and since I have Onyx Black, it's even more noticeable as bare metal is visible.



Took it to the auto body and they quoted $400 to repaint just the upper part of the tailgate & replace the Volvo emblems. It's a reputable shop that all the local Volvo, BMW, Porsche, and Bentley dealers use.

They claim it will come out 99% to the factory finish. Should I take their word for it and pull the trigger or just suck it up and live with it? It's right where your thumb rest when you are opening the tailgate so my OCD is killing me.

Any recommendation is greatly appreciated. Also, if you have a recommendation for an auto body shop in Northern NJ, it will also be greatly appreciated.
 
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#4 ·
The good thing about the location of this damage is that you can position it horizontally just by opening the tailgate, and that makes it much easier to touch up yourself if you want to give it a try. If you don't like the result, then you can still take it to the body shop.

I have had pretty good results with Dr. Colorchip, but it takes some practice to get it right. The technique is to dab some paint, let it dry and then rub the excess away with a special cloth and solvent before the new paint cures. At first you'll rub too much away and have to repeat the process, but eventually you'll figure out how to stop just in time. It will still be noticeable, but probably not from far away. Working horizontally is much easier than vertically.
 
#5 ·
I'd just buy a paint kit and touch it up. But that's just me.
 
#9 ·
+3.

It is easy to get a small vial of touch-up paint and do it yourself. I have done it with my wife's Volvo, and I have zero natural talent. If you want to go super-cheap, I will bet that you can even get a small thing of black nail polish and it would look OK. From your picture, I wouldn't pay $400 to fix it. Or at least I wouldn't until I tried to touch it up myself. If it still bugs you after another month, then you can pay to get a professional re-spray.

My guess is that black is a forgiving color when it comes to small touch-up jobs like yours.
 
#13 ·
I have had some experience with paintless dent removal. The key is the ability to get behind the dent. If this is fiberglass then the paintless method will not really work. Lets assume this is metal. It will cost you approximately $100 to $150. If the paint itself is chipped off then you will need to do some additional work. If it is just the clear coat you will be set. The right way to repair a chip that has taken the paint off such as what happens on a hood of a car requires many applications. First, check out the YouTube channel and you will see some great videos. Bottom line. You should purchase some fine sandpaper 3000 grit to 7000 grit. Make yourself a small block. I used a block eraser (what is used to erase pencil marks) and wrapped a piece of sand paper around it. You need to wet sand the spot. So carefully wet sand the chip area with 3000 grit. You want to break down the edges of the paint chip that were created during the impact. Once the area is smooth and there are no longer any ridges, clean the area with paint thinner to remove any oils and or contamination. Now, start filling the chip with paint. Let it dry between fills. You need to end up with a filled chip hole that is now rounded with no indentation. Once that is accomplished allow the area to dry for approx. 48 hours. Now you can take a block as before with new sandpaper (closer to 5000 grit or finer) and wet sand the area. You should end up with a smooth surface that no long shows any outlines or dimples. Once there, you can now use 3M scratch remover and rub the area. If you are handy you can use a buffer but be careful not to apply too much pressure. The scratched surface will shine as before and you will not have a chip. Of course the other way is to just jab paint into the chip and see if always. The choice is yours. I have done this on the hood of my NSX which is Novella Blue and cost an extra $6000. It is a pain in the ass but actually works. I then covered the hood with 3M Pro. That is another job that takes patience and practice. Good luck!
 
#15 ·
I then covered the hood with 3M Pro. That is another job that takes patience and practice.
+1
But because of my OCD I didn't stop at the hood. After OSD delivery I PPF'd the entire XC90 - everything (ok, not the glass, tires, or antenna). For ~<$1000 for one big roll of 3M Scotchgard Pro PPF and doing the labor myself several nights over a month - I'm slow and did I mention OCD? - it's been well worth it for me. Good luck!
 
#14 ·
Went camping last weekend and the unpaved road was pretty bad and a rock must have hit the tailgate right between L and V emblems.

It's pretty big and deep enough (quarter inch diameter and about 1/5 inch deep) and it is visible even from 10 ft away, and since I have Onyx Black, it's even more noticeable as bare metal is visible.



Took it to the auto body and they quoted $400 to repaint just the upper part of the tailgate & replace the Volvo emblems. It's a reputable shop that all the local Volvo, BMW, Porsche, and Bentley dealers use.

They claim it will come out 99% to the factory finish. Should I take their word for it and pull the trigger or just suck it up and live with it? It's right where your thumb rest when you are opening the tailgate so my OCD is killing me.

Any recommendation is greatly appreciated. Also, if you have a recommendation for an auto body shop in Northern NJ, it will also be greatly appreciated.
You have a few choices.

1. Suck it up, slap on touch up paint, and move on with your life. Your vehicle is going to be rock chip hell after regular use.

2. If you have it repaired, spend a few grand to get your car xpel'ed, opticoated, or clear bra'ed

3. Do a paint correction, prep the car, and then apply a ceramic coating to the vehicle. This may help but still not prevent all rock chips.
 
#23 ·
Went camping last weekend and the unpaved road was pretty bad and a rock must have hit the tailgate right between L and V emblems.

It's pretty big and deep enough (quarter inch diameter and about 1/5 inch deep) and it is visible even from 10 ft away, and since I have Onyx Black, it's even more noticeable as bare metal is visible.



Took it to the auto body and they quoted $400 to repaint just the upper part of the tailgate & replace the Volvo emblems. It's a reputable shop that all the local Volvo, BMW, Porsche, and Bentley dealers use.

They claim it will come out 99% to the factory finish. Should I take their word for it and pull the trigger or just suck it up and live with it? It's right where your thumb rest when you are opening the tailgate so my OCD is killing me.

Any recommendation is greatly appreciated. Also, if you have a recommendation for an auto body shop in Northern NJ, it will also be greatly appreciated.
So what did you decide to do?
 
#25 ·
So I followed your advice and ended up buying the Volvo OEM touch up paint and touched it up, and applied the clear coat and wetsanded and buffed.

Looks 95% to the factory finish so i'm gonna suck it up and live with it. When I get few more chips, i will get it repainted.
 
#26 ·
Ouch. Well if it was me then I would definitely try and retouch it 1st before going crazy writing checks for large amounts. My car is the Crystal White Pearl Station wagon and I just scraped the top of the rear fender pulling a large box out with those plastic straps that boxes come with. Sliced out a nice chunk that now shows the black plastic that the fender is made of.
Looks scruffy but I'll try the retouching. A new fender alone is $1100 plus painting/fitting.
Drives me crazy (OCD - cos we love our cars) but the wife just called it a battle scar...

(Christmas is coming so I'm guessing she wants maximum ROI LOL)

Your scratch, like someone else mentioned is more visible to you as you're currently hyper focusing on it. Touch it up, it'll soon disappear. It's not too bad...
 
#28 ·
Thank you for coming back and telling us the end of the story. Agree with Ragnar-- another couple of weeks and you will stop noticing it. I'll bet it looks great and no one else would ever even notice it. Thumbs up.
 
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