Chips on area behind rear wheels??

[EVO350]

Hey guys, I've had my '11 M3 for less than two months now (just did my 1200 mile service) and decided to do a thorough wash today. To my disappointment, I noticed that the are behind the rear wheels on each side has one or two chips and pretty significant marring. I covered the car with a clear bra in the standard areas, but not this one. I'm honestly freaking out right now, and don't know what to do....

Is this common on the M3? If so, what are my options at this point to fix it? Or what do you guys usually do for this?

All of your help is MUCH appreciated.

[immiketoo]

Chips happen. Clear bra is your only solution. Or that textured coating that look like gravel...

[kmarei]

Originally Posted by immiketoo

Chips happen. Clear bra is your only solution. Or that textured coating that look like gravel...

that's BMWs patented orange peel effect
it's standard

[immiketoo]

Good point. Too bad it doesn't stop the chips. OP, I suppose you could be like all those guys at track days and put blue painter's tape on your car.

[FLOSS M]

Give it a year and see how much road rash these cars get

[piloto]

AW + DR. Colorchip = problem solved.

[DocJohn]

+1 on the Dr. ColorChip. Works like a charm!

[taleof2bricks]

Originally Posted by immiketoo

Good point. Too bad it doesn't stop the chips. OP, I suppose you could be like all those guys at track days and put blue painter's tape on your car.

A note of caution here:

I had painters tape on the lower front end for about a week when I drove to the SEMA Show in Vegas. Much to my surprise, when I carefully removed it, I also removed a few pieces of paint! This has NEVER happened with any other car that I have taped up in the past. Sure, I used the chip touch up, but this S should'nt happen....or should it?

[immiketoo]

You should have used the painters tape for delicate surfaces!

http://www.google.com/products/catal...MAQ#ps-sellers

[taleof2bricks]

Originally Posted by immiketoo

You should have used the painters tape for delicate surfaces!

http://www.google.com/products/catal...MAQ#ps-sellers

Didn't know that existed! If I ever dare to tape again, I'll use that!

Thanks.

[elp_jc]

Originally Posted by EVO350

To my disappointment, I noticed that the are behind the rear wheels on each side has one or two chips and pretty significant marring.

Welcome to the world of form over function. That's what happens when cars don't have 'mud guards'. I'd have welcomed subtle ones, like many cars have either standard or optional (the latter not available for M3s).

Anyway, my car with just a hair over 9K miles basically has no paint behind all 4 wheels, so I don't even bother touching up anything. The good news is you pretty much have to get on your knees to see anything. But it's ridiculous. And yes, the crappy desert southwest has something to do with that. Good day.

[z335is]

Ugh....I just discovered these on my car too. It's the little stuff like this that drives me crazy.

[piloto]

Seriously guys, get some Dr. Colorchip and just maintain the area as needed. It's far easier and better looking that adding clear bra material in that localized area, and it's pretty inexpensive.

[John Tanglewood]

What he said above.

Colorchip and just relax, seriously.

[EVO350]

Thanks for the follow up guys. Would it be wise to touch up with a colorchip or langka system and then clear bra that area on top? Or should I just repaint the whole rear bumper?

[Templar]

Really? Freaking out over this?

You can repaint the bumper for a few chips, then in two weeks look at it again and see that it has just as many chips. Seriously, you're freaking out about something that you can't really control all that much. Just use the colorchip, it works fine. If you want, you can clear bra it.

That area will still get pounded though, but at least the bra will save the paint...

[Canuckles]

If you only have rock chips on the rear then consider yourself lucky, I have them both front and rear. I've had more chips doing 50kph here in North America then at 200kph in Germany. WTF, great roads. That being said I have a feeling it is quite prevalent, especially with sticky tires that lift debris off the surface of the road only to be flung into the body of the car. Always cringe when I go over loose whatever on pavement and hear the pinging, pretty sure I'm not the only one.

edit, dr. colourchip only works for "single layer paint" as they say. Even though we all know every m3 has several 'layers', colours like mineral white require a tri-coat and as such aren't as effectively blended when using dr. colourchip. So I guess I'm outta luck.

[bvernon]

Originally Posted by EVO350

Thanks for the follow up guys. Would it be wise to touch up with a colorchip or langka system and then clear bra that area on top? Or should I just repaint the whole rear bumper?

if you're in the DC area then look up Cliff at Auto Armour. I just took delivery of my 12' and had him do the clearbra work to avoid this very issue. He also mentioned that one of his buddies has a paint shop so it's not unusual for him to repaint the bumpers, etc. then finish it with the clearbra. I don't think you'll be happy doing anything less. His shop is in Columbia and his number is 443-226-4303. PM me if you want more information but he does a great job as evidenced by all of the forum members recommending him.

[EVO350]

Originally Posted by Templar

Really? Freaking out over this?

You can repaint the bumper for a few chips, then in two weeks look at it again and see that it has just as many chips. Seriously, you're freaking out about something that you can't really control all that much. Just use the colorchip, it works fine. If you want, you can clear bra it.

That area will still get pounded though, but at least the bra will save the paint...

I go to extremes to take care of my ar, so this just really bothers me. It's especially bothersome because is seems like I would have to repaint the whole bumper just to get this small area back to being perfect.

If I did decide to touch it up, would it be advisable to put a clear bra on top of that?

[Templar]

Originally Posted by EVO350

I go to extremes to take care of my ar, so this just really bothers me. It's especially bothersome because is seems like I would have to repaint the whole bumper just to get this small area back to being perfect.

If I did decide to touch it up, would it be advisable to put a clear bra on top of that?

I love my car and do my best to take care of it, but there's a lot of things that will happen that you just can't avoid.

I've had a couple of chips that I used the BMW touch up paint and the Dr. Colorchip stuff to repair. You'd never know that there were chips there unless I showed you up close. It even takes me a couple minutes of searching to find them, and I knew where they were before I repaired them. It's a very cost effective way to fix the chips, but there will be a very slight difference and you will probably notice, albeit very slightly.

If you have the money and the time, then just get it resprayed (which will effect the resale value probably, just throwing it out there), and then put a clear bra on it. I don't know much about the clear bras in that area, and how well they stand up to the damage that area will take, but it might be worth it. Just make sure to get it done by a reputable installer, or else the job will look like crap, you'll have lines (which show very easily on AW). Also, there are bras out there that can yellow over time (which also shows on AW cars very easily), so you need to make sure you get a legit brand. Do a search on the forums for it and you'll find that a lot of people with AW cars recommend a certain brand that doesn't turn yellowish over time, I can't remember off the top of my head though.

[mot]

no way around it, man. our rears get beat up!

[Raptor251]

Getting your brand new car wrapped in clear or another color will protect the OEM paint really well. When you want to sell the car just remove the wrap and you have brand new paint!