stone chips!!

[tattoodrob]

obviously this has been talked about before but im new to chims,so i want to express myself!!!everytime i go out for an enjoyable spin i seem to have to touch up new stone chip marks,i dread going on a long journey...the front end would need a respray!!!im not moaning........BUT ITS UNBELIEVABLE.

[parrot of doom]

Its because the car is fibre glass, the paint doesn't cure as well as they can't heat it up as much.

You'd think they would have sourced a paint thats not designed for metal.....

[mongoose]

stay further behind the car in front

[rooster]

mongoose said:

stay further behind the car in front

That doesn't work when the rocks get thrown sideways by passing cars!!

[victormeldrew]

tattoodrob said:

obviously this has been talked about before but im new to chims,so i want to express myself!!!everytime i go out for an enjoyable spin i seem to have to touch up new stone chip marks,i dread going on a long journey...the front end would need a respray!!!im not moaning........BUT ITS UNBELIEVABLE.

I don't believe it!

Actually I think its because of the relative hardness of the glassfibre vs metal. I have two extremes with my cars. The Tiv chips like b*g*ery, but the Audi never seems to pick up chips at all. Being aluminium the bodywork is soft, and flexes to absorb impacts without the paint chipping off. Still looks like new after 95,000 mostly motorway miles.

>> Edited by victormeldrew on Friday 25th March 00:28

[chimburt]

not sure that adds up. try pushing the wing on the tvr, then try the same on the audi

i think it's just because they're so low, and i'm sure the paintjob on the audi is of better quality.

[over_the_hill]

mongoose said:

stay further behind the car in front

Which car in front ? they are all behind

[tattoodrob]

Maybe if i drive under 140mph on dual carriageways might help a bit or when the stone chips start to get to bad then i will drive backwards everywhere to even it up a bit!!

[victormeldrew]

chimburt said:

not sure that adds up. try pushing the wing on the tvr, then try the same on the audi i think it's just because they're so low, and i'm sure the paintjob on the audi is of better quality.

Actually the hammer test would be more appropriate - bash each wing with a ball-pein and see which shows the most damage!

Anyone who's had a TVR factory visit will probably have heard the, possibly apocryphal, story of the factory offering to do the same to the journalists car who frequently bad-mouthed the strength of "plastic" cars.

You're probably right, but there is something about glassfibre that paint doesn't like! I suspect this is why coloured gel coats were invented.