Affordable Solutions to Protect Your Vehicle's Paint and Chrome

                If you're like my family we spend a lot of time in our cars.  The nature of my business requires constant travel and my vehicles always have to look their best because I own Ultragloss, an automotive appearance company.  I get asked all kinds of questions about how I keep my cars, bikes, trucks, and vans looking good year-round and what can be done to fix minor imperfections and protect an automobile's appearance. 

                One of the most common things I see every day at my retail shop are paint chips and minor dents and dings.  It doesn't matter what state you live in, you have probably experienced this.  Some states are definitely harder on the exterior of cars than others.  We reside in Ohio, so the harsh winters take their toll on the exterior finish.  So what do you do to treat these stone chips and dings? 

                Let's start with the stone chips.  Sometimes the dealership you purchased your car from will supply you with some touch-up paint.  If not, you can find an automotive paint supplier near you.  Once you have your touch-up paint, you'll use a fine art brush and carefully fill in the small area.  I suggest you look at the quality of your fine art brush for it can make a difference in the final product and the ease of the process.  Generally you don't have just one little stone chip; there might be a few so it's best to carefully examine the major problem areas of your vehicle: your hood, front bumper, mirrors, and the lower areas behind your wheels. 

                While touching up your vehicle seems easy, it's still often better left to a professional.  Unfortunately those annoying dings and dents we discussed aren't such an easy fix and are often better left to a professional.  The reason for this is removing a dent, even the smallest dent in the bodyline, there is an art to it and experience plays into the repair process as well.  Paintless dent removal is often a very affordable option when compared to a traditional paint repair.

                My establishment has our paint division, Ultragloss, the parent company to the various divisions we have.  My dent repair technicians have handled all kinds of dent repairs, but we also offer a risk free option with our paintless dent removal where if the customer is not completely satisfied with the dent removal we will put the money they spent towards a traditional paint repair.  But, I digress, let's discuss those glass chips.

                Glass chips occur very frequently and let's face it, windshields are expensive.  I've seen people let these little chips go until they spider out to the point we can no longer offer a cosmetic repair but instead the customer has to opt for windshield replacement.  I can't stress enough the importance of taking care of these chips.  At my shop we use a resin to fill in the chip and mimic glass.  This seals the damage and prevents from further spreading and the chip is barely, if at all noticeable. 

                So what do you do at the first sign of a glass chip?  Put a piece of scotch tape over the chip, this helps prevent further expansion and dirt and debris from entering the damage.  Typical stone chip repairs are covered under most full-coverage insurance plans with little to not deductible.  Even if you don't wish to file an insurance claim, just for a price example, our glass chip repairs start at forty dollars.  You can also purchase glass repair kits online and try fixing these types of damages on your own.  There are online tutorials for this type of repair.

                We covered stone chips, dings, and glass chip repairs… what about our chrome rims?  If you live in a winter state and have chrome wheels, you know as well as I just how hard the salt and other elements of winter are on your rims.  Most people opt to take their rims off for the winter and this is probably your safest bet.  My mobile guys love their chrome rims and they protect them in the winter months by applying a generous amount of WD40 to them.  At the end of the season they give their rims a good bath all is good with the world. 

                Let's face it though, rather than dealing with the dings and stone chips and other abrasions that damage your clear coat and paint job, why not just prevent them from occurring?  I need to be frank here, a lot of protection products the dealerships offer are not any good.  I work with over 200 dealerships and I have a retail base of over 3,000 customers: I see it a lot.  A lot of companies that offer protective products do not offer the quality product that will in fact protect your car from these abrasions.  We use a special film and the damage it prevents makes it worth the investment.  This technology is still relatively new.  Most of my customers who have had our full protection package that protects the major problem areas of the vehicle, after one, two, or even three years still have not come back for any touch up work.  The key is researching the product and we've been in the industry long enough to know which films work.

                We use the highest quality product available and the great thing about this product is it's not like a bra or guard, in fact it's hardly noticeable to the naked eye.  Our film specialist applies the film to the areas of the car that experience the most damage to better protect your vehicle's finish.  If you are looking to purchase a vehicle from a dealership and they explain the benefits to protective films, be sure to ask them which type of film they are using and research the product before spending $500+ to have it applied.  Research your options and make sure you are getting the best quality for the best value. 

                I hope you found this piece to be informative.  If you would like more information on cosmetic services, please visit my company's website at http://www.ultragloss.biz.  For all your automotive appearance needs please contact us via e-mail or phone.  We strive to educate and save our customers money.  If you are interested in becoming an automotive appearance specialist, we offer complete training with our affordable franchise program. 

My next article will address interior repairs.