The ChipsAway Repair
When it comes to car body repairs, especially for minor damage like scratches, dents, and scuffs, ChipsAway offers a streamlined and efficient process to restore your vehicle to its former glory. Our unique approach ensures high-quality results with minimal hassle. Here’s an overview of the ChipsAway repair process and what you can expect. Whether you visit one of our drop-in Car Care Centres or have one of our mobile technicians come to a convenient location to you, our specialists follow a rigorous 15 step process.
1. Car Body Damage
If you have unfortunely suffered car body damage, such as a paintwork scratch, bumper scuff or minor dent, contact your local ChipsAway specialist online or by calling 0800 145 5118. Your local ChipsAway specialist will then contact you and provide a free estimate via photos or they will arrange a time to evaluate the damage to your vehicle in person. During this assessment, they’ll discuss the best repair options, provide an estimate, and answer any questions you might have.
Based on the assessment, you’ll receive a detailed estimate for the repair. Once you review and approve the estimate, we’ll schedule your repair. We aim to be as convenient as we can to accommodate your schedule. The majority of ChipsAway specialists offer a mobile service, so the repair can be completed on your driveway. Alternatively we have over 30 conveniently located Car Care Centres, which are more like traditional workshops.
2. Obtain Colour Code
Each vehicle has a unique colour code which relates to a specific colour formula and allows us to select the exact makeup of your cars paint in order to find a perfect match, using a Spectrophotometer or Colour Chips, we will identify the specific body colour of your vehicle.
3. Identify Colour Formula and Mix Paint
Using our specialist software, we will then remotely identify the makeup of the paint on your vehicle, providing a gram-by-gram breakdown of how to replicate the colour using our range of tints.
Using our specialist software, we will then remotely identify the makeup of the paint on your vehicle, providing a gram-by-gram breakdown of how to replicate the colour using our range of tints.
4. Clean the damaged area
The whole damaged area is cleaned and dried to ensure all potential contamination substances, such as residue, dirt, waxes and silicones, are removed to not interfere with the repair process.
5. Mask the vehicle
We then carefully detail masking tape around all neighbouring panels as well as badges, mouldings and lights to protect them from any potential overspray.
6. Remove paint
The next step is to sand back the damaged area so the layers of paint and primer are visible; this allows us to rebuild the area layer by layer for a quality finish.
7. Fill & Prime
The damaged area is filled and then primed using a grey base, like the factory would have applied. This is cured using an Infra-Red lamp and sanded back before colour is applied.
8. Paint
Once primed, we’re ready to apply the paint mixed earlier using a compressor and spray gun. The body colour is applied in thin layers, with each paint layer heated inbetween to dry.
9. Cure
The whole repaired is then cured over a minimum of 45 minutes using Infra-Red lamps.
10. Denibbing
Once the repair has been cured and allowed to cool down for 15 minutes, then it can be denibbed as using extremely fine grain paper to match the required finish of the surrounding paintwork.
11. Polish
Polish is then applied to the finished repair to buff the previously damaged panel and restore your car’s paintwork back to its former glory!
12. Ta-Dah!
After all the masking is removed and our equipment put away, your repair is complete with our Lifetime Guarantee.
We hope that this helps you better understand the ins and outs of how we repair car paintwork and explain how we achieve quality with our repairs.
If you have experienced a scratch or scuff to your car’s bodywork, please complete our online form to find your local specialist for a free no obligation estimate.
