The Right Way of Fixing Chips on My Model 3 Paint using Dr. Colorchip

Hello,

I have created this guide to help those who like me found out about Tesla paint weakness after purchasing the vehicle.

I purchased a used 2020 White Pearl Model 3 with Tesla directly and found out later after giving a manual and thorough wash that a lot of rock chips were present on the frunk of the car and front bumper mainly.

Having done a lot of research on the topic and finding out about the different kits offered, I was undecided between the Tesla Kit and Dr. Colorchip.


Then I watched this youtube video by Frugal Tesla guy and decided to go with Dr. Colorchip

So I followed all the instructions and this are the results I obtained. Let me tell you I was very impressed by the results. Take a look for yourself (note there are a couple of chips in the after pic that where not covered at the moment to take the picture):

Before / After

So how do I achieved these results? Let me explain you what are the steps I took and found out to be the best when applying the paint:

1. Wash the car and clean the surfaces to treat very well. It is important to clean with alcohol the surfaces to cover
2. The Kit recommends using a squeegee and using an excess of paint. That is NOT necessary. Cover only the paint chips. In order to do that I bought this fine line painting Pen. Found this from my research on another video (I don't remember the source). Here is the link from Amazon
   
3. Work in sections. If your car has a lot of chips like mine had. Do not cover all of them at once. Work in 10"x10" sections or so. Finish each section completely and jump to the next one.
4. Let 2-5min for the pain to dry. Do not wait for more than that for the next step, I found out to be better for the paint to not be let dry for a long time.
5. Use the applicator solution. It is the second bottle it comes with the kit(the bigger one). Wet the cloth that comes in the kit with the blender solution and rub over the covered chips enough to level it off with the original paint. If you happen to rub too much and completely remove the paint uncovering the chip, repeat the process again, nothing to worry about.
6. Once the blender solution has dried use a dry microfiber cloth to remove the excess of dry solution on the top and uncover the shine again.
7. Repeat the process in all areas and Voila! You should have successfully covered all the chips and made them look way better than before.

Important considerations: Paint color in white pearl coating is not an exact match, this is due to the Tesla original coating being a 2-step process. One pearl paint and one white, this is stated on the Dr Colorchip website. I plan to use PPF after this so I considered this to be a necessary step before covering the whole paint with PPF.

Se below a video of the process explained above:

Paint Application:

Blending:

Hope you liked the post and can help some out there. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[Soul Surfer]

Great write up! Thank you.!

 

[Michael Sant]

This is awesome! Your results look great. Thank you.

 

[eskudo12791]

Saw Ammo NYC do the fine line painting pen too

 

[HTTP401]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing!

What made you decide to go with Dr. Colorchip vs Tesla OEM paint? I believe Tesla also warns of slight Color mismatch for their white as well.

 

[augustov58]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing!

What made you decide to go with Dr. Colorchip vs Tesla OEM paint? I believe Tesla also warns of slight Color mismatch for their white as well.

Tha it appeared to me that the tesla kit does not cover well according to the video on FTC

 

[ElectricSaul]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I was going to order Tesla paint kit but now will seriously consider the alternative.

 

[eskudo12791]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I was going to order Tesla paint kit but now will seriously consider the alternative.

Every car I buy, I buy a kit from doctor color chip

 

[Miata Head]

I wonder why they can't just do a 2 bottle kit, one with white paint and one with the pearl. I've seen other vids where they knock the first touch up down and have to do a repeat to make it level. That repeat could be a pearl coat. I guess maybe the pearl coat doesn't knock down with the magic solution.

 

[augustov58]

I wonder why they can't just do a 2 bottle kit, one with white paint and one with the pearl. I've seen other vids where they knock the first touch up down and have to do a repeat to make it level. That repeat could be a pearl coat. I guess maybe the pearl coat doesn't knock down with the magic solution.

Good question. It would be better for sure

 

[eskudo12791]

Good question. It would be better for sure

This time around I actually ordered from 'Scratches Happen' and the touchup for my 'Red Multi-Coat' came as two bottles

 

[Miata Head]

This time around I actually ordered from 'Scratches Happen' and the touchup for my 'Red Multi-Coat' came as two bottles

Whoa, nice find. I tried searching for a kit with clear coat and no luck. Does this kit also have the smoother? I can't tell from the website, but the complete kit comes with an extra bottle of something.

 

[eskudo12791]

Whoa, nice find. I tried searching for a kit with clear coat and no luck. Does this kit also have the smoother? I can't tell from the website, but the complete kit comes with an extra bottle of something.

Not sure I've ever seen any kit include a clear coat. I bought the cheap kit as I had a bunch of brushes and the solution to wipe away excess with

 

[myuser22]

That's awesome. I tried the Tesla paint and solution at least 10x times, just can't fill the paint into the chip.

 

[Addie136]

Which Dr chip bundle did you buy? There seems to be different ones

 

[dfritzin]

Tha it appeared to me that the tesla kit does not cover well according to the video on FTC

Boy, I can agree with that. Yesterday, I discovered 2 paint chips on the bumper section behind the passenger's right wheel well. This must be plastic, because the underlying surface is black (see enclosed picture). I had bought the Tesla touch up kit (Pearl white) for my 2022 M3LR when I bought the car, figuring the Tesla brand paint would be the best match. Went through the video from Tesla, which made it look pretty easy. So, this morning, I tried to cover the chips, following Tesla's instructions. I cleaned the area, went over it with isopropanol and thoroughly dried it, and tried applying the paint next to the chips, then using my gloved finger to spread the paint over the chip. It didn't stick, at all. tried applying paint directly to the chip area. It didn't stick.

Is it because I tried to apply the paint to the bumper area? Right now, I have paint all around the chip, but none on the chip itself. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[reds2k1]

Is there a reason why you would apply the paint near the chip instead of directly on the chip area? Curious because I will be doing mine soon.

 

[Kairide]

Is there a reason why you would apply the paint near the chip instead of directly on the chip area? Curious because I will be doing mine soon.

It’s supposed to give you a more level end product with the surrounding surface.

 

[hamtonp]

I use a toothpick and smear it a bit. Then use credit card under their wipe and solution. Dr colorchip and Tesla touchup paint is the same thing.
Here is the technique I've been using for years.

 

[asobowal]

Thank you!