1,500 miles and truck kicked up rock causing this

Truck has 1,500 miles it’s a 2025 lunar rock off road. Taking family on first camping trip with it and a semi kicked up a rock and took the paint down to bare metal on the hood and dented it. I’ve been running through a couple options. Get it repaired through a shop or touch up paint and put a bug deflector shield on like the one attached and worry about it down the road??

 

That sucks man I’m sorry to see that.

 

Go the paintless dent repair route
You will be super happy

been doing it across 5 tundras over 20 plus years

Google pdr in your area

 

OP said the rock knocked the paint off to bare metal, so a PDR probably isn't what he's looking for.

If it were mine, I'd probably stick some touch up paint on it to prevent rust, then cover it up with a bug shield.

I actually like the looks of that WeatherTech shield. I might have to pick one those up myself.

 

I agree with paintless dent repair first then OEM touchup paint for remaining mark where there is a chip in paint.

 

Travel all over the country and gone this exact route (pun) several times. Always very pleased with outcome.

 

Do you guys have any tips for using the touch up paint? I've never achieved results that I was happy with. Maybe I'm too picky.

 

Touch up paint requires a couple applications to build in the area that is missing paint. Then a “cut” back down to level. Then a polish to blend. Not easy to make it look good for the DIYer. Most just glob some on to cover the unpainted scratch or ding.

Edit: really what I’m describing is paint correction, not just touching up though.

 

Man, I think I would get a quote from a body shop.

 

Thanks, it's the "cut back to level" that I seem to struggle with. I either get a noticeable recessed area with too little paint, or a noticeable bump that usually chips off again. I can never get a perfectly flush finish.

Do you prefer the magic marker, small brush, or ball point pen style? Or does it depend on the size of the chip?

 

Dr. Colorchip kit with the squeegee will give you the best DIY results.

 

I prefer to put a drop of paint in a chip vs trying to paint or brush it. Not a big glob. The smallest drop that will flatten out and cover it.

 

I notice their order page has this caveat about my Wind Chill Pearl paint.

Wind Chill Pearl Tricoat 089

Your vehicle has a tri-coat / 3-stage color, meaning it was painted with a base coat, pearl coat and a tinted clear coat. Our paint is a single stage formula that does not include the pearl. There is not a single stage formula that matches exactly. However, the paint you receive should allow for a close color match and yield far better results than using regular touch-up paint. Please check the box to acknowledge this.

Apparently, OEM touchup for 089 comes in 2 bottles. One is the base coat and the other is a top coat that has the pearl in it. I'll probably give the OEM a try. It sounds like a better match.

 

How does that work on a vertical surface? Doesn't the drop settle to the bottom of the chip?

The chip I want to repair is about the size of a finger nail on the corner of my front bumper. I have a small air brush that I'm pretty handy with. I might try using it with the 2-part OEM touch up paint. I'm hoping I can "feather" it in to look respectable.

 

It wouldn’t if the touch up paint is very thin.

 

You'll be wasting your time and money with the OEM 2-stage. I've had several pearl white trucks and the Dr. Colorchip lays right in there nice and level with the squeegee. The match was always close enough at a couple feet even I had a hard time zeroing-in on the spot.

 

When I brought my truck in a couple weeks ago for Toyota to fix the scratches they made, the guy at the front saw a scratch that I made and tried to cover up with paint pen that if I just add more to it and then wait for it to dry I can put blue tape around as close to the scratch as possible and just buff it out that most of it would come out looking better. Haven’t done it yet

 

But did your trucks have the multiple color flecks that are in Toyota's new Wind Chill Pearl? I've had plenty of white trucks too, but this paint is a whole new animal.

I do like the Dr. Colorchip concept, but I'm not confident it's going to match the WCP on my truck, especially for the fairly large chip I need to repair. If my airbrush idea, using the OEM 2-part touchup paint doesn't work, I'll give Dr. Colorchip a shot.

Or, I'll just live with the chip. It's a truck, not a Ferrari, after all.

 

Yes.

 

I really appreciate all the insight from all of you! I am getting a quote Monday for the PDR and if it’s higher than what I can afford right now then I’ll go with my original plan. If it’s reasonable then I’ll just go that route.

 

Also
Google same day paint repair
They also do pdr

some ass clown razor knifed my last truck
They use an air brush and can make your fix like factory

 

Are there any special considerations when working with aluminum panels, or can a skilled PDR technician repair aluminum just as effectively as steel?

 

I've repaired a chip and a small scratch on my blueprint. I used the kits that come with the applicators and different grits for wet sand which saves me a trip to the hardware store. The good news on the Tundra is that there is enough material to work with if you're comfortable with color sanding.

 

I used Dr. colorchip on my lunar rock recently.

Went to the beach this summer and someone scratched my rear passenger door. It was about an inch long scratch to bare metal unfortunately.

All the quotes I got were outrageous so I tried their squirt n’ squeegee kit. Watched some videos before and tried it. It was amazing like others say - couldn’t see it from about a foot away. I had to make about 5 applications before it was close to level. Mine was on a vertical surface with it being the door and it worked great!