Pit filling

[Glasseye]

As an extra service to selected customers I have begun to offer pitfilling to clean up the appearance of resale vehicles. I do work for a Range Rover dealer who valet their vehicles to a very high standard, but it can be let down by stone chips on the screen which is just surface damage. They regard it as money well spent to improve the look of the vehicle and it helps to reinforce my partnership with the business. I don't know if any of you offer this service but for the right kind of customer, they really like it.

[sunshine wr]

Yes, I'm with ya on this, I have a couple of pre-owned dealers and a fleet who like this , purely for cosmetics. I don't sell this as structural integrity repair.

[screenman]

I have been doing that since I started, I also charge well for it as it can take as long as a normal repairs. Knowing when to stop is the secret.

Clean them with my drill, used as a powered scribe, drop a bit of Magnibond on and wipe off, this wets the surface and then pit fill and cure as normal.

[SeeClearly]

If your fleet customers are willing to pay for this, I would say all is good as long as you are not selling it as a feature other than for appearance. If there is no chance of spreading and you are doing this for insurance work, I think that is a no-no. Too many people where we are located are playing the game of filling "surface damages" in order to charge the maximum they can to the netowrks and in turn the insurance companies. In fact one of those companies has been a hot topic in the forum in the past days. If it is not going to spread and it is only a surface damage, we do not touch it. Some others may disagree, but that is our policy in due fairness to all of our customers.

[screenman]

Definitely only for dealers do I offer this service where presentation is important.

[candyman]

I have clients that request this service. I repaired a WS for a insurance company a few days ago. The customer had several dings in a cluster near the center of the windshield. His car was almost brand new. He asked if anything could be done for that. I said yes, but his insurance will not cover cosmetic repairs. While I was waiting on pressure cycles, I repaired it for him at no charge. I have some customers that get nicks or dings repeatedly and never a break or crack. They want their car to look nice. I charge a small fee for the first 3 and $5 for each additional. If we have the ability to make the repair , why not if the customer is willing to pay for our time and material. Some request cant be done, because the chip is too shallow and want hold the pit resin. I normally put a few drops of magnibond on the chip / ding and a drop of premium pit resin, then cure. I always tell them if they are not satisfied , they owe me nothing. I've had no complaints so far. I had a client last week get his WS sprayed following a sand truck. The nicks were so small it was nothing I could do for him. The ws and the hood looked bad , and his insurance company refused to replace it or repaint his car. The truck driver told him he was following too close and he had a company sign stating to stay back 200 ft. My state has a cover regulation for rock and dirt, and I think he should have pursued that approach. Any way, I say fixem if you can and charge a fair price when appropiate.

[thechipdoctor]

Can I ask what you charge for this service pls? [in the uk]

[screenman]

Same as I do for a normal repair on a screen. £35 and upwards.

[ChampionCHIP,wsr]

i also have an account that has me repair surface chips weekly, it is a bmw store. there feeling is the less the buyer sees that less questions and sell faster that way.
my question is when you get a ins. call book app. drive what ever 15-40 minutes and it is a surface chip. what do you guys do. remember they have called they ins. co. spoke with a csr and thaen you or i was called

[screenman]

That would not happen over here, we have zero referral from insurers.