Rock chip with a burr!

04-14-2026

Actually, I doubt a rock did this. the edges of the chip are crisp and I can't imagine a rock cutting into the metal like this. I'm guessing it was a piece of metal. Either way, it's ugly.

The paint chip looks normal. It was the snag on the microfiber wash mitt that told me this was not the typical chip. I verified that it is not paint, i.e. a sharp leftover edge. My iPhone did a decent job confirming this.

So, what do I do? I don't want tap the shard flat - that will leave an odd blemish - after touchup - at best; a good spot for rust to form, at worst. Part of me wants to get out the Dremel and that fine-pointed stone and (gulp) grind that burr away. The other part of me keeps saying, "Dude, this is a 2023 BMW and you are not that good."

Thoughts?
(blue tape to give the camera something to focus on)

trying to post a pic

An image attached to this post, provided by the poster

04-14-2026

I personally would absolutely not take a dremel to it. Maybe someone here has that sort of skill, but all I'd do is turn a hopefully small repair into a definitely large one. Were it me, I'd suck it up and take this to a good auto body shop to at least get their opinion before I started doing anything. A regular old rock chip is one thing, but a metal burr is another. Measure twice and cut once, as it were.

04-14-2026

Mask it off, cut the burr off with a razor blade, sand it down a bit if it still stands proud, touch it up!

04-14-2026

Manhattan wrote
Actually, I doubt a rock did this. the edges of the chip are crisp and I can't imagine a rock cutting into the metal like this. I'm guessing it was a piece of metal. Either way, it's ugly.

The paint chip looks normal. It was the snag on the microfiber wash mitt that told me this was not the typical chip. I verified that it is not paint, i.e. a sharp leftover edge. My iPhone did a decent job confirming this.

So, what do I do? I don't want tap the shard flat - that will leave an odd blemish - after touchup - at best; a good spot for rust to form, at worst. Part of me wants to get out the Dremel and that fine-pointed stone and (gulp) grind that burr away. The other part of me keeps saying, "Dude, this is a 2023 BMW and you are not that good."

Thoughts?
(blue tape to give the camera something to focus on)

trying to post a pic

Dang that sucks. FWIW, PPF would not have saved you here lol. Apply some black touch up paint and call it day LOL. :lol:

04-15-2026

Wow, that’s crazy. Depending on how robust that burr is, you could potentially remove it with a razor. An effective trick here is to wrap tape around the edges of the razor so when you do your cutting with the middle it can’t actually contact the paint.

Your tape thickness determines how close you get to the paint. Start thick and remove tape for closer contact as you’re confident you won’t cut into the paint.

If the metal burr is too thick for a razor to take it off, this won’t be effective, but it’s worth mentioning.

04-15-2026

Love the tape on the razor trick. I'll try that. I did try the cut the burr with a razor, but really only used enough force to confirm it wasn't paint. it didn't budge. I'll tape up - the area around the chip and the razor - and try again.

Any suggestion a source for good touch-up paint?

04-15-2026

Dr. ColorChip has a good reputation for ease of use & match.
https://drcolorchip.com/

04-15-2026

Thanks

John in VA!

04-23-2026

Please don't use a Dremel on your paint. A rotary tool can easily jump and turn a tiny chip into a massive clear coat repair.

Here's how I would go about this: I'd first clean the area with Isopropyl Alcohol, then apply automotive masking tape exactly around the perimeter of the chip to isolate it. Next, use a flush cutter, also known as a sprue cutter, to snip the metal burr off flush with the panel in one clean cut. Then I would use a fiberglass sanding pen to gently scrub away the last bit of the burr and prep the bare metal for paint.

After the burr is gone, apply a tiny drop of bare-metal primer or rust converter into the crater using a micro-dabber or a toothpick to seal the exposed steel. Do not skip this step! Once the primer cures, you can apply the touch-up paint as John in VA recommended. Dr. ColorChip is perfect for this.

04-24-2026

John in VA wrote
Dr. ColorChip has a good reputation for ease of use & match.
https://drcolorchip.com/

I've used it for front bumper rock chips on my G30 for a couple years now. It honestly worked beyond my expectations. It's not very expensive and is easy to use.

04-24-2026

I worked on the A-pillar a bit last night. I felt like a surgeon - work light positioned over the "wound", (my garage already has ten 8' LED lights on the ceiling), the blue tape even looked like those surgical towels. Oh, and 2.5x readers ;-)

I considered nipping the burr, but I just don't think it was an option. Despite being tiny - it was very thick at the base and tapered to a point well above the surface of the paint.

The jumping Dremel is real, hence the excessive tape and a two-handed approach - the left forearm on the A-pillar doing 95% of the stabilizing, the right just delicately guiding/touching the burr. The Xacto blade helped to "feel" the metal - gauging the direction, angle, etc.

1st pic is the untouched burr.
2nd pic, you can see how the burr kinda curled over the tip of the blade.
3rd pic is just the corner of the chip where the burr was - retaped tighter, burr is gone.
4th pic shows the smooth divot, no damage to surrounding paint. Next up - protecting that bare metal.

04-27-2026

Yeah, that crisp burr does look more like metal debris than a typical rock chip—nasty snag on the mitt.
Don’t tap it flat or hit it with a Dremel. On a 2023 BMW, the risk of slipping and turning a small chip into a bigger clear-coat mess (or worse) is real. You’re right to be cautious.
Safest move:
• Mask tightly around it with fine tape.
• Use a fresh single-edge razor blade (or a fine fiberglass scratch pen) held nearly flat to gently scrape the raised burr down level. Go slow, light pressure, and check often.
• Clean the area really well (alcohol or panel wipe).
• Then do a proper touch-up: primer if bare metal shows, color-matched paint, clear coat, and polish to blend.
If you’re not comfortable with the razor, just clean it, touch up over the burr for now (it’ll protect from rust), and live with the tiny imperfection—or take it to a good detailer/body shop for a pro spot repair. Better safe than sorry on newer paint.
That said, it’s tiny—most people won’t notice once touched up. Good eye catching it early!

04-29-2026

Thanks

BMmclaren - that series of four pics shows the "before and after." I tried a plastic razor, then a "real" razor. That burr was just too thick for a blade.

The 3rd pic looks like the 2nd, but I had re-taped JUST the area with the burr. You can see it's zoomed in. I used a very fine tipped Dremel bit taking more care than the last dentist I visited. That bright silver spot is the last bit of the burr before I finished removing it.

The 4th/last pic is the chip with no burr. I was able grind the burr down to the level of rest of the chip without expanding the divot - didn't touch the paint.

Ironically, I was comfortable doing that part, but may have a pro do the paint. I've got a few more similar rock chips on my old Land Cruiser to practice on, but I'm not thrilled with my work. Paint with a lot of metal flake is tough... at least for me ;-) I did put a bit of primer on the bare metal - leaving room for paint.

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Rock chip with a burr!