New Paint, Dumb Mistake!

[teamm_ap1]

Hey there!

I am new here and I thought this forum was very informative. And I am going to be tackling a very difficult problem. I have a few issues with my paint. My driver side a pillar and quarter panel was repainted about 3 weeks ago. After one week of the repaint, I put my Yakima bike rack on and my paint is just a mess due to the stress from the rack. (BAD IDEA)

http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/KidPanda_2009/IMG_2000.jpg
http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/KidPanda_2009/IMG_1999.jpg
http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/KidPanda_2009/IMG_1998.jpg

It looks as though the crease that was created from the rack's towers has damaged the clear/base coat. I was wondering if there's anything I can do to get rid of this imperfection (ie. wetsanding/buffing).

Thanks in advance.

[Emile]

Exactly where are you talking about in those pictures? I'm not sure if you're showing reflections or a crack or what.

[teamm_ap1]

I apologize for the crappy pictures. But I went ahead and outlined the portion that has the imperfection.

You can sort see the smudge in the rectangle.

http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/KidPanda_2009/new.jpg

[Meghan]

Can you feel the smudge when you run your finger over it?

[teamm_ap1]

Yes, I can feel the smudge when I run my finger across it.

[2hotford]

It appears that you have instilled marring where the Yakima racks have rubbed against your paint. Hopefully you have not gone through the clear coat to the base coat. If you have, there is not much you can do.

What I would suggest is using a product like Meguiar's new ScratchX 2.0 and a piece of cotton toweling. Work the product into the spot carefully. Do you see any color being pulled up on the cloth? If you do and that is supposed to be BC/CC paint, that means you have gone into the base coat. If that is a case, only a repaint will fix.

If you do not pull color, and I suspect you will not, then continue working the ScratchX 2.0 until it is light residue and then remove with a microfiber towel.

Give that a try and report back! :)

Tim

[2hotford]

Yes, I can feel the smudge when I run my finger across it.

You can feel it? Does it feel like a really flat dull type of paint or something else? Is your paint BC/CC?

Tim

[teamm_ap1]

Thanks for the quick responses. Well last night, after many hours of research and reading this forum. I went ahead and bought this kit:

1. Wolfgang Duo & Porter Cable 7424 FREE BONUS (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-porter-cable-combo.html)
2. Pinnacle Pad conditioner
3. CCS white pad
4. CCS yellow pad

I planned on wet sanding and using the kit above to polish out all the part that was wet sanded. I actually started the test process of wet sanding a small portion of the smudges, and it did not show any sign of redness/color.

Before I started the wet sand, the smudge was uneven and the wet sand smoothed it out. Am I on the right track?

[2hotford]

Thanks for the quick responses. Well last night, after many hours of research and reading this forum. I went ahead and bought this kit:

1. Wolfgang Duo & Porter Cable 7424 FREE BONUS (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-porter-cable-combo.html)
2. Pinnacle Pad conditioner
3. CCS white pad
4. CCS yellow pad

I planned on wet sanding and using the kit above to polish out all the part that was wet sanded. I actually started the test process of wet sanding a small portion of the smudges, and it did not show any sign of redness/color.

Before I started the wet sand, the smudge was uneven and the wet sand smoothed it out. Am I on the right track?

Whoa..let's slow down a little first. That kit is an excellent start!! But....

However, I would not wet sand that spot. Have you wet sanded a vehicle before? It is easy to wet sand but difficult to remove the sanding marks and tracers left from sanding process without a rotary polisher, knowledge and the correct products to do it. Moreover, do you know how much clear you have on top of the BC? If you sand too much, which is very easy to do, you will be into the base coat and a repaint will be necessary. Further if you remove too much clear, you will severely weaken the integrity of the CC thereby leading to premature CC failure.

I would try and polish it out first using a moderate polish before even thinking of going on to wet sanding. I have wet sanded many many vehicles over the years and you REALLY need to know what you are doing or you could make a minor issue into a major problem!!!

Tim

[teamm_ap1]

I wet sanded the portion of the smudge with a small block. The clear has three coats.

[Blackthorn One]

Paint needs a month or two to cure. It's best not to put anything on it until then. Has anyone tried using clear touch up paint and filled in scratches with it, and then sanded them flush with the rest of the car to blend it? I'm thinking that might work for a lot of scratch repair, rather than sanding down ALL of the paint in an area just to remove the appearance of the scratch. After all, only a small amount of paint is missing, so why not fill it, as long as it will blend?

[2hotford]

Paint needs a month or two to cure. It's best not to put anything on it until then. Has anyone tried using clear touch up paint and filled in scratches with it, and then sanded them flush with the rest of the car to blend it? I'm thinking that might work for a lot of scratch repair, rather than sanding down ALL of the paint in an area just to remove the appearance of the scratch. After all, only a small amount of paint is missing, so why not fill it, as long as it will blend?

Good point. As long as a wax or sealant is not used however, you are good to go until it cures. Meguiar's makes a product, M80 Speed Glaze which contains a paintable polymer and a cleaner. So it will help to protect that paint a little while the paint out gases and cures properly.

Tim

[2hotford]

I wet sanded the portion of the smudge with a small block. The clear has three coats.

I still encourage you to try and remove it first using a cleaner polish before turning to wet sanding or feather sanding. You may be surprised how easily the marring comes off of fresh paint.

Another thing to consider is if you wet sand one spot, then when it is leveled it will show up like a sore thumb compared to the other paint which will have a slight orange peel to it. In other words, it will stand out. Like I said, there is a lot more to wet sanding than most realize and it to do it right is an art in itself.

Tim

[teamm_ap1]

Tim, thank you for the advise. I will go ahead and try your method before proceeding to wet sand and polish since my order won't be here until next week. Until then, I'll probably go to a professional detail shop for advice since it's very difficult to examine the smudge with my horrible pictures. I will update this thread when I find a fix.