What happened ???

[pxc132]

I tried wet sanding using 2000 and apply 5954 3m polishing compound and I got a major defect appearing from a tiny scratch on my black 2008 Toyota tundra ???? see picture. You can still see the scratch in the gray smudge. The gray hollow on the picture was not there at all before doing the process ? When using the DA poisher I could see the gray area getting bigger and bigger around the little scratch ... Wow !!! The gray area is now as shinny as the black paint ? what happened ? I barelly wet sanded and apply 3m product ... although I did posih the truck a few times in the past (so is it a possibility that tere was almost no clear anymore ? anyway I m puzzled as to what happened ??

[Setec Astronomy]

That gray area is primer, that's what's under the clear and under the color.

[Just02896]

Looks like you blew right through the clear and the base color and have exposed the primer. Sometimes your better off improving the scratch and living with what remains. Unfortunately you will need a re-paint on that panel.

I refuse to wet sand without multiple before and during paint PTG readings. This is even more important on extremely thin factory paint.

Is the spot close enough to the rear end to cover with a pair of TRD decals?

[allenk4]

$400 body shop

$180 spot repair guy

[builthatch]

your Tacoma has razor thin paint, as do most higher volume vehicles nowadays, particularly Japanese. they have the paint process nailed down to the drop to make sure they get just enough on to do the job so they don't forsake profits.

amongst these vehicles, most have the thinnest paint on the vertical panels due to gravity.

as mentioned it's best to just improve the scratch with the least aggressive method that's reasonable and see where that gets you. it takes more time but without a paint depth gauge and/or tons of experience, it's hard to know exactly how much clear you are dealing with.

[UglyBetty]

I tried wet sanding using 2000 and apply 5954 3m polishing compound and I got a major defect appearing from a tiny scratch on my black 2008 Toyota tundra ???? see picture. You can still see the scratch in the gray smudge. The gray hollow on the picture was not there at all before doing the process ? When using the DA poisher I could see the gray area getting bigger and bigger around the little scratch ... Wow !!! The gray area is now as shinny as the black paint ? what happened ? I barelly wet sanded and apply 3m product ... although I did posih the truck a few times in the past (so is it a possibility that tere was almost no clear anymore ? anyway I m puzzled as to what happened ??

Bye bye clear, paint, and hello primer. I have a 2008 Tundra that scratches so easy it makes me sick. I've spot compounded with M105 & M101 with flex 3401 & PE-14 along with LC orange, but never get more aggressive than that for fear of what you've discovered.

[allenk4]

I thought you bought Mike Phillips book last July?

"Thanks for your advice, really appreciate it. I will buy a DA online tonight. I already bought the ebook The Art of detailing last night...

I hope I'll get the proper technique eventually"

[pxc132]

It must be so thin paint because I barelly wet sanded and buff ... Yes I did buy the book but never thought I could go through clear that easy ... Anyway sometime it cost for your errors but now I know what it is to go through the clear. I'm really surprised my DA whent thhrough the clear that fast ...

Thanks for your answers ...

[Setec Astronomy]

As Mike Phillips shows somewhere, the paint on your car is like the thickness of a Post-It note, and I think he means the e-coat, primer, color, and clear...all that together is only about 6 thousandths of an inch (.006 or 6 mils).

[builthatch]

It must be so thin paint because I barelly wet sanded and buff ... Yes I did buy the book but never thought I could go through clear that easy ... Anyway sometime it cost for your errors but now I know what it is to go through the clear. I'm really surprised my DA whent thhrough the clear that fast ...

Thanks for your answers ...

don't worry, i did the same thing trying to repair chip on my month old Mazdaspeed3 back in 2008. i filled the chip until it was just above the surrounding paint, and then went to level it with a block and various wet sanding grits. i used extremely light pressure to level it out knowing it was thin, but thinking since it was a flat, i'd have something to work with. once it was close, i went to polish the sand work out and boom - my pad turned gray and i was through the clear into the color. sucked.

[pxc132]

I feel less dumb knowing I'm not alone ... lol

[allenk4]

[QUOTE=pxc132;1141607]It must be so thin paint because I barelly wet sanded and buff ... Yes I did buy the book but never thought I could go through clear that easy ... Anyway sometime it cost for your errors but now I know what it is to go through the clear. I'm really surprised my DA whent thhrough the clear that fast ...

The sandpaper did most of the damage.

I bet you were not using a foam sanding block with your papers. Mike has a food thread on "finger marks".

The DA just finished it off

[allenk4]

As Mike Phillips shows somewhere, the paint on your car is like the thickness of a Post-It note, and I think he means the e-coat, primer, color, and clear...all that together is only about 6 thousandths of an inch (.006 or 6 mils).

I believe the Post-it comparison is for the Clear Coat (2 mil)

From one of Bobby's posts

Phosphate - 1µ or 0.00003937in
Electrocoat or E-Coat - 25µ or 0.0009843in
Primer - 25µ or 0.0009843in
Base or Color Coat - 20µ or 0.0007874in
Clear Coat - 50µ = 0.001969in

One micron is 1000th of a millimeter

[Pureshine]

I have to say this! If you have no idea how to wet sand don't do it unless you get training or practice on a old panel. I don't know why everyone wants to wet sand so much with out knowing what the hell there doing and your lucky thats not a customers car.

[Setec Astronomy]

I believe the Post-it comparison is for the Clear Coat (2 mil)

I don't know, my Post-Its mic up at .004...so that would be all the paint sprayed on the car (according to Bobby's post) since E-coat isn't sprayed.

I believe the point is that the OP didn't realize how thin the paint was on his vehicle, I'm sorry I didn't mic up a Post-It note or look up what Mike Phillips had said before posting (pun intended). Did I make any grammar or spelling mistakes? Thanks in advance.



The factory sprayed clear layer of paint on most new cars averages around 2 mils. That's thinner than the average post-it note.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/715/Clearcoat_Paints_Are_Thin_01.jpg