Can clear coat line from removed pinstripes be sanded down?

[boarderx]

I removed the pinstripes on a car that I bought last year. I believe that the car had a paint job at some point because after I removed the pinstripes I could see a distinct edge from the clear coat. It appears that whoever painted the car applied tape to the pin stripe (to prevent overspray on the lower panel). There is a very visible edge from the extra clear coat on the top section of the car.

I'd like to know if this can be repaired via wet sanding and polishing. Can I sand down the edges to flatten them out? Is this a typical problem that detailers see in their day-to-day activities? Anything I should be worried about? I've wet sanded small scratches in the past, but nothing of this magnitude.

[boarderx]

This post was a milestone for me as this was my first post since first joining the forum nine YEARS ago! HaHa! SuperLurker.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi SuperLurker!

The line you see is an imprint in the paint called ghosting

I've never seen it 100% removed on car paint.

I think I've seen it 100% removed from the boat we sanded and buffed here at AG last Friday.

The big difference is gel-coat is thick so lots of room for sanding deep and car paint is thin. If it's the factory paint it's VERY thin.

My guess is you can improve it but not 100% remove it.


:)

[boarderx]

I kind of figured I'd be stuck with some form of the line. I may try to give it a light sanding when I work on the car this weekend. That's *if* I don't become too chicken to do it. Especially since I don't know how thick that section is. Thanks for the input Mike!