Help fixing someone else's mess

[ellroy2]

First time posting. Have gotten a lot of good info on this forum over the last couple of years.

I just bought a 2013 Kia Optima that had some front end damage that was already repaired. They replaced the front bumper/fender. After a good wash of the car and some sunlight, I noticed some really bad scratches and buffer marks or something in the front half of the driver's door. I have used Wolfgang TSR before on my other vehicle with great results but I didn't have any left. I did some research and picked up some Meguiar's M101 for this job and figured it would be a success with my DA and an orange foam pad. Well I was wrong. After trying to go over it several times, it didn't even seem to make the slightest of improvement. I don't believe that they did any painting of the door but I almost wonder if they clear coated or something over the top of the imperfections they made. I am no expert and so here are some photos of post M101....


Any thoughts?

[GSKR]

Pics are not so great,if you believe there is something under the clear there is pretty much no remedy.

[postaltwo]

I agree. Question is it under the clear? Maybe it's just hard clear? Do u have a thickness guage?

[custmsprty]

Pics are not so great,if you believe there is something under the clear there is pretty much no remedy.

:iagree:

Sorry but not much relevant advice can be given w/o much better pictures.

I hate to ask, but have to, why did you buy the car knowing all these things existed? Did you thoroughly inspect it prior to purchasing it?

[ellroy2]

Sorry for the pics. Hopefully these ones are better.

I don't have a thickness gauge. I have no idea whether or not it is under the clear coat. It was just a thought after the M101 did nothing to improve it.

Like I said, I have used with great success Wolfgang's TSR on bad buffer holograms all over my black 4Runner so I thought tackling half of a door on a silver car wouldn't be too big of a deal.

[GenesisCoupe]

almost look like sanding marks where someone clearly didn't know what they were doing. Never seen that before.

[BMW435]

Looks like someone washed it with a Brillo Pad

[custmsprty]

Pics are not so great,if you believe there is something under the clear there is pretty much no remedy.


Looks like someone washed it with a Brillo Pad

:iagree:

My question remains the same, why would you purchase a vehicle with such trashed out paint in the first place? I'm not meaning to be a ****. I personally would have never bought it. You seem to have the detailing background so that's what makes me wonder why you bought that swirled out mess?

[Valky]

Try to do baggies test on that area to notice any roughness over the area or not might help this. If it feel smooth then the hell just breaking loose and you might need to repaint the whole panel.

It look like someone sanding those panel and before properly clearing out all the sanding mark, he just resprayed clear coat over.

I pray that you can feel lots of roughness from baggie test, then we can figure out the situation.

[postaltwo]

Maybe it just has a coating applied. I would get a paint guage and wet sand it properly.

[ellroy2]

Did a baggie test. Had to look up what that was. Didn't feel any different from other parts of the car.

custmsprty:

I hate it when I disappoint a stranger with my purchasing decisions. So I do apologize. :xyxthumbs: Yes I did inspect the car. Unfortunately, overcast/snowy weather had a way of minimizing the severity of this area. We are talking about half of a car door here. What I did see, I felt ok with being able to easily take care of. I was obviously wrong. I am not an expert detailer. I am an everyday guy that enjoys hand washing his cars and maybe waxing them once a year. I am a DIYer and get myself in trouble more often than not. I can guarantee that I am at the bottom when it comes to detailing knowledge on this site.

I am looking for direction or advice on what can be done going forward to fix this bad area. If there is nothing that can be done, I will live with it or eventually take it to a professional to have the door repainted or something. Thanks for all of the replies so far.

[RFrommann]

Where are you located? I'm sure someone local can lend some help

[ellroy2]

I am in Kansas City

[Zubair]

If M101 won't remove it, neither will TSR, M101 is more aggressive of the two.

[dlc95]

What were the specifics of your process?

- machine
- pressure
- tool speed
- arm speed
- brand, and type of pad (there are several orange foam types out there).