Paint abrasion, horrible touch up job

[brentech]

So, I had a little abrasion on the rear of my car. Tried to fill it with my VW paint pen, but it took forever to get the paint to start coming out, and when it did, it rushed the surface.
I tried to take off some excess, but it dried much faster than expected and I definitely made the whole situation worse.

I'm not sure how to smooth it out, if I even can at this point.

Here's how it looks now (about the size of a thumbnail)





Anyone have some advice. I'm kind of depressed that it looks so much worse.

[brlukosk]

If your comfortable with it, I'd try wet sanding it level. You should then be able to polish it back up.

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[alko]

[storm100]

If your comfortable with it, I'd try wet sanding it level. You should then be able to polish it back up.

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[brlukosk]

If the paint is relatively fresh you might even be able to wipe it off with a solvent. I've used IPA on stuff like this before. Usually it takes quite a while for touch up paint to get hard enough to wet sand anyway.

[BobbyG]

With a sanding block, I'd start off with 600 grit wet/dry paper and concentrate on leveling out the high spots. As you approach the clear coat be careful not to be too aggressive. Once there you might want to switch to 1500 grit, finish leveling then compound and polish...

[brentech]

Guess I don't know a whole lot about wet sanding. Will need to read up and see if I can do this. New car, afraid to mess it up further.

[Mike Phillips]

If your comfortable with it, I'd try wet sanding it level. You should then be able to polish it back up.

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Just a note about wetsanding it level...

You have to be very careful to try to keep all your sanding marks on the touch-up paint and not on the factory clear paint.

Why?

Because the touch-up paint will be soft and the factory paint will be hard. When you go to buff out your sanding marks the sanding marks in the touch up paint will buff out quickly and easily. Might not work that fast or easy on the factory paint.

You could try placing painter's tape around the touch-up paint when you do your initial sanding to knock down all the excess material but at some point you'll have to remove the painters tape and then you'll be putting sanding marks into the factory paint.

Another problem happens if you use a rotary buffer to compound out the sanding marks. When working on a small area like this it's real easy to heat up the paint and the panel. What can happen then is the touch-up paint will simply pull off the panel and then you'll be back to where you were when you started only now with thinner factory paint where you sanded and possibly still remaining sanding marks.


Ugh...

I feel your paint - Bill Clinton
I feel your paint... Mike Phillips


If you lived close by I would be more than willing to help you with it...

[BobbyG]

Set a spell and do some reading....


Wetsanding, Colorsanding & Dampsanding

Wetsanding - Fresh Paint vs Factory Paint

It's the person that does the wet-sanding, cutting and buffing that makes or breaks the paint job -Mike Phillips

[brentech]

Looks like I have some reading to do, and sandpaper to buy. Will update when I get the nerve to go at it.