Accidentally burned through clear coat

[Mustang94]

I have been buffing my car for 20 plus years, and this is the first time I have burned through the clear coat. I saw a tiny scratch, and it was not coming out, so I held the buffer in the one spot too long. At first, this was a small mark, and I thought it was only compound residue that was not coming off. Then the middle started to get shinny, and the edges had a haze. Also, if you look closely in the very center, it seems like I have gone through a second layer. The mark is on the lower part of the front fender on the passenger side. I feel like a real goof for doing this.


Now for the question. Based on this picture, does it look like the entire front fender will have to be repainted now? I would not want to tackle this myself since I am terrible at painting (I once repainted steel rims). This is a very broad question, but how much approximately (in a range) should I expect to pay for something like this? When I had my bumper on this car repainted five years ago it cost me about $250.


Thanks for your time and help!

[Mike Phillips]

Ouch!

Sorry to hear this. I just wrote a brand new article that includes a section on getting burn-through or "buff-through" areas repainted here,

Topical Defects vs Sub-Surface Defects - Living life on the edge of the razor blade


As for cost?

The price will vary by quality and type of repair. If the car is important to you, read the article I wrote above and the section about repainting entire panels versus blend-lines.

[JTS]

I assume you were using a rotary? I wouldn’t be surprised if all us rotary users have done this at least once. Don’t let this discourage you. Master the rotary and your paint correction will go much faster.

[Mustang94]

I was using a DA, I did not even think it was possible to do this with a DA. I was using Meguiar's 105 with a Rupes green pad. I was not even pressing down that hard, however, I did keep it in one spot too long.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

I was using a DA, I did not even think it was possible to do this with a DA. I was using Meguiar's 105 with a Rupes green pad. I was not even pressing down that hard, however, I did keep it in one spot too long.

First off, sorry this happened to your mustang. Mustangs are near and dear to me as I have long list of Mustangs that I've owned and let go of, but have my favorite one sitting in the garage as I type, my garage queen.

I don't jump on the forum much these days, but felt compelled to jump on this one as I think we've all at some point made a few mistakes in our detailing endeavors and that makes us human.

To dispel the myth that DA's don't burn through clear coat. Well, they certainly can, as you can see first hand.

Mike has many posts on this subject and covers it in his book, and coming from experience, yes you can burn clear with a DA. Like Mike, I too have many posts on this forum that advise folks to not "chase" after one or two scratches. Clear coat is thin and in that section of your Mustang, right on that wheel well body line, it's especially thin.

Several things end up happening when one decides to chase after a scratch. One, if regular section passes didn't take it out completely, it's probably pretty deep to begin with. Section passes are designed to spread product, work an area but do so in a way that you dissipate heat. Second, when that doesn't work, some will opt to change pads to a smaller pad and heavier compound. Thirdly, folks get tunnel vision on getting that darn scratch out.

When all three things occur, some physics are at play, and physics and science always win. The smaller pad, the more heat it generates. Staying in one spot generates heat. Tunnel vision on remaining on that scratch generates heat. It wasn't the polish or the DA that burned the clear, it was heat build up. Eventually, the heat build up "burns" the clear-coat. Especially on a body line, as it appears to be where you burned through.

This is a really good lesson to learn, sadly on your Mustang and not an old beat up daily driver... Luckily I learned this lesson on the latter... a really old Acura that had about 200K miles on it with more check engine lights on the dash board than a Christmas Tree. Despite best efforts, the vehicle couldn't pass state inspection and eventually it ended up in the big recycle bin. It was a good car to practice and learn about burning clear coat.

And here is a lesson for beginners that have Honda's or Acura's or vehicles with off-color paint schemes, like "ruby red" etc.. A lot of Honda's use "tint coat" to change the original paint layer scheme. Tint coats are also easy to burn through... (again, a little experience on that one too.... hehehe)

We're human, we all make mistakes... The great thing, these mistakes are all fixable. No one got hurt

As far as repair, if they have to bleed the paint it will be more than $250.00, but then again, I'm not a body guy so I don't know. My guess is somewhere between $500 - $1000 range, but then again, that varies by region and quality.. Personally, I hate blend lines... So read Mike's article. I'd rather have an entire panel repainted... I've worked on bleed jobs before... And my personal preference is to keep as much factory paint as possible.

Worse case scenario is, gather your quotes and sit on them for a while and decide. Aside from an ugly mark (that perhaps only you will notice) sometimes it's nice to leave the little blemishes so you remember the next time you decide to chase down a scratch. In this time when cash is king, if it were me, I'd leave it.

Hope this helps!

[Mustang94]

Thanks for all the information that has been provided. I will certainly never hold the DA in one spot for too long ever again.

One other question I have since I plan on keeping this car for a very long time; if I do not get this repaired, will it eventually turn into a complete clear coat failure in which the center of it will have no shine? I imagine the body shop will probably laugh at me for having such a minor issue, however it bugs me enough to do something about it, especially if it will get worse.

[PaulMys]

One other question I have since I plan on keeping this car for a very long time; if I do not get this repaired, will it eventually turn into a complete clear coat failure in which the center of it will have no shine? I imagine the body shop will probably laugh at me for having such a minor issue, however it bugs me enough to do something about it, especially if it will get worse.

If you plan on keeping it for a long time, get it repaired ASAP.

It will definitely get worse over time if you do not.

[JKDesign]

Short answer is yes, it will have to be repainted to be perfect. Answer to if you don't have it repainted and just leave it alone: you can prolong clear coat failure by keeping it protected with what ever wax/sealant/coating you like as long as you use it often and as long as you are careful with how you touch the paint.

Cost-wise to repaint: expect over $1000 for a proper repair job. A proper repair job will spray new color over the damaged area of the panel and blend it in to the adjacent panel nearest the damage (i.e. the door in your scenario), and then new clear coat across the entire face of both panels. All trim on those panels will be removed so that there will be no visible end lines or tape lines of the new paint job- this also minimizes the possibility of failure points for the new paint. These trim items are usually bumpers, headlamps, emblems, moldings, handles.

[14Shelby]

You may be able to find a body shop that does spot repairs. A good friend near Pittsburgh has been doing this for a few years on auction vehicles for a local used car dealer. The condition around the affected area will determine how expensive the medicine will be.

Sorry to read that about a Mustang. Near and dear here too. Best of luck.