Is this burn through and is it repairable

**Da Fats** · 07-13-2010, 01:04 PM

Alrighty... I post this not as a reflection of my normal work but as a learning process. I do not use a rotary currently on any vehicles as obviously I have no clue what i am doing with it. I practice on my truck from time to time to learn... this one maybe an expensive lesson

I was working on a scratch in that location and think i made it all a little worse!

So Tell me what you think and what i can expect as I continue to polish and finish polish this section

thank you all in advance

Chris

**Harleyguy** · 07-13-2010, 01:15 PM

Without seeing a close up picture it looks like you burn't the clear coat.Was the scratch you were working deep enough to catch your finger nail?? Also don't be affraid to use a rotary it just takes time and practice and never let the pad stay in one place keep the machine moving.Tape all edges and stay away from high points on fenders and door lines.

**Mindflux** · 07-13-2010, 01:19 PM

It almost looks like you created a low spot in the clear, did you do any wet sanding perhaps?

**Da Fats** · 07-13-2010, 01:22 PM

no wetsanding... I did work a little aggressively on a scratch with 105 and wool. The finish is very smooth but the gloss is gone... looks textured or distorted up close compared to the paint around it. I am 99% sure i dry buffed it as I was working th e105 way to long... as i latter found out.

**Flash Gordon** · 07-13-2010, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by Da Fats

no wetsanding... I did work a little aggressively on a scratch with 105 and wool. The finish is very smooth but the gloss is gone... looks textured or distorted up close compared to the paint around it. I am 99% sure i dry buffed it as I was working th e105 way to long... as i latter found out.

Live-n-Learn

**RaskyR1** · 07-13-2010, 02:50 PM

Yeah, That's through the clear.

**cnfowler** · 07-13-2010, 02:51 PM

Go over it with a clean cloth and either polish or wax and see if you get any color on your cloth. Thats the easiest way to know if you burned through.

Colin

Mike Phillips · 07-13-2010, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by Da Fats

The finish is very smooth but the gloss is gone... looks textured or distorted up close compared to the paint around it. I am 99% sure i dry buffed it as I was working th e105 way to long... as i latter found out.

Looks like burn-through to me...

When you break through the layer of clear it starts out as a small hole in the clear layer exposing the color coat. The more you buff the more the perimeter line that is actually the edge of the clear layer being eaten or abraded away creeps outward and the small spot grows larger and larger.

Once you burn through the clear you are past the point of no return.

More and more buffing won't make the paint look more and more better, in fact just the opposite. The color coat underneath is dull, it gets its gloss from the clear layer. Remove the clear and you have dull paint. Buffing the color coat won't make it glossy, it will just remove more and more of it.

Keep in mind that the color coat is usually thin also.

As soon as you see burn-through, on the other side of the pond they call this "Strike-Through" , STOP BUFFING.

For what it's worth, a mistake like this will make you a better detailer if you learn from it, that is you now know what not to do... most people will only learn this by doing...

Mike Phillips · 07-13-2010, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by cnfowler

Go over it with a clean cloth and either polish or wax and see if you get any color on your cloth. Thats the easiest way to know if you burned through.

Colin

Sure fire technique to know for sure...

If you've exposed the color coat, a little white polish on a white cloth and a little rubbing will reveal pigment onto the cloth.

With white paint it's a lot harder to do this test but you can try a dark cloth and a polish that's not white...

Mike Phillips · 07-13-2010, 03:01 PM

Once in a while the topic of removing all the RIDS comes up and this is why sometimes it's better to learn to live with the Random Isolated Deeper Scratches than to try to remove them...

Usually machine polishing will reduce their visibility enough that the average person can live with it because at the same time zillions of shallow scratches are removed so the "Big Picture" is the car will have a swirl free, show car finish.

Removing Random, Isolated Deeper Scratches is a noble idea but also a little on the risky side...

See this article...

RIDS - The Definition of RIDS and the story behind the term...