What did you get on your Supra's headlight cover and what does it look like? Oh yeah, can you put up a picture? Did you say it was blue?
I haven't taken a pic because the car has been garaged for over a week. I got very hot engine coolant on the driver's side pop up headlight of a 90 dark blue pearl color code 8G5 metallic Toyota Supra. I went over some rough roads. I parked the car on a hill. And then I looked back and saw green engine coolant pouring out of the bottom of the car. I popped open the hood to see what happened. The hose from the engine coolant somehow had torn open. Don't asked me how it happened. The mechanic thought it was rot. I never saw any rot, I think it was going over some rough roads and the engine moved around. Anyway....when I opened the hood this hot engine coolant spurted onto the headlight. It burned down thru the clear and left one tiny dark spot, and three half dime sized etchings. I tried to wetsand it out with 2000, it did not come out. Made it look a bit better. You don't see it if you don't know about it. These are tiny defects that can only be seen if you know where it is, and looking at in from the right angle. But it bothers me because there is not a mark on the rest of the car. I have taken very good care of it and it looks showroom. No defects, sratches, nothing....maybe a minor ding. Think of tiny bird poop etchings each about 3mm in diameter in three locations. Obviously it is deep because the wetsand did not take it out. It's down thru the clear. So I was told to clean the wax off the area and re clear it using a two stage clear with hardener. There is no damage to the paint. I drive with the headlights up, so the black spot is under the hood and I can live with it. I don't want to repaint as it is a tough color to match. A dark metallic blue for a 90? I don't think the two headlight covers are going to match. A good professional re clear would take care of the etchings and I could live with the rest.
I am thinking about sending it out to my buddy because he has done this for years and is working on a Supra with the same color. I could send both headlights to help him match it. A local body shop is going to want to repaint from primer. It's going to be expensive, and not really necessary for such small damage. Most people would just live with this. But if you are on this site, you are not like most people when it comes to your car. Matter of picking your poison. Thanks for your response.
Here is one shot. Basically some holes that went down thru clear, a few lines in the clear, and some roughness. I wetsanded and this stuff did not come out. The engine coolant went down thru the clear. I know it needs to be recleared. Also was wondering about the solvents they use to blend clear. When are they used? just after clear is sprayed? I am obviously talking about another part of my car. This requires the entire headlight to be recleared. And if anyone knows how to take the top off of a 90 supra, let me know. I know a guy who want to do a repaint. But would have to take the top off. It does not look easy.
Oh and lastly. Right now you have an issue that may need a repaint. Trying this fix will cost minimal $ and may save you the time and cost of the paint job. Most places by me will not paint anything for less than $250. No matter the size. So if you try the clearcoat and it doesn't come out as you would like you really aren't in any worse shape than before. Only you can decide if you want to try and repair the area. If you can live with it then leave well enough alone. If it will bother you always then give it a shot. If it bothers you that much you probably will get the headlight cover repainted anyway. So nothing to lose really and a lot to gain
Don
Hey Don, just wanted to update you on what's going on. Took my car to a body shop and he would want to do a repaint because of the tiny black spots at the bottom. I can live with those because you can't see them unless you are right on top of them. He would want $100. What is bothering me is the etching in the clear. I did the water test and you don't see the etching. I don't want to do a repaint, and the body guy doesn't want to get involved because he can't guarantee a color match. It is a dark blue pearl for a 90 Supra color code 8G5. Not an easy color to match. You can get the color right, but then the amount of metallic isn't the same.
I have also seen they have some clear coat blenders. It is essentially a spray that you spray around the edges to get the new clear to blend with the old. The headlight is about 7" long and about 6" wide. I was thinking of hitting the back third 2x6 inches and then blending it. Dupont has a site that sells 2k clear(24 hour shelf life), acrylic clear, and a blending spray. I know you want me to spray the whole headlight, but basically the front 3/4 is very nice and shiny and would rather not play with that. You have to understand I am a novice at this. I am concerned that I would just make a cloudy mess. There is a lot of wax, that I guess I could take off with alcohol.
Just wondering what your thoughts are. The body shop guys know I am meticulous with my car and don't want to touch it. So I am kinda on my own. Curious what you thought of the Dupont products. Just wondering whether it is better to buy the standard clear shown in your link or the 2k which is supposedly better but has a short shelf life. I have also heard Rustoleum makes a very good clear. Take a look at my pics and tell me what you think.
I have some pics of the damage. I know these are long over due. It's in the back third of a pop up headlight of a 90 Supra. Color is dark blue pearl color code 8G5. A lot of body shops don't want to touch it because it would be hard to get the amount of metallic to match. Headlight is about 7"x6". Been giving advice about which is the best clear coat spray to use. I have also heard that Dupont sells a clear coat blending agent. Essentially you spray the edge of the new clear when it is still wet to get it to blend. I know the idea is to feather it out, and have less new clear as you go away from the original spot. I don't want to do a repaint. First the color probably will not match, and two the damage is so minimal it is not worth it. However, I would like to get rid of the etching and holes in the clear. It won't be perfect, but at least it will be an improvement. Again we are talking about a small area hear. I have three different areas of damage that is spread out over a 2"x6" area.
I tried wetsanding with 2000 grit and the etching did not come out. So it is thru most of the clear if not all of it. Some good clear that levels well would fill in most of the damage. A few lights coats and then a medium coat would probably cover most of the damage up. But I am really a novice and am afraid that I would make the thing look worse.
Blending is only for large panels where you don't want to repaint the entire panel. Or when you do repaint an entire panel and you want to blend the color into the surrounding panels. For such a small piece you will want to clear the whole piece. Even a pro wouldn't try to blend such a small piece. And since you aren't doing the color coat there is no chance of a mismatch. Get the clear from auto touchup, a small can should do, but I usually get a large can so I know I won't run out. Strip off the wax using dish washing liquid. Dry and then do an alcohol rubdown. Mask off everything except the light cover and start spraying. Never start or stop a spray "swipe" while you are over the area you are clearing. Start off the piece and stop once you have gone past the piece. Your small light cover will not take long at all. Give it a week to cure before you do anything to the area. Do not even wash it. After a week you can check how it matches with the surrounding area and wetsand to match the smoothness. Best if you don't wax the area for a month but I have never had an issue with waxing after a couple of weeks.
If you can live with the defect please just leave it as is. Some issues aren't worth the trouble.
Oh and it is best to paint when the humidity is very low. I paint in my basement when I can so weather isn't an issue. But direct sunlight and humidity are not good things. Shade the area and do it on a clear low humid day.
Great instructions so far. If not previously mentioned take off the headlight cover if it's easy to do so. Not imperative but it will be easier to refinish.
Continue sanding with 2000 to take the etching out as much as possible remember to use a sanding block. Just go down to the base coat not thought it or if the etching holes level out before stop sanding.
While at the automotive paint store get a couple tack cloths and a paint degreaser. You want the part surgically clean before you spray the clear.
Spray a light tack coat first followed by a couple medium coats with flash time inbetween (10-15 minutes should be good between coats)
This is not difficult to do but if you want to practice first pick up a small junk yard panel or similar headlight to practice on.
Thanks magnus. Headlight cover ain't coming off. The black plastic part comes off quite easily. But on you take that off, the cover has two screws on each side holding them in. Those are so tight no Philips head or anything is going to take them off. I tried some wd40. You need a socket wrench. I may go to my mechanic to have it removed.
As far as sanding with the 2000 I don't think that would be a good idea at this point. It's NOT going to improve the etching. All it will do is mar the clear coat. So I think it's a matter of degreasing, tack cloth and the right humidity. Practicing will help. I do need to get the feel of the whole thing.
Also I wanted to thank Don(Dadillac). I did order some Dupont 12.5 oz acrylic clear. It's about twice as expensive as the stuff you mentioned from microfinish. Actually I did order some touch up and clear touch up from then. It's from this site paintworld. I just wanted to ask Don whether it makes a difference. I have heard Dupont acrylic clear is pretty good. I didn't want to get the one with the 2k activator because that has a 24 hr pot life and I may want to use it in the future. I think would be fine for my needs. Just wondering if you have heard anything about this stuff or used it before. thanks again
I will assume the whole headlight cover is smaller than 12" x 12". I would get a can of "real" clearcoat. Since this is a small area spray the entire piece. Buy it online from a place like Automotivetouchup.com Touch Up Paint, Aerosol Spray Paint and Touchup Paint Accessories | AutomotiveTouchup | 888-710-5192. The stuff in auto parts stores isn't bad but I feel it doesn't hold up well. Again if you wet the area and the defect disappears then clearcoat will give the same effect. Two light coats and a medium wet coat should do it. After it dries for a week or so you can wet sand (very lightly) to even out some of the orange peel. If you take your time and reference the surrounding panels you can get a fairly even amount of orange peel on the new clear as what is on the rest of the car.
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Re: Clear coat repair
Originally Posted by Hazcat
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