Hi all - hoping for some advice. I painted some trim for my car using 1) 1 coat of primer 2) 3-4 coats of OEM metallic black color in a rattle can and 3) 3 coats of SprayMax 2K Urethane Clear coat. I was chasing after some heavy orange peel near a lip of the trim with 1500 grit (wet sand) and went through a 1/16" x 1.5 inch segment of clear when I switched over to a denim pad and 2000 grit and Meguires 205 with a Rupes Duetto. The polisher went through the base coat in a tiny area as well. I now need to try and fix this. The rest of the 6 foot x 6 inch trim panel looks perfect so I am hesitant to completely start over.

I am going to try and blend this area as this part of the trim abuts the rocker panel and should be much less visible (the trim is a ground effect rocker panel extension). I am planning on keeping the blended area tiny by masking off an 1/8th inch border around the defect. I am then going to attempt to sand the edges to gradually taper through the clear (try being the operative word). After this, I am going to remask the 1/8 inch sanded clearcoat margin and re-primer the void, reapply the base, unmask the 1/8 margin, and then try and build-up the clear by 1-2 coats before respraying the whole panel with clear. A few questions:

1) Does anyone have different advice about how to go about this?

2) The trim panel is otherwise wet sanded and polished. How much do I need to scuff up the clear to reapply an additional coat to the entire trim panel? We are now 48 hours after application and the cure time is listed as 24 hours. If I recoat after using 1500 grit, I worry the scratches from wet sanding will still be visible? Is this a valid concern?

3) Alternatively, can I recoat the buffed panel without scuffing/wet sanding or will the 2-part urethane clear not stick to the underlying polished clearcoat? The application guide for the SprayMax 2K do not specify this.

2K clear coat: Spraymax

4) Is it possible to blend the clearcoat? Given the location, it just needs to look good 4-5 feet away as it will be near the ground and in an inconspicuous location. I worrk the hard margins of the clearcoat void are still going to be visible after respray. I note there are some blending sprays but I do not know how to use these.

Thanks for your help,

Bob