Looking to wet-sand this key scratch this weekend to rid the car of the scratch below. Car is washed and clayed. I'm ready to wet sand and have purchased the Megs finishing paper in 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000 grit paper.
Should I start with the 1500 or be less-aggressive?
Also, I have touch up paint from the dealer. Should I add this into the scratch first or would the wet-sanding take this out w/o requiring the paint?
Whoa.......I think that you should have an experienced detailer of a body shop guy check out that scratch before doing anything. From the photo, it appears much too deep for wetsanding. Will a fingernail catch as you move it across the scratch. If so it is too deep for correction with wetsanding or buffing. A repaint is the only answer.
As far as the dealer's paint....spray or brush on? Either way it is not going to look all that good (as a matter of fact it will look terrible. Your metallic paint does not lend itself at all to touching up scratches like this.
Sorry. Did I ever touch up a scratch like this ? Yep, several times and none of the repairs looked very good.
Good luck...be sure to take your time. Last summer I did a chip repair on one of my Harleys (solid black) and used the same process. Can I see the repair? Yep, if I look closely. No one else would ever notice. I spread the Harley repair over a couple of weeks. You are dealing with a metallic red. It's going to be a bit harder.
About the paper...slow and easy and I would start with the 2000. I 'm also pretty sure you will need to paint before sanding otherwise you are going to be taking off a whole bunch of good paint.
I notice you are from Pennsylvania. I suggest holding off until warm weather arrives.
I wouldn't do anything until you get a couple more responses.
I have a yellow pad and surbuff 5.5 pads. Which would be more effective at removing the 3000 grit sand marks? Consider I the heaviest cutting polish I have right now is XMT medium swirl or Wolfgang TSR 3.0. Mike showed it's possible with a yellow pad and TSR, I wonder if a surbuff would provide a better result? (I've no experience with the yellow or surbuff pads yet).
The touch-up paint was applied at around 7pm tonight. How long would be minimum before I can sand? I can wait a week if I need to...
With the temperature in your part of the world I'd wait at least a week.
You may want to thin the dealer's paint with automotive lacquer thinner and with a fine artists brush (darn fine) go over the scratch several more times. Apply paint in one direction only. Do not go over wet paint. I'd allow at least a half an hour between coats. I'm quite sure that you paint shrunk over night.
Are you working in a heated garage? If not "cool your jets" until it warms up.
Be darn careful with the wetsanding. Personally I sand very lightly with fine grit paper even if it takes longer. (2000 grit)
If you feel that the paint is not laying in the scratch very well. You can remove it with the automotive lacquer thinner before you start sanding. Then reapply it.
I don't know about the pads. I use a Meguiar's polish pad for about everything.
Again, good luck. If I were you, I'd wait for a few others to chime in. That is a darn big scratch you are working with. Might as well get all the advice you can. It's very easy to "mess up" this process. Not a "scare tactic", just "truth". I've been doing touch-ups for over 50 years. Some turned out well, others didn't.
I am very serious. I have taken weeks to complete a scratch or rock chip repair.
With the temperature in your part of the world I'd wait at least a week.
You may want to thin the dealer's paint with automotive lacquer thinner and with a fine artists brush (darn fine) go over the scratch several more times. Apply paint in one direction only. Do not go over wet paint. I'd allow at least a half an hour between coats. I'm quite sure that you paint shrunk over night.
Are you working in a heated garage? If not "cool your jets" until it warms up.
Be darn careful with the wetsanding. Personally I sand very lightly with fine grit paper even if it takes longer. (2000 grit)
If you feel that the paint is not laying in the scratch very well. You can remove it with the automotive lacquer thinner before you start sanding. Then reapply it.
I don't know about the pads. I use a Meguiar's polish pad for about everything.
Again, good luck. If I were you, I'd wait for a few others to chime in. That is a darn big scratch you are working with. Might as well get all the advice you can. It's very easy to "mess up" this process. Not a "scare tactic", just "truth". I've been doing touch-ups for over 50 years. Some turned out well, others didn't.
I am very serious. I have taken weeks to complete a scratch or rock chip repair.
Tom
Tom, great post and that is a fantastic paint chip and scratch guide you linked to! Thank you, thank you, thank you
That's the kind of repair I want to do for the chips on my car. Time consuming and thus not all that cost effective for me, but that's how to preserve the factory paint on my affected car panels and keep the panel looking perfect. Spreading the repair out over time is good advice, from a both a drying and a personal time impact perspective.
Again, thanks for the link. That's the best guide I have read on the topic!
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Originally Posted by tguil
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