Washnwax, I feel your pain buddy. I've been working in a body shop the last couple weeks and let me tell you, what they can do is nothing short of magic. Wetsanding factory clear is a risky process. It's so much easier to do on a panel that has been resprayed by the body shop.
Washnwax, I feel your pain buddy. I've been working in a body shop the last couple weeks and let me tell you, what they can do is nothing short of magic. Wetsanding factory clear is a risky process. It's so much easier to do on a panel that has been resprayed by the body shop.
washnwax, sorry to hear your troubles. I had a similar problem (right in the middle of the hood of a BMW) and ended up taking the hood of a BMW into a local body shop. Then guy warned me that touching up the spot will always look as though it had been touched up. It was a $400 lesson that I've not forgotten.
I hope you can make it decent. If you read my thread on fixing key sratches, you'll see where I do not recommend one trying this without a paint thickness gauge.
I hope you can make it decent. If you read my thread on fixing key sratches, you'll see where I do not recommend one trying this without a paint thickness gauge.
Lesson learned. The big take away is that when repairing key scratches, I need to focus on keeping the touch up paint as flat to the existing surface as possible. I put a bit too much on and turned out to be a little "higher" than the surrounding paint. So naturally sanding that high area down chewed into surrounding clear that was at OEM thickness. Wait til you see the pics. The wet-sand gods would be proud of the sacrifice - a half-dollar coin would barel cover this mistake. That said, the area that I sanded which actually survived and was later hit by the yellow and WF TSR looks amazing. I understand what wet-sanding can do now. So the yin and yang are in order- I get the reason to do it, but understand with great reward comes risk...The gloss, the shine, wow - I'd wet-sand the whole darn car if I hadn't run into this...for now I have my tail between my legs thinking "naw, I'll pass"....for now.....for now.
The clearcoat to fix this is enroute. I'll spray it, sand it and hope it looks like it wasn't touched. My only concern is UV rays on the basecoat and whether it will fade it before the clearcoat arrives. I mean its only been a week. But, if I laid out in the sun for a week with no protection I'd be roasted, so applying what I know about human skin to car paint, I'm crossing my fingers the area is in the shadows for the next week or so.
Again, pictures are coming. Just super busy with the kids and work these days to get 20 minutes to myself (at a decent hour).
Last edited by washnwax; 03-14-2012 at 11:17 PM.
Reason: update
That's why it's key to not go overboard. It's tough to say when to stop.
I usually wet sand till I create a slurry, then stop immediately, wipe it clean, blow on it till it's dry, and thoroughly check the area. I choose then whether to go at it more, or not. Most the time I'm just checking to see if I've made a dent at all in the scratch. If not any change at all...I try a bit more. If that does nothing...just give it up, and move on.
Even with a paint gauge, you still don't know how much clear you are dealing with. So you can never get too excited.
Here are some pics of the sanding job BEFORE I went through the clear. After I took these shots, (hands still shaking from this being my 1st sanding experience) I grabbed my PC 7424 XP, prepped my 5.5" LC yellow foam with WF TSR 3.0 and hit the area with an OPM of 5. I was impressed with that combo against 2500 grit paper.
The gloss looked great - but the touchup paint (shown as darker color below) was still a bit raised.I started sanding again - at that point I took off clear on the larger scratch at the top.
Posting more pics later.
Last edited by washnwax; 03-15-2012 at 03:29 PM.
Reason: update
Sadly blending clear coat is not a very good practice. Some body shops do it, buts its not a highly accepted way of repair. Blending paint is another thing and is perfectly acceptable. The problem with blending the clear is that it will probably eventually fail and become very visible around the blended edge. To properly fix your situation, the entrie panel would needed to be cleared. This is why shops clear entire panels, even on panels that recieved some paint blending. Example: Door gets hit and both fender and 1/4 get blended to match color. However all three panels would be cleared totally. What aerosol clear are you using? I ask this because most auto clears are 2k meaning they are a 2 part and require a hardner. I do know that some companies do sell these in aerosol and have a small pump at the bottom. Spray Max being one of the companies I believe. Good Luck
Sadly blending clear coat is not a very good practice. Some body shops do it, buts its not a highly accepted way of repair. Blending paint is another thing and is perfectly acceptable. The problem with blending the clear is that it will probably eventually fail and become very visible around the blended edge. To properly fix your situation, the entrie panel would needed to be cleared. This is why shops clear entire panels, even on panels that recieved some paint blending. Example: Door gets hit and both fender and 1/4 get blended to match color. However all three panels would be cleared totally. What aerosol clear are you using? I ask this because most auto clears are 2k meaning they are a 2 part and require a hardner. I do know that some companies do sell these in aerosol and have a small pump at the bottom. Spray Max being one of the companies I believe. Good Luck
This is so very true!!
Washnwax, Please dont try to blend clearcoat on your door . It will be very noticable !
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Originally Posted by rakkvet
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