Am I cutting down to the paint or is it merely a coincidence?

**Sk808** · 06-18-2014, 04:45 PM

Started to buff out my British Racing green stang.
Did a little 2x2 test spot on the door (bc that's where the orange peel is the worst). Wet sanded with by hand 1500, 2000& 3000. Compounded with m105/m205 and topped off with CG acrylic glaze and black fire wet diamond sealant. Test spot came out spot on! (I'll try to post pics later).
But, when I parked the car in the sun, I noticed that there was a "blotch" or an uneven-ness to the metallic in the paint. The blotch is basically in the same general region of my test spot.
But I was very very careful when I was sanding and compounding, I had white slurry 100% of the time and I don't have any green color on my polishing pads.
It's a stupid question, I know but this is my first time doing this so i'm not fully sure: Is it possible that I harmed the paint in this process or is this blotch something that probably occured when it was being sprayed?
Side notes: Car was sprayed about 1 1/2 months ago, blotch is barely barely noticable, the sun needs to catch the metallic at just the right angle. But it's still gonna bug me forever now that I noticed it

**Rsurfer** · 06-18-2014, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by Sk808

Started to buff out my British Racing green stang.
Did a little 2x2 test spot on the door (bc that's where the orange peel is the worst). Wet sanded with by hand 1500, 2000& 3000. Compounded with m105/m205 and topped off with CG acrylic glaze and black fire wet diamond sealant. Test spot came out spot on! (I'll try to post pics later).
But, when I parked the car in the sun, I noticed that there was a "blotch" or an uneven-ness to the metallic in the paint. The blotch is basically in the same general region of my test spot.
But I was very very careful when I was sanding and compounding, I had white slurry 100% of the time and I don't have any green color on my polishing pads.
It's a stupid question, I know but this is my first time doing this so i'm not fully sure: Is it possible that I harmed the paint in this process or is this blotch something that probably occured when it was being sprayed?
Side notes: Car was sprayed about 1 1/2 months ago, blotch is barely barely noticable, the sun needs to catch the metallic at just the right angle. But it's still gonna bug me forever now that I noticed it

Sounds like you've sanded through the clear. Do you have a paint gauge? I would never attempt to wet sand without a paint gauge. Do you know how much clear was put on..2-3-4 coats? If you don't have a paint gauge, take it back to your painter with your tail between your legs.

**Sk808** · 06-18-2014, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by Rsurfer

Sounds like you've sanded through the clear. Do you have a paint gauge? I would never attempt to wet sand without a paint gauge. Do you know how much clear was put on..2-3-4 coats? If you don't have a paint gauge, take it back to your painter with your tail between your legs.

My instructor sprayed it. 2 double wet coats were layed down. I'm gonna say about 3/4 - 7/8 of a gallon of clear + the hardner was sprayed on. The other remaining was sprayed on the door jambs.

So it's still possible that I burned through the clear even if I never had any green slurry and I don't have any green paint/rub off on the pads?

**David Hayward** · 06-18-2014, 05:12 PM

Is the spot hazy or anything? May just look different because it's super smooth and polished allowing the light to reflect off the flake differently.

**Sk808** · 06-18-2014, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by Trutech74

Is the spot hazy or anything? May just look different because it's super smooth and polished allowing the light to reflect off the flake differently.

Nope, the apot looks like beautiful wet paint (when in the sun and in the shade)
It's just that very very slight blotch in the metallic that's scaring me to do the entire car.
The blotch also extends a bit past the test spot too, if that help clears anything up.

**Rsurfer** · 06-18-2014, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by Sk808

My instructor sprayed it. 2 double wet coats were layed down. I'm gonna say about 3/4 - 7/8 of a gallon of clear + the hardner was sprayed on. The other remaining was sprayed on the door jambs.

So it's still possible that I burned through the clear even if I never had any green slurry and I don't have any green paint/rub off on the pads?

You may have not sanded down to the color coat, but sanding most of the clear off will give you that cloudy look.

**Sk808** · 06-18-2014, 05:28 PM

Originally Posted by Rsurfer

You may have not sanded down to the color coat, but sanding most of the clear off will give you that cloudy look.

The paint isn't cloudy, dull or anything. It's glossy as heck! It's just that when the sun hit the metallic and just the right angle, the metallic looks "blotched" as in it looks like there's just the slightest bit less of it in that particular spot compared to the entire car. (Unless that's what you mean by cloudy, my apologies haha)

**Rsurfer** · 06-18-2014, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by Sk808

The paint isn't cloudy, dull or anything. It's glossy as heck! It's just that when the sun hit the metallic and just the right angle, the metallic looks "blotched" as in it looks like there's just the slightest bit less of it in that particular spot compared to the entire car. (Unless that's what you mean by cloudy, my apologies haha)

Take it back to your instructor and see what he say's.

**Just02896** · 06-18-2014, 07:41 PM

I find metallic paints to be very touchy when it comes to wet sanding. One must be VERY careful!

**chet31** · 06-18-2014, 11:57 PM

If you are aggressive with something like M105, and don't polish it out well enough with M205, you can get a "blotch." You have not gone through the clear coat, you just haven't done enough finish polishing to get out the microswirls created by the wetsanding and M105. At least, that's what I hope is going on here. The sun can really expose it when you haven't done enough finish polishing.