Wet sanded through clear coat, fix?

[Mike Phillips]

Just to chime in...

If you want the panel to look right then have a body shop respray the entire panel. If they blend to the middle of a panel you will always have a blend line. A blend line is where the new paint ends (on top of the old paint), and the old paint begins. If they blend to an edge then the entire panel has a uniform layer of paint.


I always say I type for the future and the reason why is because history shows this forum and these threads will be around for years even decades to come for others to read and learn from. That said, if you don't know a lot about wet sanding outside of hearing the or reading the words, then read this article as it was written to clear up confusion.


Wetsanding - Fresh Paint vs Factory Paint


It also might help you to avoid a mistake if you're working on factory paint.


Here's another article everyone should read if they are thinking about sanding on factory paint.



Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips

[Crispy]

Touch up paint with a few light coats will cover.

Let it dry for couple of days before you touch it.

You will be able to see it up close, but not from day 6 ft away.

I then wet sand lightly with 3000 grit to level and then polish.

Good idea to mask off around the spot, so you don't repeat the error on adjacent paint.

To fix proper you need to spot paint the basecoat and clear coat an entire panel to eliminate blending lines in the clear.

Painting is totally different curve than detailing so be advised.

One thing I did everytime I burned through a spot.

I used it as a learning curve.

It's going to be painted anyway so "bombs away".

I practiced on the panel, so I don't repeat.

I am only working on my own car, so not Pro.

[Audios S6]

That's going to need color and clear.

The economical option would be to touch it up. That's a big spot to touch up and it's not going to look great. Worst case, you do the work and if you aren't happy and you sand it off again and move to the next step. If you get a rattle can of paint mix by a local paint supplier, you can use it for the next option and you are only out your time, 1 piece of sand paper, and applicator. $60 repair with color, clear and consumables.

Next would be to lightly sand the whole panel in prep for paint, spray color over the current spot and blend at least 6", but ideally 12-18" beyond that spot, then clear the whole panel. That shouldn't be terribly hard to pull the panel off so you could avoid overspray and ensure good coverage. $150 repair with color, clear and consumables.

Most expensive (and best finish) would be to take it to a body shop and have a pro paint and finish it. You are far enough from other panels that they should not need to blend into the door, hood, A-pillar or bumper. I'd guess minimum of $500, but could be close to $1K at a premium shop and highly dependent where you are located.