1962 Maseratti Gran Turismo

J

JRay

New member
Well, I have been working so hard the last couple of months to finish off my garage so I have a place to park my WRX where I can baby it all the time and the birds and children will stay away from it. Well, I my car was up on ramps because I was putting some extra rubberized unercoating on my jack-points so they don't get all scratched up from rocks and such. I really didn't want to back it down off of the ramps because I had some trim pieces off of my car to get to the areas I needed. Well, I had to make one last measurement in my garage for a 2x6 to build in an attic for all of my car care and detailing goodies and the edge of the tape measure fell onto the hood of my car taking out a 3/16" chip!! It chipped all the way down to the primer. You wouldn't think a tape measure would do that much damage, but it did.



I immediately freaked out and calmed myself down and went to bed so I could have a clear head to try and repair it in the morning. Well, I got up and cleaned the area to make sure no wax was present and I used a small toothpick to remove any jagged edges from the chip to try and clean it a little. I then took a small sanding pencil to the area to rought it a little and started applying my touch up. It was matching perfectly and I was really excited with the results. I worked on it for 3 days until it was built up slightly above the good paint. I checked this with a magnifying glass from several angles to make sure. I then proceeded to wet sand the area with a 2000 grit wet/sand block to get it level. I noticed as I was doing this that the touch up was getting darker for some reason. At this point I was too deep to back out so I continued until it was all smooth. NOTE that I did this VERY VERY slowly to ensure that I didn't remove any more clear than I had to. I was pleased with the results after this step and I decided it was time to rub out the marring left by the sanding block. I made only 4 VERY LIGHT passes with some Eagle One Scratch Remover and it looked like it was ready to go.



I proceeded to wash the area and I noticed that there was a small circular area below the chip on the good paint that look a whole lot darker than the OEM finish. My fears were that somewhere in my process I went too deep into the clear. I checked with some wax and no color came off on the pad, but I could not remove the blemish.



One of my good clients for my business is one of the best Body Shop guys in town so I drove it out to him to take a look and he did indeed confirm that I went too far in the clear on that spot and it was almost to the paint. I never noticed before but if you took a light to it it looked dimpled compared to the rest of the finish....this is indeed where I sanded too deep. I about fainted...literally! What a nightmare! So I asked him what to do from here since he is the professional and this is what he recommends:



1. Removing the hood so it is the only thing that enters the paint booth....he said normally he doesn't do this, but he knows how picky I am and this will prevent any contaminants or dirt from the car getting into the paint and eliminate the chance for any sort of overspray.

2. sanding about a softball sized area around that section (since my touch up repair isn't perfect either!) so that the blemished area tapers over a distance.

3. lightly wet sanding the entire hood with 1000 grit so it will take a good coat of clear.

4. bulding up the blemish area with primer and then gently tapering the color coat over the blemish and into the rest of the hood so that it is all the same level and the color matches. He said that this will be EXTREMELY light and almost transparent coats to ensure the blending is as close to perfect as he can get it.

5. applying a solid coat of clear over the ENTIRE hood to ensure everything is sealed the same and it looks fluid.



He is doing this for me at an extremely reduced rate because I have done so much web work for him and I wired up a network in his new building and such. However...this work is something I really didn't want to have to resort to, but I feel like I have NO CHOICE at this point if I want it to look right and be protected properly for years to come.



Can I get some opinions from you guys on what you think about this whole mess and if this even sounds like a good idea? My only resort from here is to shell out $2400 or so for an after market carbon-fiber hood and replace it with that. But I really don't like that look.



Thanks....

Sadly and VERY mad at himself...

EXODAR
 
exodar, have no fear we can never have "perfect" cars, especially if you want to drive your car. And I think by your make and model you definately want to drive it. I also think that with your Subie you're going to have to be making and taking some compromises with your particular finish as some of the "pricier" cars may have the advantage over you finish-wise. In short, trying to have a perfect hood for example may never be attainable. Strive for the best and deal with what you got. I feel for you. As for your chip, your car is new and maybe you might want to wait and get a few more chips in before restoring your hood, if you think that you might get any more soon. Sounds like you're getting a good deal and that those guys will take care of ya. Good luck and keep us posted. Do you have any pics of your dillema? Steve
 
I don't anticipate getting any more nicks in the hood. This car literally sits in my garage or in a private parking spot at work away from everyone else. The thing that makes me the most angry is that it only has 2200 miles on it....I haven't even made the first oil change. Oh well....live and let live. I have accepted the fact that it may not be perfect, but it will be close enough to live with.



I just hope that this process he wants to take it through is the right route to go at this point.



I have before pics and I will post some after pics when I get it back in the garage so you can see. The blemish really looks like crap and the part where I went too deep looks bad too.
 
I would then contact Ron Ketcham at www.autoint.com he's the resident paint expert with years of experience. You can call him up too.

A month after getting my car I backed into my dad Caddy. Before this time I had never even gotten into a fender bender. I was madly upset but we get over stuff like that. Keep your head up and make the most out of the joys of detailing. :)
 
YoSteve:



Thanks for the advice...I just got off the phone with Ron a couple of seconds ago and from what he tells me it sounds like the guy that is going to do this work on my hood know what he is doing. He said the most important thing to note is that he at least clears the ENTIRE hood to make sure that I don't have a problem with it in the future. He said that he may have some trouble trying to match the color if he doesn't paint the entire hood, but I think my guy is on the right track.



Thanks for the advice...I really appreciate it! Ron was EXTREMELY helpful!
 
I'm far from being an expert, but I'm surprised that the clear on your car was thin enough for you to go through it so easily with 2000 grit paper!! Curiously enough, one of the complaints about the WRX in AutoWeek's 2002 Ultimate Buyers Guide was its thin paint. Hmmm...might be something you'll have to look out for in the future.



Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!
 
exodar ... Unfortunately there is a message that floats to the surface after following this forum for a while. That is that perfection is possible. It may be with David's Jaguar but you must make the distinction between daily drivers and those cars that aren't. Steve makes a good point about this too.



Accept the fact that we can make them look great but we can't make a daily driver "perfect". To try is to risk making yourself ill.



I hope I'm not coming off as "preachy" but one other issue deserves attention too. I've cringed over the use of sandpaper ever since (was it Dave's thread?) the "how to" scratch repair piece appeared here. It consisted of step-by-step repair of a black Porsche. Extremely fine grit was used (1500, perhaps) and (after feeling this stuff) its hard to believe it can cut through to the primer as quickly as it does, but it certainly does. I strongly suggest that if one doesn't have previous experience wet sanding, no how-to article is going to provide you the expertise needed.



Next time out, use Langka. It ain't perfect but it ain't bad. BTW, I traded in my nine year old SE-R that never even had a door ding for the WRX. At three months into the WRX the Boston Globe delivery guy backed his truck into it at 4:30 one morning
 
I myself was a perfectionist. I always want my daily driver to be dentless and scuffless until today, this evening, before I start to wash my car, I found out that there's a scuff on the bumper! Well, certainly I feel like how exodar felt. I tried to use compound to remove the scuff, but then there's still around 10% of scuff left behind. But I think I'm okay now after consoling myself that there's no perfect daily driver...yes...you're looking for trouble if you want to make your daily driver perfect...so friend...take it easy! :)
 
When I traded my '98 Grand Prix in on my Corvette, I went in to the deal thinking that the 'Vette was going to be my daily driver. As we were sitting in the showroom closing the deal, my wife (knowing the way I am) said, "You're going to want to keep this car for a long time, and it's going to kill you to have to drive it in bad weather and poor conditions. Maybe we should get you a beater." So, I got a 1992 Dodge Caravan C/V cargo van for $1000 that runs great but looks like hell (it's got a bit of rust on it) to use as my daily driver. The insurance on it is minimal, and for $1000, I figure it cost me less to buy the van than to fix a single moderate "mistake" on my new Corvette. The van saves me a TON of heartache and angst trying to keep my Corvette perfect, and (in my case), the van provides cargo utility that the Corvette certainly can't.



Just something you might want to consider.
 
Thanks for all of the advice! This forum is great...only the people on here would understand my troubles and how I am coping with them. My wife just doesn't understand...even though she realizes the importance of my car to me, she just doesn't understand why it has to be this way.



This car is definitely a daily driver for me and I am coping with the fact that this car will never be absolutely perfect...and honestly before this incident it wasn't. It had a couple of fine scratches from highway driving to work, but I accepted the fact that unless I don't want to go to work I better learn to deal with it. So that is what I am doing with this problem here...learning to live with it. I am going to have this guy fix it to the best of his ability and that will be that. The mistake has been made and there is no since making myself ill over it because it won't repair itself. I have the utmost confidence that this guy knows what he is doing and he will fix it so that the finish is protected and safe for the years to come.



The thing that I have come to realize is that this in NO WAY inhibits my sheer enjoyment of detailing my car on a weekly basis. The reason I started detailing was because I got this car and I shouldn't let a problem like this ruin the one thing that I really enjoy doing which is keeping my car clean and driving the piss out of it! I mean come on...no matter what happens to the appearance, it is a 227HP WRX that can smoke most pony cars and chevys on the road and that is THE REAL REASON I bought this car...it is unique. This doesn't mean I am going to be any more careless than I was in the past about taking care of this car, it just means that I am going to have to live with some imperfections if I want to truly enjoy this car and everything about taking care of it.



Thanks so much to everyone for offering advice and assisting me...especially RON KETCHEM. He was willing to talk to me on the phone and give me advice and I have never met the guy before.



OH...and sorry to hear about your WRX getting hit by that truck. At least I am not the only one who has seen an incident. Hell, if you want to drive em, you have to accept the chance that stuff happens!
 
Fret not, my friend. Don't beat yourself up over this. I'm sure most of us could tell you plenty of "stupid human" tricks. Most of my cars have had scars - inflicted as a result of my idiocy at one point or another. My M5 has its left front fender repainted thanks to my creasing its wheel arch backing out of MY OWN DAMN GARAGE!!!! But it looks OK now, and I haven't done it again....... :rolleyes:



I hope your repair goes smoothly.
 
OT but worth it.



a few cars ago...



I was backing with the door open ..crunchhhhhhhhhhhh.....The door hit the car parked next to me and bent open to 90 degrees........



Man that hurt.....
 
hehhehheh ... cute sig, Greg! I suspect that those of us that can see the humor in all of this will probably grow up to become reasonably together adults



We're Here (from the land where, if you have a beef about about the kids playing a little too rough, you beat the ref to death)
 
1962 Maserati GT. Beautiful car! Huge treat to work on!

Maserstti4.JPG


Maserstti5.JPG


Maserstti6.JPG


Maserstti7.JPG


Maserstti8.JPG


Maserstti12.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top