Best way to take off the clear coat?

C

Crazy Quattro

New member
I bought a 88 BMW 635csi and it seems the owner noticed rust developing so they sprayed a really cheap layer of clear coat on it to make it stop.



Can i take a rotary to it and try to maybe even it out. What I would like is just a thin layer of the clear coat left. Whats on it now is too thick and even has clear coat drip marks. :cry:



Or am i better off sanding down the whole car and getting a paint job?



Not sure if you can tell from the pic though, but look at the hood. You can see the pit marks in the clear coat. I really just want to even it out.

355423397_9322f3d0ab_b.jpg
 
Oh [expletive] what a thing to do to a nice 6-series :rolleyes:



The real answer is to get it painted and have the rust fixed properly while they're at it. But that'll cost a bundle.



The rotary alone wouldn't be my solution, I'd wetsand it first and *then* start compounding. But IMO it's gonna need professional paint/body work sooner or later and rust repair/etc. doesn't get *less* expensive with the passage of time.



A gray 635 is *such* a nice car :cry:
 
Yea good call. I should just get the rust fixed for the time being and do things right with the paintwork when i have the money for it.



Otherwise the car runs great and i love it.
 
Crazy Quattro said:
Yea good call. I should just get the rust fixed for the time being and do things right with the paintwork when i have the money for it.



Otherwise the car runs great and i love it.
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Sounds like a good plan. Glad to hear the mechanicals are OK and how much you appreciate the car. I think it's really something special :xyxthumbs
 
wet sand with 2000/grit,compond , with smooth compound with no grit ,polish,hand wax with any top grade carnuba paste.
 
chas.007 said:
wet sand with 2000/grit,compond , with smooth compound with no grit ,polish,hand wax with any top grade carnuba paste.
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I been actually reading up on wetsanding. I guess this car would be perfect to practice on, i mean if i screw it up then no biggie cuz it needed a paint job anyways.



From what i read though, the PC wont be enough after wetsanding?



Rotary here i come. I wanted to get one anyways after owning my PC for two years. :cooleek:
 
Crazy Quattro said:
From what i read though, the PC wont be enough after wetsanding?



Rotary here i come. I wanted to get one anyways after owning my PC for two years...
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Far be it from me to delay your rotary purchase ;) But 3K scratches come out OK by PC especially with 4" pads (even on hard clear). 2k scratches aren't as easy, but are doable, and even by hand (I used 3M PI-III RC 05933 on the S8), if you use Meguiar's Unigrit paper, wich is a *lot* more uniform than 3M's stuff.
 
So i went ahead and tried to wetsand. Only thing i could find locally was 1500grit 3m sandpaper. Good is news is that it seems to work but takes a LONG time. Maybe i need to move up to 2000 grit?



Needs to be polished more also. All i had was the PC with yellow pad and Menzera Final Polish. But the results came out decent i think. Hood is untouched, front was wetsanded.



407363050_daaf8160bd_b.jpg
 
Nice work!



FYI, sandpaper grits are FINER the HIGHER the number. So 2000 grit would take you longer to wetsand a defect out, although should induce finer scratches which are likely to be easier to remove.
 
Yeah, and I wouldn't go stronger than the 1500 even if it *is* taking a long time. But that sure *IS* a lot better looking!
 
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