need help asap

[richy]

I was detailing an Infiniti M45 for a good friend of mine, in fact I did it for him last year. It was going great until I tried filling a scratch he had with some clear touch up I had for my car. Problem was, the clear wasn't all that clear and it was slightly grayish colour. I thought I could wet sand it smooth and it would look O.K. I touched it up twice and then wet sanded the area flat...didn't take much doing at all. When I compounded it with UCL and a wool pad, the area started getting dark. The paint got warm but not hot. I kept shooting it with water just to be sure. The more I tried to correct the area, the worse it looked. I don't think I burned the paint b/c the clear is smooth. The discolouration is beneath. I haven't called my friend yet b/c I want to see my options. I am thinking of putting some touch up (silver) on top and sealing it. The other alternative is to paint the panel which I do not want to do, but it's not worth messing up the friendship. What's it look like from the pics? Thanks.

 

[Anosmiac]

Unfortunately, I think you have yourself in a tough situation. If this dark discoloration is in fact below the clear, there is not much that can be done (from my limited knowledge). To add to the complexity of this dilemma, the base appears to be metalic, so "DIY" touchup is difficult at a minimum.



One suggestion I have is to hit up a couple of reputable body shops in your area, and get some quotes on a touch up to that area.



I am also a firm believer in "honesty is the best policy". Tell your friend that your good intentions unfortunately seemed to backfire. I truely believe that this will not only maintain your friendship, but also your credibility as a detailer. I recently did a full detail on an Escalade EXT for my wife's boss' son. The truck was in HORRIBLE shape (inside and out), and I had a very limited time to do it all! The truck looked a million times better that when I received it, but I could only get about 90% of the holograms out of the paint in the time I had. Instead of blowing it off, or fabricating some outlandish story, I was honest. I also told him that I would like the truck for one more day, just to remove the remaining holograms...at no additional cost. Because of this, I have lined up two more details with this client, and numerous more with his father...a very avid auto collector.



It sucks...I know. But be honest, keep the friendship, and chalk this up as a learning experience.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Was the scratch the shape of the entire dark area? Or only part of it? You realize that bottle touch up paint like that can be easily removed with laquer thinner without affecting properly catalyzed clear, so if it's just the touch-up paint that's gone wrong, you can wipe that right out.

 

[jtford95]

That my friend is to much material removed. The dark spots are primer. Unfortunately, you went thru. If you keep trying it the spot will only get bigger. Proper repair is a repaint, but

you may find a good body shop who can spot repair that. That sucks. Good luck with the repair. Joe

 

[jshillin]

What grit paper were you wet sanding with?? That contour of that panel makes it almost the equivalent of an edge. The pad only has contact with a very small area when you work countours like that and that will burn through the paint very quickly!!

 

[tensors22288]

it looks like that because I'm pretty sure clear can't be applied unless the humidity is below 50%... I painted my door handles a while ago and finished with clear coat spray... Unfortunately, I tried to touch it up and it went on as WHITE... not clear, but white. This is because I'm retarded and forgot the humidity thing when I retouched it up... I then proceeded to try and wipe it off/sand it off, and it turned dark... Sooo in my opinion, that looks like clear that was applied in high humidity because it looks pretty much how mine looked, and not clear