Possible clearcoat "oops"?

T

tguil

New member
Background Information (long and wordy):

I think that when my body shop was doing final correction on my truck's hood repair/repaint, the tech might have scuffed though the shop clearcoat. The scuff is about 3/4 inch long and about 1/8 inch wide. My truck is white and I only notice the scuff under flourescent lighting at a "just right" angle. I found it as I was carefully checking for marring while using Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish. I do not want to polish that area any more just in case it might make the scuff larger. Most folks (99%) would never have found this scuff.

This part of the hood did not receive a basecoat. The hood repair involved an area quite a distance from the scuff. The repainted area was a basecoat blend with the whole hood being recleared so if this area is scuffed, it may only be in the clear applied by the shop not in the factory clear.

Whatever...The repair/repaint is guaranteed. I will talk to the shop owner about all this. Thing is ...I don't want a repaint for such a small blem. The hood had already been repainted at the factory so there are three layers of base coat/ clear coat on the hood. (That's another long story.)

Questions:

Will a good (and frequent) coat of wax/sealant keep a minor scuff through clearcoat in check..... especially if the vehicle is darn close to being a "garage queen"?

I'm pretty sure that Optimum 2.0 or perhaps even Opti-Seal to the whole hood would take care of the problem/concern. However, I would prefer to continue using a regular wax/sealant for the general maintenance of my truck's finish. (I'm just an "old school" kind of guy.)

Would it be possible to protect just the area of the scuff using either Opti-Seal or Opt-Coat 2.0. Blend it in a bit and then apply regular wax over this "repair" after the Seal or 2.0 has dried?

Again, I am not overly concerned about long term UV protection. If the clearcoat really "goes south", I'll have a repaint, but not until then.

Being a detailing forum, I’m pretty sure that some of you have experienced an “oops” like this...either of your own doing or someone else's.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Its very possible that whoever was buffing out the hood at the body shop could have gotten that spot a little too hot or something like that. Those things happen, especially if he was using a wool pad like most body shops do. Without seeing pics, thats just my guess from your description. It dont sound like its so much a case of the paint being burned down to the base, but more of the clear getting too hot in that area and kind of blistering. If thats the case, its fairly easy to repair. I personally dont have enough experience with Opti Coat to say weather or not it would fill it in, but Im sure others who do will chime in.
 
Forgot to mention the "scuff" is darn close to a "ridge" in the center of the hood. Very close to the "scuff" there is remains of a very small nib. The tech who was doing some nib removal with a very small diameter wool polisher may have "burned" the paint next to the nib. When the repaint was done, a coat and a half of high solid clearcoat was applied. There should have been plenty of clearcoat for correction.
 
Without seeing it I can only assume:

As mentioned before clear could be burned.

During prep they may have gone through the original clear and not caught it before clearing again.

Might have gone through the new clear.

Most shops will prep with a d/a it is very possible when nearing a curve on a body line to go through quickly. It will tend to be in the arc below the body line.

You can sometimes inspect with an
Incandescent bulb( desk lamp, etc) for a dull spot which would be the top layer. If it has depth And gloss it is underneath the clear.
 
The scuff was definitely dull. Pretty sure it is the top layer. Right now the hood has been waxed and it is really hard to find.

Like I mentioned earlier, there is a guarantee, but I just as soon not have the hood recleared for such a minor blem. When it comes to repaints "more is not general better". Heck, I've touched up scratches that were much worse than this scuff.

My main question is: Will a good coat of wax or sealant covering what may be basecoat keep the blem from getting worse? The truck is white. Again, it is almost impossible to find the blem. I found it only when I was looking for micromarring.
 
I agree they were paid to do it right and while it may not look bad now who knows in three years.
 
On several occasions my perfectionism has caused me considerable grief with repaints...all work done at high quality and expensive shops. One shop involved was was noted for its restoration/show car work. Most problems involved paint being eventually too thick, stripping to bare metal and not still getting it quite right, etc.

When this shop was doing the repair on this truck, they discovered that it is quite likely that the truck had been run through the factory paint booth twice. The tech doing the work found two layers of basecoat and clearcoat on at least the front fenders and hood. When the truck was delivered it had numerous nibs in the paint. I removed 79 of them. Yes, I checked the truck before I took delivery, but I looked at in daylight and the nibs did not show. Didn't notice them until I started claying the truck. (Sorry for getting off topic. I'm still PO'd about this. No more Ram trucks for me.)

I know the owner of the body shop personally. It's a state of the art shop with highly trained techs. I know that I'll be taken care of when/if I choose further repair to be made.

I know that at least a few members of this forum have sanded or buffed through clearcoat. I just wonder how minor damage has been handled and if wax/sealant over the blem will hold up...for at least a while. Heck, back in the days of single stage paint, I buffed through the paint to primer a couple times and just waxed the very thin paint remaining and the primer. However, I did trade the vehicles within a year or two.

Well so much for this bit of a rant. Again, the blem/scuff/burn is mighty small...1/8" by maybe 3/4", the paint is white and there may still be some factory clearcoat under the body shop clearcoat. Will a wax/sealant offer a bit of protection?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top