Wet sanding gone horribly wrong!

S

shumax

New member
I have been battling two chips on my car for a few days. I finally got them smooth, but managed to just now sand down to the primer a spot about the size of a pin head. On the other side, I sanded it down to the point the paint thinned out and you can see black under it.



I have done this before and never had issues -- 2000 grit and wet sand the blob off, etc. Obviously I got too aggressive with it and now have two spots that I don't know what to do with. One on the passengers door; one on the drivers rear fender. Car is a Honda S2000 with 6,000 original miles.



Is this something that requires a complete repaint of the panel? Is so, on average, what is that going to cost? Or, could it be handled by an airbrush wizard? If so, on average, what does that cost?



See shots below --- I put a quarter next to the spots to give you some perspective:



This is right above the passengers door handle -- completely down to the primer.

DSC00834.jpg




This is the spot on the drivers rear fender -- this shot just shows thin paint. You can see primer under it where I sanded a bit too much:

DSC00832.jpg
 
That sucks, I wetsanded a Civic once and went through the clear, the paint is very soft!!



As for your problem, I don't have enough experience to help you out, sorry.
 
Not only soft, but also very thin. I'm sorry to hear this happened. I don't think there's anything you can do other than a repaint of that panel.
 
Is it something you think could be airbrushed and faded in? If not, what does a panel repaint normally go for at a "good" shop? I have two panels to do...



Gosh am I ever upset right now!
 
I have the kind that comes in the bottle with the brush -- that's part of what got me where I am. I was thinking of buying an aerosol can of mixed paint and trying it. Then again, I'm not sure I could get it to look 100% and I'm anal about these things.



Thanks!
 
shumax said:
I have the kind that comes in the bottle with the brush -- that's part of what got me where I am. I was thinking of buying an aerosol can of mixed paint and trying it. Then again, I'm not sure I could get it to look 100% and I'm anal about these things.



Thanks!
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You are going to end up with a bigger mess - bite the bullet and let the body shop fix it right!!!
 
Since a full panel repaint may be on the table anyway, why not try and touch it up yourself....?



You've got nothing to lose.....It's a very small repair and who knows, you just may surprise yourself......



Good luck......:xyxthumbs
 
Dave1 said:
Since a full panel repaint may be on the table anyway, why not try and touch it up yourself....?



You've got nothing to lose.....It's a very small repair and who knows, you just may surprise yourself......



Good luck......:xyxthumbs
Click to expand...





that's good advice:bigups
 
shumax said:
Is it something you think could be airbrushed and faded in? If not, what does a panel repaint normally go for at a "good" shop? I have two panels to do...



Gosh am I ever upset right now!
Click to expand...

This is what I did for mine. You'll need to get some paint from a body shop and then use an air brush to touch it up. I started with very light coats and did a bunch of coats. I topped it with an OTC clear and then blended everything. BTW, I sanded the area around the small spot before repainting. Check out some of the auto paint forums for better instruction.



It won't cost you much to try it yourself, so what do you have to loose but a little time. If this doesn't work, you need to find someone that specializes in spot repair and painting. When I had some deep gauges from my neighbor backing into my car, I just didn't feel comfortable doing it myself (plus my neighbor was paying). I called my guy at the dealer and he referred me to the shop they use. Instead of the $450 quote I got from the other body shop, he charged me $200 and the job looked great. My damage was 3 or 4 deep gauges about a 1/4 inch deep, 1/4 inch wide and 2 or 3 inches long in an area the size of your palm..



Good Luck!
 
same thing happened to me on my driver door panel. im going to get it done by a shop. just procrastinating because of school (too car dependant)
 
I agree with the above poster. Look at this as an opportunity to try something new. You really have nothing to loose at this point.



I understand your frustration. I too have done this before with my first attempt at wet sanding; granted it wasn't on a 6K mi S2000.
 
Well, now you did it!!!!LOL Sorry about your delima. Just my .02, you will probably be better served having a professional do the painting, assuming you have not attemped painting before. First off, to get paint to match, you will need to go to a body supply store and then you will PROBABLY find out the smallest amount of paint you can buy is one qt. Then assuming the car is clear coated, you will need to buy some clear along with the paint reducer etc etc etc. About this time you will have spent probably $100. dollars +, Not sure if you have seen the price of paint, but just to give you an example, I spent $90. just for a qt of red paint (unfortunately for me, red is one of the more expensive colors). Pesonally, I would go with having the entire hood repainted, it really is not that much more work assuming it is in good condition. My guess would be anywhere from $300 to $500 for the painting from a shop. Big spread I know, shop around BUT, make sure the shop you go to is a GOOD reputable shop. Best of luck, just be careful with the hand sanding, as stated above, the clear coat on these cars are not very thick.
 
I see that you are in Illinois, RWH. Where at? I'm near Naperville.



The areas impacted are the passengers door and the drivers rear fender. Are you saying $300-$500 for both areas, or each?



Thanks for the input!
 
Wet sanding isn't really a good idea on factory paint. Usually they only put 2 coats on it and it isn't very thick. Really your only option is to blend it in. You can get a small amount of paint and and spray over the ares that you sanded through. After that let the paint dry and take a tack cloth and wipe over the entire area and re-clear the whole panel. That is the correct way to do it. Talk to the customer and let them know that the clear is not very thick on the car and it may need to be re-cleared.
 
As for the paint and clear, most body shops can mix their own paint. You would just have to take it to carquest or some place like that and get them to shoot the original paint with their scanner and get the mixing code. I know around here I can get paint mixed in half pints. The clear is a different story. I know dupont sells in quarts and actually they sell their chromaclear in a spray can. If you think you could do the touchup with an airbrush, you might be able to just use the spray can clear and then blend it all together with a little sanding and compounding. I wouldn't really recommend this but it may work out for you. It would definately be your cheapest way out.
 
based on my experience with s2000 in the past I have done a red one, my friend's and it seems that the paint is very thin at the same time the red didn't seem to have a clear coat at all because paint was coming off even on a really light polish with a PC.



Just a heads up to watch out for in the future...
 
Can some of you give me an idea of what type of cost I am looking at? I realize it varies, but I'm dying to know and it's Sunday and everyone is closed:)



It's the passengers door --right above the handle. I polished it this morning and all that is left is a spot less than the size of an eraser head that is down to the primer. The paint is flat, swirl free, etc. Trouble is that there is now a "low" spot because the paint and clear is gone. It catches my eye in the sun as you can see the "dip" in the paint.



The drivers rear fender is about the size of a dime --slightly less. It's still red, but so thin that you can see the primer below it. Same deal with the "low" spot.



I'm concerned with a repaint. Very candidly, I'm so particular that I've never seen one done "right." They always tape everything up and then there are lines up against the trim, or the clear coat chips later, etc. I want the trim pulled and the bumper removed so they aren't taping to the line / gap where the fender meets the bumper in the rear.



I don't want to be a ***** about it when I have the work done, but I really want it done right.



Thoughts on how I should approach, or any input? Thanks guys!

Shumax
 
It will be hard to say the cost of the re-paint. Different locations charge different prices. Here, for a total repaint, not including a thorough buffing, just removing any trash that may get in it, I would say probably around $800-$1000 Of course blending the panels would be cheaper, but if as you have already realized, the clear and paint aren't very thick so why not just do an all over and not run the risk of burning through again? When you go talk to someone about it, tell them what you are expecting it to look like when they are done. If they can't do it the way you want, take it somewhere else. Another thing you can try is going by the shop and talking to them about it, and just say something like, "I don't know much about paint work but I guess you just tape off all the moulding and door handles and spray it?" and see what their reply is. What you want them to say is, "No, we take the door handles off and remove all moulding and anything else that needs to be removed" As for being a ***** about it, you should be. You are spending your hard earned money on it. Also find out if they are recommended by insurance companies. I'll be honest with you, you usually get a pretty good job done if you take it to a dealership to get it done. Everything has to be right when it leaves the shop, or I know it is around here. I wish you lived down here, I know a few people that would do you right.
 
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