Wetsand through clear coat?

[jcwouts]

Any help in this mistake would be greatly appreciated. The car in question is a 2001 honda civic



I decided to wetsand over some rock chips that I had filled with touch up paint. I let the paint cure for 24 hours and then wetsanded them down with 2000 and then 2500 grit 3M wet/dry. The other 4 that I fixed came out good but this one not so much. I tried to wetsand it even and then tried to buff it out using M105 and a 4' orange LC pad. But the blot still remains and the surounding area I can't buff out.



Is that clear coat failure or can the marks be buffed out with a rotary? I made about only 10 passes with the 2000 and about another 6 passes with the 2500.

 

[brwill2005]

Hard to tell by the picture. I will say it can be difficult to completely polish out sanding scratches even with a rotary, let alone an orbital. Given the area in question, usually the paint is thinner in those areas because of the geometry.

 

[Honda Tool]

Looks like your through the clear to me.

 

[Aekon]

same thing happened to me while wet sanding. just gotta accept it and move on

 

[Bert]

same thing happened to me while wet sanding. just gotta accept it and move on

What did you do, have a painter touch up the spot with an airbrush or just live with the burn through?

 

[imported_Picus]

http://www.autopia.org/forum/attach...41841-wetsand-through-clear-coat-p8240007.jpg



That's clear coat failure.

 

[jcwouts]

That's what I thought but just wanted to make sure. Thanks for all the input! I guess I will chalk this one up to a 'lesson learned'.

 

[Dsoto87]

Definitely went through the clear.



Did this on my own car. I just live with it for now since my car is a DD. Just take it as a learning experience.



I doubt anyone but you will notice it, unless your entering in to some show or something.

 

[jcwouts]

Dsoto87.....After this happened on your car, did the spot spread? I'm just wondering if I should look at getting a respray done soon. I guess I'll just put some extra layers of Klasse SG and hope it doesn't get any worse.

 

[Barry Theal]

Dsoto87.....After this happened on your car, did the spot spread? I'm just wondering if I should look at getting a respray done soon. I guess I'll just put some extra layers of Klasse SG and hope it doesn't get any worse.

that's a burn. the spot won't spread. its gonna be thin around it. if your gonna do future polishing just put some masking tape over that spot

 

[Dsoto87]

Dsoto87.....After this happened on your car, did the spot spread? I'm just wondering if I should look at getting a respray done soon. I guess I'll just put some extra layers of Klasse SG and hope it doesn't get any worse.

It happened to me over a month ago and I havent seen it get any worse. To be honest though Im not experienced enough to tell you what can happen if you leave it with no clear coat. Maybe someone else can chime in.



I doubt it would affect the surrounding CC. Im guessing the worst that can happen is oxidation on the color coat.



I just seal it regularly along with the rest of the car.



Heres my thread. If you want to try and fix it yourself, theres a lot of good advice that people gave me in there.

 

[Flashtime]

Lacquer touch up paint isn't the same as what on there. It does NOT sand the same.

And in order to bring level up, multiple applications are necessary over a long

period. The solids content is very low; probably less than 10%. So, much of that

paint is solvent and takes a while to fully evaporate/dry out.



Also, because it takes so long to dry (not cure), you're sanding relatively fresh

paint (you should have noticed that it was bit gummy). And with 2000 grit, you're

working harder to level it; the reason why you went through.



Next time - if there is a next time - apply your touch up paint every few days.

Do this over a few weeks and allow it to dry out. Tape around it, and start with

something a bit courser like 1000.



In a short while, you'll see just how much solvent has evaporated and how little

paint is left over. There will be next to nothing.

 

[jcwouts]

that's a burn. the spot won't spread. its gonna be thin around it. if your gonna do future polishing just put some masking tape over that spot

Thanks for chiming in. That's exactly what I was looking to hear Barry!

 

[jcwouts]

It happened to me over a month ago and I havent seen it get any worse. To be honest though Im not experienced enough to tell you what can happen if you leave it with no clear coat. Maybe someone else can chime in.



I doubt it would affect the surrounding CC. Im guessing the worst that can happen is oxidation on the color coat.



I just seal it regularly along with the rest of the car.



Heres my thread. If you want to try and fix it yourself, theres a lot of good advice that people gave me in there.

Thanks again for the reply and the link. Hopefully your fix goes well. Good luck

 

[jcwouts]

Lacquer touch up paint isn't the same as what on there. It does NOT sand the same.

And in order to bring level up, multiple applications are necessary over a long

period. The solids content is very low; probably less than 10%. So, much of that

paint is solvent and takes a while to fully evaporate/dry out.



Also, because it takes so long to dry (not cure), you're sanding relatively fresh

paint (you should have noticed that it was bit gummy). And with 2000 grit, you're

working harder to level it; the reason why you went through.



Next time - if there is a next time - apply your touch up paint every few days.

Do this over a few weeks and allow it to dry out. Tape around it, and start with

something a bit courser like 1000.



In a short while, you'll see just how much solvent has evaporated and how little

paint is left over. There will be next to nothing.

Thanks for the detailed advice, I still have some spots to touch up so I'll give it some more time to dry and try some coarser paper.

 

[Mike_Phillips]

That's not clear coat failure, clear coat failure is when the clearcoat deteriorates over time due to exposure to the sun, inclement weather and lack of regular maintenance.



When you see a light color like that it's usually a sign you sanded and/or sanded and then buffed through the clear layer.



I've been telling people for years this is usually what will happen when you try to do this kind of touch-up paint repair, sorry to see it happened to you.



Factory clear coats are thin and the sanding process removes paint and the buffing process removes paint and there's not a lot of paint to work with in the first place.



If you continue working that area that little patch will just grow and grow as you remove more and more clear at the edge of the damage.



Be careful, you can get into a cycle where more and more work to that area won't result in better and better results.



Ouch!

 

[Flashtime]

This was my first (probably last) temporary key scratch repair for a friend.

Several applications over a 2 weeks (i think)... It's been over a year now.

Still looks good but much of the paint/solvent is gone. He knows, eventually,

all three panels needs to be repaired/refinished...



3M vinyl tape (it's the thinnest i have):

Stiff small Plexiglas with 1000 and 1500:

Being careful and trying to level the touch up paint only.

Once it's nearly leveled with 1000 using the edge of the block,

i sand further with 1500 til it's leveled. Very time consuming...

Polishing...

When i see him again, i'll post up more pics...

 

[Flashtime]

Update:

Took these yesterday and it's about a year later. The paint is completely dry

and although the scratches are still there (gotta look up close), it looks

pretty damn good. Not bad for 10+ hours.



The clear protective film was done at the dealership ($800). Very ugly...

 

[jcwouts]

Update:

Took these yesterday and it's about a year later. The paint is completely dry

and although the scratches are still there (gotta look up close), it looks

pretty damn good. Not bad for 10+ hours.



The clear protective film was done at the dealership ($800). Very ugly...

For how bad it was when you started, it looks amazing. You can barely see it. Good job and thanks for posting up those pics. I guess I will have to take my time for my next wetsanding experience and try starting off with a 1000 grit.



Sometimes you have to learn the hard way.

 

[ianrayburn]

Just a question from someone who is about to try some chip repair. After you are satisfied with the repair with the paint, should you not then spray (same area) with clearcoat? Or did I miss this?