What the heck is happening here? (Paint touch up)

B

BuffMe

New member
So, I did about 4 applications of "blobs" of paint using a toothpick and letting the capillary action (using duplicolor spray paint that the customer supplied, I sprayed it into a cup until enough liquid had accumulate to dip the toothpick) fill in the scratch in this area. After a day of drying, I wet sanded until it was flush with the car and now it looks like this.



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I know it looks like it's down to the primer in that area from the pictures, but in person it's just a really dull area that I can't bring back to a shine. Any idea what is going on here? What do I need to do to correct this?
 
I finished off with 2000, then buffed it back to shine with SIP/orange (or Meguiars' #105 in some areas where necessary) which is more than enough for 2000 grit.



So, I should just reapply and start over again?
 
You definitely sanded off the clearcoat and basecoat and have exposed primer.



Thin out your paint with thinner and apply one light coat with a brush and stop. Don't bother with wetsanding and buffing at this point...you'll just make things worse.
 
It looks like the clear is gone in a circle around the spot where the primer is showing, too. That's going to be a tough fix. I'd add color to the primer'd area then add clear to an area around it at least 3-4x the size of the current area without color; then sand lightly and buff, and hope you don't keep taking off the clear around that area.
 
erics00ls said:
i'd be furious..
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Thanks for the advice. You're a great addition to Autopia :rolleyes:



I already put another layer on top and am just gonna lightly sand it down and buff it back. It obviously won't be flush but it will be the best I can do with it at this point. Not sure how that happened, but oh well. You live and learn. Of course the customer will not be charged and I will compensate him for the error. Thanks for the advice, everyone.
 
Let us know how it turns out. I was planning on doing the same thing on the mini-van where the kids bikes have scrapped the side. I've seen some good work done in the click and brags and now I'm worried looking at your problem spot.
 
Please don't judge the difficulty based on this post. I like to post up mistakes that I make in hopes of others learning from them, along with myself, but they are certainly not meant to discourage. Hopefully you can take what I have learned, and will learn tomorrow when I make another attempt, and avoid this type of thing when performing your touch-up.



I will make sure and report back my findings from tomorrow's work.
 
Yep clear is gone. Seems a lot of touch up posts have been coming up lately. Well thing to learn here is the easiest way to deal with chips is to fill with glazing putty, then carefully wet sand flat, then paint using your q tip, or preferably an airbrush, that way damage is kept to a minimal. Sanding to feather a car with a clear base and primer for just a chip only enlarges the area you need to paint. And can lead to the problem seen here.
 
Well, I requested help from fellow members in the regional CA forum. Hopefully someone can help me out on this.
 
BuffMe said:
Hopefully someone can help me out on this.
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keep us posted on the results. i was gonna try this same thing on my daughter's 1998 jeep - i already have three coats of touch up paint and was gonna wet sand this w/e. now i'm getting cold feet.



maybe i'll drive by an auto body shop and see if i can purchase a scrap panel to experiment on. anyone know how much i should expect to pay?
 
haper said:
.. i was gonna try this same thing on my daughter's 1998 jeep - i already have three coats of touch up paint and was gonna wet sand this w/e. now i'm getting cold feet...
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IMO the big trick with wetsanding is to be more gentle/cautious than you think is necessary. Don't let the paper touch much except the new paint and be prepared to settle for "better" as opposed to "much better" (let alone perfect and this includes leveling the new paint too). Inspect your work *frequently* even if that means every few strokes, and remember that subsequent compounding/polishing to remove the sanding scratches will take off even *more* paint.



Oh, and I'd sure use Meg's Unigrit/Nikken or Mirka paper as opposed to the commonly available 3M (yeah, it can make all the difference as some 3M paper is pretty bad).



OR...take the safe route and just use Langka (available under various brandnames these days). With it, the worst you'll do is completely remove the touchup and have to start over- nothing lost but time.



maybe i'll drive by an auto body shop and see if i can purchase a scrap panel to experiment on. anyone know how much i should expect to pay?
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They oughta give 'em to you for free as they have to pay to have them carted off by the trash company; you'd be freeeing up space in their dumpster...heh heh, they really oughta pay *you* :D
 
Accumulator said:
IMO the big trick with wetsanding is to be more gentle/cautious than you think is necessary.
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thanks for all the tips. i'm conservative by nature and i have unigrit already on order so i'm good to go. i also tried the langka process and wasn't pleased w/ the result that's why i decided to try wet sanding.
 
Well, it looks like I'm going to get it fixed professionally. There is not much I, nor a fellow detailer local to me, can do with this.



While it was not made apparent to me that this type of mistake can so easily happen in the threads I read about touching up paint, I'm hoping this thread can help others thinking of doing this to learn from my mistake(s) without have to experience it themselves. It's a sickening feeling to have done this to someone else's car and I still lay awake at night thinking about it. If this thread can help even one person avoid that, I will be happy(er).
 
haper- OK, sounds like you have the right mindset going into this. And this thread has probably scared you into being *extra* conservative, which is good :D



BuffMe- I'm really glad you posted this stuff :xyxthumbs It takes [guts] to admit you messed up, and too many internet experts make it sound like wetsanding is idiot-proof. I too hope you've saved somebody from going through the same thing, and I see it as something positive that's come from your misfortune.
 
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