Wet sanding gone horribly wrong!

[shumax]

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.


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:

[davis98]

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.

[JDookie]

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.

[shumax]

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!

[PhilStatic]

You could always buy the matching touch up paint and try blending it in yourself.

[shumax]

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!

[DennisH]

Originally Posted by shumax

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!

You are going to end up with a bigger mess - bite the bullet and let the body shop fix it right!!!

[Dave1]

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......

[LangMan37]

Originally Posted by Dave1

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......

that's good advice

[robertrinaustin]

Originally Posted by shumax

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!

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!

[meroving1an]

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)

[J.J.]

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.