Taking It To The Mat - 3 Stage Job

[neileastmeadow]

ok ...sterling mist 2000 max .... silver if you ask me



had a few knicks and chips, so i got me the 000 hair brush, the touch up paint from dealer and 1200, 1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper from 3M. touched up ok but when i sand (wet) with the 2000 grit i think i burn the clearcoat or paint, i left a horrible dark bluish color on the spot.



what should i do? help.



greatly appreciated,



neil

[imported_Page]

Neil.

I think this might be your issue. When you used the 2000 grit, or any grade sandpaper for that matter, you "marred" the surface of the paint, obviously you would do that in order to remove the scratches etc. In order to rid yourself of the 2000 marks you will need to follow up with a nice rubbing compound. Many here on the board recommend Perfect It Fine Cut rubbing compound. It comes in a paste format in a jar. Most here HIGHLY recommend doing this by hand, NOT by machine(rotary or orbital). The rubbing compound will remove the "micro" scratches the 2000 grit has made in the paint. You will then need to follow up with a good quality polish (Pinnacle Paint Cleansing lotion, 3M Perfect IT Machine Glaze etc.) to remove the fine marks the rubbing compound will leave on the surface.


I too used 2000 grit to remove a spot of road paint that I could not remove with solvent. It left the very small patch I sanded very hazy looking, almost milky red(2001 Mustang, Laser Red paint). I have not had a chance to compound the spot yet...but plan to do so in about a week.

David B, moderator of Autopia has a thread on this subject..check it out below..
http://www.gotopia.net/


I would say use a good quality rubbing compound like 3M Perfect It rubbing compound paste on the area, by hand, working slowly in one direction only, and see if this helps your surface.

Keep in mind that you want to follow David B`s recommendations, you will remove a small portion of the clear, and so you want to be gentle in doing so.


SJ

[neileastmeadow]

i have the Perfect It Fine Cut rubbing compound and used that .... i did 3 spots and 2 came out great ... slight hazzy after sanding and i then used the Perfect It Fine Cut rubbing compound and it finished up very nice ... but one spot i think i sand too much into the piant and i have like a burnt mark there ... and cantget it off!!!!! even with the Perfect It Fine Cut rubbing compound



neil

[imported_Page]

Neil,



Where is the mark located, the one that you can`t get off? I was so scared to sand that my spot is located in an out of sight area behind my wheel flare. I have some areas I would like to sand a bit on the hood, but did not dare do it just yet.





If you can`t get the spot out...hmmm..I wonder about this. That 2000 grit paper, when wet, seemed to "bleed" a "dark" bluish color onto the paint a bit. After sanding, I sprayed pure Isoprophyl alcohol on it and wiped it off. This seemed to remove that "darkening` of the surface from the sanding. I don`t know, maybe the paper has a "dye" of some kind on it which colors the paint a bit. Again,not sure.



At any rate..I say if you can`t get the mark out with 3M perfect It, you may have to have a pro look at it.



Hmm...okay, have you tried this? Skip the 3M perfect It, and work on it with say just a light polish, 3M Swirl Remover/Pinnacle Paint cleansing lotion? I thought maybe a light paint cleaning might remove that dark color.



Sorry I can`t give any more specifics than that...Brad B, David B, Ron K any thoughts?

[imported_Page]

Neil,

Just another thought...have you checked out Autoint.com? They offer a series of articles on sanding, swirl removal etc. I thought that maybe these folks may have run into this situation before.


The address is www.autoint.com. Look under the TSB or tech tips area.

Another question. When you sanded, did you use any kind of lubricant on the surface? David B recommended using a car wash shampoo to lubricate the paint surface even while wet sanding. I did not do this(had`nt read his article yet) on the small spot I sanded, but I wonder if this use of/lack of lubricant on the paint surface has an effect on sanding?

Good luck

SJ

[neileastmeadow]

luckily its just a very small spot ... and waht i did to somewhat hide it is apply with a 000 brush a light coat of the touch up paint and boy its on the hood !! but its not too bad now ......



i am good at detailing and washing and cleaning ...but this touch up business i am not ... maybe i need more patience



thanks for your thoughts SJ



neil

[BradE]

neileastmeadow



A quick question for you. When you rub the Fine Cut Compound over the spot you can`t remove, does the color of your paint show up on your towel? Or does no color show up?

[imported_Page]

Neil,



Were you able to level out the paint spot you touched up? That has always been tricky for me. Read David B`s thread on chip and scratch repair under advanced detailing.(if you have not already done so).



I think he gives a very good idea of how to properly touch up a scratch/chip and obtain good results.



Neil,



You and me both buddy. My car is about 10 months old now, and I have a few very small chips on the front of my Mustang`s hood(damn rock trucks!) but I have been hesitant to touch them up too much. I thought, why make this thing look worse than it is? So I have just been polishing and Klassing the hood, and hopefully sealing those small chips out from the elements.





Let me know what you find out about removing that "haze" from the spot. I would like to know, as I plan to do a little more touch up work in the future.



SJ

[neileastmeadow]

paint color does not come off on cloth ..... was able to level the touch up spot ...but boy does it take time .. i think i applied too much pressure ....man this chips are a pain in the ass i tell ya ....



my advise .... polish the car and if the primer is showing leave it and just put a sealant on ... man ... time and patience i think are my two faults at this job ......

[BradE]

neileastmeadow,



Since the paint color does not come off on the towel, that means you did NOT go through the clearcoat. So, at least you got some good news

[neileastmeadow]

phew ..... at least i can now try to see if i can remove the mark ..most likely its what SJ said ... the dye or burnt mark from the sanding .....

[imported_gewb]

Taking It To The Mat - 3 Stage Job

Luster posted a survey about using a pressure washer...I recently purchased a 1600 psi "personal size" unit at Sam`s Club for $64 :biggrin: and decided to try it out.

Nelly (my `07 Sonata daily driver) has almost 105,000 miles on her and while the paint looks pretty good for her advanced miles, the front floor mats have taken a beating.

Actually, the drive side mat really is worn out, so why not try the pressure washer? If it trashes the mat, nothing lost.

The pressure washer made short work of this job and did a great job of rinsing the mats!

Mats were dried with a wet-dry vac then placed in the sun for an hour.

Certainly not "new" looking but not bad considering they should be replaced.

Regards,
GEWB


Getting Started
> 1600 psi washer
> Meg`s APC @ 6:1
> Mother`s scrub brush



Condition of Mats







Pressure Rinse Fan Pattern, about 12" away






50 / 50 Shot of Driver`s Mat




Pressure Rinse Complete






First UP: Meg`s APC @6:1












Next Up: Blue Magic Carpet Stain and Spot Lifter ($0.25 special close-out stuff)








Last Up: Blue Coral Upholstery Cleaner

[bmw5541]

Very nice results. For $64, it looks like a no brainer!:clap:

[imported_glfahlc]

you`ll really love that pressure washer when you put a foam cannon on it. nice turn around on the mats by the way...

[imported_gewb]

you`ll really love that pressure washer when you put a foam cannon on it. nice turn around on the mats by the way...

Thanks!

I thought about the foam canon, it actually came with one, but the air is usually waaaay too dry in Denver to use one outdoors - foam, APCs, water, polishes all dry very fast.

I love reading directions / suggestions like this: "Spray on and let it dwell (sit) for about two minutes..."

HA! Two minutes after application it is almost dry!

The humidity as I type this post is 11%...time for a cold wet one!

Regards,
GEWB