removing over spray (clear coat)

[imported_tuffluck]

so i told the body shop they got thick overspray all over the back of my car. they said they will just use a compound that will take it right off without taking off the actual (good) clear coat of my car. what would they use to do this? they also got it on the body under my spoiler...should i have them go to the trouble of taking off my spoiler and getting the overspray off, or should i just have them get the main parts?

[imported_kgb]

so i told the body shop they got thick overspray all over the back of my car. they said they will just use a compound that will take it right off without taking off the actual (good) clear coat of my car. what would they use to do this? they also got it on the body under my spoiler...should i have them go to the trouble of taking off my spoiler and getting the overspray off, or should i just have them get the main parts?

They`ll use a heavy compound and a high speed and leave you with a nice swirly car after you wash it a few times and their glaze comes off.

[Accumulator]

This is similar to what`s being discussed on another thread, seems like there`s a lot of overspray going around these days :(



If you let them do it they should absolutely take the spoiler off.



I wonder why they wouldn`t use an overspray clay, *then* a compound, then a milder polish. That would be the normal way to deal with this.



BTW, I sympathize with kgb`s "they`ll botch it up!" warning since a decent shop never would`ve let this happen in the first place. This sort of thing really is a "worse than a first try in high school autoshop" type of screw-up. Make sure you know what they`re planning to do (including specific products, etc.) before you let them do anything.

[David Fermani]

They`ll use a heavy compound and a high speed and leave you with a nice swirly car after you wash it a few times and their glaze comes off.

I agree with this. I did interior details for a few body shops and I was amazed with the product that they put out. Just lack of respect for quality. Some overspray is unavoidable, but it should be cleaned up properly before that final product goes to the customer.

[imported_tuffluck]

I agree with this. I did interior details for a few body shops and I was amazed with the product that they put out. Just lack of respect for quality. Some overspray is unavoidable, but it should be cleaned up properly before that final product goes to the customer.



i`d rather take it off myself...how would i go about doing that? i tried using the claybar...it took some of it off, but not all of it. also, using a claybar that hard can causes mild scratches too.

[imported_tuffluck]

the problem i have is letting a body shop clean up a mistake that they made, when the mistake was elementary in the first place. that only goes to show you they`re likely to make another mistake on the clean-up.



i found cats had played on my car this morning, too. the hood is scratched pretty deeply, half of the spoiler, the OTHER quarter panel, and the roof. it looks pretty bad. i can barely feel it with my finger nail. any chance on getting it out without messing up the clear coat?



can i leave the existing paint job on my car and get the clear coat resprayed, or is that not possible? i`ve had my car for 2 years now, kept it detailed to finess for the last 1.5, and honestly, i`ve never been so frustrated with it overall before. and all of this is not my fault. a keyed car, a bad repaint job, overspray, and now cat scratches everywhere.



if there is no cheap solution, i am seriously considering just selling my car. i have put a lot of time and money into my car, so i really don`t want to do that, but i just have stress in too many other parts of my life right now to have this bring me down further.



let me know what you guys have in mind for solutions, if there are any.

[Accumulator]

tuffluck- The Meg`s overspray clay is something like c2100; there was a thead on MOL where Superior Shine got some really nasty overspray off with it and hardly got any marring. Some, but nothing a little work wouldn`t get out.



Reclearing a large area (as opposed to just a blending of a spot repair) isn`t something to realistically consider. And you`re not having good luck with bodyshops as it is.



Those scratches sound nasty. It could be that if you do remove them you`ll thin the clear too much for long term longevity. I don`t think it`d fail right away, but I`d still be concerned. Almost as concerned as I am that you`re getting too much frustration from your recent experiences with that car ;)



You know, from the sound of your post I *would* consider selling it! Life is short and as soon as something like this ceases to be fun (and starts to be another source of stress), I`d say to move on if you can afford to. The effort you put into the current car is experience towards one that doesn`t have issues you don`t want to deal with, so no loss there. Been there, sold that, no regrets at all.

[imported_tuffluck]

Almost as concerned as I am that you`re getting too much frustration from your recent experiences with that car ;)



sadly enough, i can say that the car is the least of my stresses right now, although it`s causing quite a bit. i just don`t have the time to have yet another source of high stress; it`s not healthy.



i imagine if i sold my car, i wouldn`t buy anything at all until i got an apartment that had a garage for me. i also know that i currently have 2 cars, and the camaro never even gets driven because a. i work too much, and b. i get pissed off it looks how it does when i get in it.



thanks for your post, i do appreciate the advice. where can i get some meg`s overspray clay?

[Accumulator]

Truly hope you get some relief from the [stuff] that`s stressing you. And that you don`t let cars contribute to them ;) We Autopians sometimes act like our vehicles are really *important* in the grand scheme of things :rolleyes



For the clay, I`d either call around to autobody/paint supply places or just order from Meguiar`s online. I bet *some* supply place will have *some* kind of overspray clay. The body/paint shops around you are getting it from some local source. Since you`ll be dealing with the cat scratches anyhow I wouldn`t worry about it marring things.

[imported_tuffluck]

Truly hope you get some relief from the [stuff] that`s stressing you. And that you don`t let cars contribute to them ;) We Autopians sometimes act like our vehicles are really *important* in the grand scheme of things :rolleyes



For the clay, I`d either call around to autobody/paint supply places or just order from Meguiar`s online. I bet *some* supply place will have *some* kind of overspray clay. The body/paint shops around you are getting it from some local source. Since you`ll be dealing with the cat scratches anyhow I wouldn`t worry about it marring things.



i`ll do that. i still have to deal with the body shop to some extent more than likely, since my door is still changing colors, and they need to fix the bad paint job they did.



as for the cat, i hope it won`t get back on the car (any remedy? i`ve heard a cup of amonia sitting under the car will help). and hopefully the PC will be able to provide some sort of solution. i probably won`t give it a shot until i can secure a garage; and that`s assuming i don`t sell the car first.

[David Fermani]

i`d rather take it off myself...how would i go about doing that? i tried using the claybar...it took some of it off, but not all of it. also, using a claybar that hard can causes mild scratches too.

I have run into heavy overspray caused by bodyshops that required light sanding(4000 grit) to remove. Alot of times when overspray gets baked on in the booth it`s almost impossible to remove with claying. Not matter how much you clay, you can still see a faint residue on top of the finish. If clay doen`t work in your case, 4000 grit sandpaper is the safest next best step IMHO. It`s easy to work with and does not require compounding to remove the light marks made.

[Scottwax]

I had a customer with a similar problem. Heavy clear coat overspray all over his black truck. Clay was not working very quickly. Took several minutes to clear an area the size of a volleyball. I remembered when talking to Everett Glass at Clearkote that he had mentioned his compound was great on heavy overspray. Using Clearkote Compound and a Meguiars cutting pad, I finished the entire roof of the truck in less than 10 minutes. Very minimal marring from the Meg`s burgandy cutting pad, Meguiars #80 easily took care of it.

[Accumulator]

Yeah, if the overspray has actually become one with the underlying paint you will be looking at using either wetsanding or a compound. I`d still try the OS clay first in case you get lucky.



No idea on the cat repellent...our cat doesn`t jump on the cars and the other ones in the neighborhood stay away as they`re afraid of our dogs :D

[imported_tuffluck]

I had a customer with a similar problem. Heavy clear coat overspray all over his black truck. Clay was not working very quickly. Took several minutes to clear an area the size of a volleyball. I remembered when talking to Everett Glass at Clearkote that he had mentioned his compound was great on heavy overspray. Using Clearkote Compound and a Meguiars cutting pad, I finished the entire roof of the truck in less than 10 minutes. Very minimal marring from the Meg`s burgandy cutting pad, Meguiars #80 easily took care of it.



so you used the meg pad and #80 and that`s it? or a compound in addition?

[David Fermani]

the problem i have is letting a body shop clean up a mistake that they made, when the mistake was elementary in the first place. that only goes to show you they`re likely to make another mistake on the clean-up.



Also keep this in mind: If you let the body shop fix the problem and swirls do appear, they might try pinning them on you because you mentioned you would try to fix it 1st. It might be a loose-loose situation. There obviously going to see the areas that partially got removed from you. Some crappy shops like to push off blame onto others if they get the chance. Just watch out.