These jagoffs need to carpool off a cliff..

[Alexshimshimhae]

SO, Off the "Mean people suck" thread, instead of hijacking, I thought I`d make a separate thread.



My father`s Lexus was keyed in the hospital parking lot where he works and when he brought it up with the security staff, they said it happens all the time and that there`s nothing they can do about it (uhh....so I don`t really get what they`re getting paid for...)



Long story short, it`s undeserved and downright aggravating.



so let`s get to it Here are some pictures



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs155.ash2/41091_566927815638_68701646_32464515_3620108_n.jpg



http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs155.ash2/41079_566927850568_68701646_32464518_5599756_n.jpg



now its through the clear but not through the paint....m105 with orange ccs pad didn`t do anything....i`m assuming body shop job?(which i`m certain my father wont bother with) suggestions?

[howareb]

The real problem is the length of the scratch. While there are consumer products on the market that can fill the scratch and make it less noticable; with something that size, you are going to see it reguardless of how well you try to cover it. While you could attempt to wetsand it to smooth down the edges of the clear (which I would not suggest if you are a novice), a repaint is the only thing that will make it perfect again.

[Alexshimshimhae]

I already figured that repaint would be the likely remedy (because the morons who should`ve been swallowed; not birthed got through the clear for a whole panel) but if there was a way to make it REALLY hard to notice I`m all eyes...I was playing with the idea of researching on the whole wetsanding bit...esp since I`ll have a good while before I can do anything (got shoulder surgery) but i dunno if it`s worth it...

[howareb]

Well wetsanding, touchup clear, compounding, and polishing the scratch, will be your second best option. It will still be noticable, but nowhere near as noticable as it looks now.



If you have the patience and the time then it will be worth it. If you do not have the experience then do not bother, because you are going to stress yourself out looking for perfection. It is never worth it if you are going to stress yourself out. What is done, is done. Now we need to concentrate on how to fix it or put in an insurance claim. Either way life goes on and the car gets fixed, and hopefully security will be paying more attention next time.

[Alexshimshimhae]

well i don`t think my dad wants to deal with the boost in premium in going through the insurance and paying out of pocket is stupid expensive...I guess for now I`m just looking to see about minimizing the eyesore,



and as a very last resort i guess just dealing with it but trying to find the best way to keep it from getting worse by protecting it somehow (does just putting wax on it provide sufficient protection?)



My dad wants to fill it with touch up paint...and I`m thinking it`s going to prolly make it look worse, but at least that gap is filled and then it`ll be easier to cover it with wax?

[454Casull]

Try Dr. Color Chip or Langka.

[Alexshimshimhae]

these don`t seem to replace or actually patch the clear coat... I mean granted I saw a thread saying the only way to really fix the problem is to body shop it... hows the longevitiy on the color chip and langka?



on autogeek i see langka, dr color chip and 3m....wonder how each compares



sooo it seems as though these options are based on using touch up paint--but this doesn`t seem to have penetrated the paint--just the clear...though i`m not paint expert....soo should i still try to touch up paint (it`s a certainty that the paint won`t match the car) or is there some kind of clear coat thing that i can do?



my biggest issue is that i feel like which ever method i use--if it doesn`t work then i can`t exactly scrape it out and try it again...

[Accumulator]

Alexshimshimhae- Sorry to hear about this (and hope your shoulder heals up quickly).



While a pro redo is the best option by far, somebody here did an incredibly good job on a similar keyjob. I forget who it was or I`d point you in the right direction for a search...but what he did was outline the scratch with some very thin pinstriping tape and fill that area with clear, many coats over many days, until he finally got it built up higher than the surrounding factory paint. I can`t recall if he sanded it between coats or after he got it all built up but I sorta suspect the former otherwise it wouldn`t have occurred to me. IIRC, it took him about a week or so.



Then he wetsanded/compounded/polished and it came out great (well, as best one could tell over the internet ;) ). You *might* get OK results using Lankga insead.



If you don`t like how the clear works out, something like Langka will clean it right off. I`d give this a shot, but you will have to figure out how to get by with the car being off the road for a few days.



Since this isn`t through to the basecoat, I wouldn`t use the DRcolorchip stuff for this, and there`s no point in using Langka until you get a "blob" of touchup on there for it to work its magic on.

[Alexshimshimhae]

sooo....where should I pickup this clear? I tried a google search and got just a ton of random crap..



Sooo...should I have the Langka handy(seems like a stupid question but just wondering)



on man this is ganna be fun...

so i figure tape off,

TAW/IPA the crap out of that streak

apply clear with fine paint brush (i`ll try to rder one online i guess?)

and keep applying after it dries until it it`s over the scratch

order 3000 grit sandpaper/soak in warm water for 40 minutes and do it by hand? in between applications?



Cars isn`t a problem--he can just take the BMW..I just have to make sure the car`s indoors for a week then...should i tape a cheese cloth or something over it to ensure that it doesn`t get contaminated?

figure i

[Accumulator]

sooo....where should I pickup this clear? I tried a google search and got just a ton of random crap..



Paintscratch dot com or automotive touchup dot com or even DupliColor or something else sourced locally. I don`t think it`s all that critical what clear you use.




Sooo...should I have the Langka handy(seems like a stupid question but just wondering)



It`s nice to have on-hand.




on man this is ganna be fun...



Yeah, this is a pretty big undertaking to say the least. I suggest that you spend a few hours researching/thinking/planning; I`d want a lot more research under my belt that what I can provide you with. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MESS THIS UP.




so i figure tape off,

TAW/IPA the crap out of that streak



Clean it before you tape it off.


apply clear with fine paint brush (i`ll try to rder one online i guess?)



Not that critical to use a tiny brush IMO. Size it to more-or-less fit into the gouge.




and keep applying after it dries until it it`s over the scratch



Right, above the level of the surrounding factory paint.




order 3000 grit sandpaper/soak in warm water for 40 minutes and do it by hand? in between applications?



I really don`t know about sanding between coats. I`ve never done that and/but I can`t remember how guy who did this in that thread did his work :nixweiss First passes with something coarser, maybe 1500 or 2K. 3K is sooo mild I think I`d do just a bit with something coarser. BUt don`t mess up and sand off too much clear. Try to confine your sanding to the touchup, I`d do most of it with the tape still in place but you`ll need to do a little afterwards to "feather" the repair smoothly into the surrounding paint. Note that even 3K scratches in oe paint can be a huge PIA to correct, and I do mean huge.




Cars isn`t a problem--he can just take the BMW..I just have to make sure the car`s indoors for a week then...should i tape a cheese cloth or something over it to ensure that it doesn`t get contaminated?



Yeah, but watch the covering doesn`t touch the touchup paint. I`d probably use aluminum foil.

[Alexshimshimhae]

Yea I get especially paranoid when it comes to more permanent stuff so I`ll look into it thnx accum!

[Accumulator]

Alexshimshimhae- To be perfectly honest, if that happened to one of my "good" vehicles, I`d just pay to have it fixed by a pro (a very good pro).

[Alexshimshimhae]

I`d like to--but honestly it`s more money than I have and my dad`s kind of on the side of "just slap some touch up paint and leave it...I`m going to trade it in, in a couple years anyways" what`s likely to happen is i`m going to buy him a new car, and the lexus will then be mine....so WORST case scenario, there are gashes and scrapes on other areas, I think I`ll save up to have it reworked then but i imagine it`ll cost me a pretty penny (afaik, the more coats the deeper and better the color?) ...though I must say...IF i somehow get the money up to totally repaint the car...maybe I`ll go for something darker? xD

[Accumulator]

Alexshimshimhae- OK, now I get it; different people are different in their responses to this stuff. In that case, I`d go ahead and try to fix it.



ARGHH....wish I could remember who posted that thread about fixing similar damage! But the big idea is to confine your efforts to the small area that`s actually damaged. I`d get some 1500 and 3000 paper (you can *probably* skip an intermediate step with 2000 but it wouldn`t be a *bad* thing to do) and some clear.



Full repaints of decent quality cost many thousands, and a color-change on that car would probably be unreasonably involved/expensive (some cars are easy but I bet that Lexus isn`t one of `em). FWIW, I budget well over $5K for a same-color repaint, and my good painter only charges $30-some an hour ;)

[Alexshimshimhae]

I think you and I are thinking of hte same post because I was looking for that for a while lol he really did an amazing job..also apparently not sanding it first helped out a bit or something?



Yea, i think the color change is more of a wishful thinking than it is a viable option lol (i figure honestly, at the cost of a new paint job, I might as well just trade it in and buy a new car)



I will give the clear coat fix a try though most likely in the spring (have too much going on atm)

The gouge is maybe a mm or two wide (looks keyed) and I took another close look at it, and I`m not sure if they took a bit of paint with it.... but they definitely didn`t get through the paint (thank goodness)



SOOO looks like I`ll need a fine brush to get into it



Steps are looking to be:

Dawn/taw wash

clay

tape

Paint in/dry/cure and repeat as many times as possible though i`m thinking instead of sanding maybe I`ll just try to lightly qtip dab the outer areas, and maybe a light wetsand if i get alot out (which then i`d prolly have to retape after the sanding)



when it`s a bit over, figure I`ll 3k/2k/1k grit (megs? or does it matter?)

orange lc ccs 105

orange lc ccs 205

black lc ccs 205

IPA

915



Sound good? ETTC, ummm...1 week? lol

I have po85rd, and I forgot why I bought it *sheepish look* I know I bought it for a reason but since it was expensive I haven`t yet and now i forgot why I bought it lol....