Please help me... I think I screwed my car`s finish!

[Matthew_84]

Hello all,



I drive a 2011 Jeep Patriot with a metallic black finish. I scraped one of the door handles today (which is made of metal like the rest of the Jeep`s body). The scrape was pretty large, and being new to this stuff, I didn`t know how far it went through. I was panicking, and anxious to restore it back to normal. I saw a bunch of posts of people recommending using a rubbing compound, and finally I watched some clips of Turtle Wax`s Polishing Compound, and it seemed to work miracles. I went out in a hurry bought it and applied it.



Now the scrape is a bit better (it`s about 1.5" long and 1/8" wide), but the finish of the door handle is duller than the rest of the body. I have called the dealer and they have the same colour touch-up paint available (though I don`t know if it will have the metallic bits). At this point, I`m not so worried about filling up the scrape (it does go in a bit, and may even be down to the primer), even though that would be a huge bonus. But really, I`m so worried about what I`ve done that I`d be happy just putting the touch-up paint in the scrape, and bringing the finish back up to par with the rest of the car.



Now I don`t know what I should do. If I put in the touch-up paint and then applied some wax would that be sufficient? Would the new paint look different beside the dull finish? Should I apply some wax first to bring the finish back up and then apply paint in the scrape? Could the clear-coat be screwed, and should I spray on some clear-coat first before doing anything?



I feel like I should take it to a pro, but I really don`t have the money for that right now so any tips to make it better myself would be hugely appreciated,



Thanks,



Matt

[RaskyR1]

Hello all,



I drive a 2011 Jeep Patriot with a metallic black finish. I scraped one of the door handles today (which is made of metal like the rest of the Jeep`s body). The scrape was pretty large, and being new to this stuff, I didn`t know how far it went through. I was panicking, and anxious to restore it back to normal. I saw a bunch of posts of people recommending using a rubbing compound, and finally I watched some clips of Turtle Wax`s Polishing Compound, and it seemed to work miracles. I went out in a hurry bought it and applied it.



Now the scrape is a bit better (it`s about 1.5" long and 1/8" wide), but the finish of the door handle is duller than the rest of the body. I have called the dealer and they have the same colour touch-up paint available (though I don`t know if it will have the metallic bits). At this point, I`m not so worried about filling up the scrape (it does go in a bit, and may even be down to the primer), even though that would be a huge bonus. But really, I`m so worried about what I`ve done that I`d be happy just putting the touch-up paint in the scrape, and bringing the finish back up to par with the rest of the car.



Now I don`t know what I should do. If I put in the touch-up paint and then applied some wax would that be sufficient? Would the new paint look different beside the dull finish? Should I apply some wax first to bring the finish back up and then apply paint in the scrape? Could the clear-coat be screwed, and should I spray on some clear-coat first before doing anything?



I feel like I should take it to a pro, but I really don`t have the money for that right now so any tips to make it better myself would be hugely appreciated,



Thanks,



Matt



The Turtle Wax compound is pretty aggressive and it`s possible it`s just hazed the paint and needs to be followed up with a lighter polish. Pick up some Meguiar`s Ultimate Compound and maybe even some Ultimate polish and try follow it up with them. A pic would help big time too.



FWIW, I think the door handles are plastic, or at least some other non-metal material that won`t rust.

[911fanatic]

As Chad said, the door handle is dull because of the rubbing compound you used to get rid of the scratch. Get a finer polish as suggested and that should bring the shine back. No worries.:)

[Nth Degree]

A pro should be able to assess and improve this for you for a relatively small amount, as it is a small part. If you can afford a 2011 Jeep, you should be able to afford this small correction. If you are worried, then best to not make the situation worse.



FWIW, this is exactly why I tell my customers to call me with any issues before they try to take care of it themselves. It`s not so I can charge them for it, but to prevent turning a small problem into a bigger one.

[Matthew_84]

I just ran out and took some photos... It doesn`t look as bad as I had remembered, but I did see it later in the night last night and there was HUGE difference in reflection between this handle and the one in front of it. Chad you are right, the handle is plastic, it just has the same finish as the rest of the body. Thanks for pointing that out, else I wouldn`t have checked.





Here`s the photo`s:



http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/510/dscn1336z.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/14/dscn1336z.jpg/)



http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8165/dscn1345r.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/18/dscn1345r.jpg/)



So, should I just polish her up and bring her shine back, or should I try and put in some touch-up paint in there first? My feeling is that I should just bring up the shine, and bring it into a detailer to restore the paint if I decide to do so.



Thanks everyone,



Matt

[Matthew_84]

Hi guys,



So I got a better look at it when the sun rose, and I can clearly see scratches from the TW compound and myself, and knowing it`s plastic, the scrape is certainly deep and penetrated into the plastic and gauged it.



I called the dealership and they sad to install a new door handle, with it painted and coated to match it would cost about $250.00. I`ll bring it into another shop later, but would $250 be comparable to what I`d expect a detail shop to charge?



Thanks,



Matt

[danponjican]

Replacing the handle is certainly the best option to make it 100% but I think you would be impressed with what a detailer could do to refinish the handle for much less money. If I were doing it, I would fill the deep scratches / scrapes with touch-up paint, let it cure for 24 hours then sand it flat as possible. Then follow up with compound and polish to bring it up to factory gloss. It wouldn`t be 100% perfect, but for less than $100 it would look 80-90% better.

[Blackthornone]

This is a pretty funny thread title. It makes it sound like you were cheating on your wife with her car. Those "auto erotic" people are pretty weird. Seriously, though, clean the scratch with some solvent and then fill it with touch up paint, being sure it is thoroughly mixed to the point of shaking or mixing it maybe once when applying the paint. Apply enough to make it slightly above the surrounding paint, and sand flush, and polish to blend, like danponjican said. You should be able to do it for the cost of the paint and a few pieces of sandpaper. Under $30 I would think.

[RaskyR1]

Yeah, $250 sounds about right. Between the cost of the part, material cost, and labor to remove and reinstall the new handle I think it spot on.



Since it`s a metallic paint touch ups probably won`t look very good. So I guess it really comes down to polishing it out a little to lessen the appearance of the scratch and just living with it, or springing for the $250 to have it replaced.

[Brad B]

Lessons learned, I suppose. But being the perfectionist I am I would fork up the money for a new part. I like the satisfaction of having my cars as perfect as possible as long as I can keep them that way. In this case you can make the damage disappear and not have to look at it every day. :)

[Matthew_84]

Thanks everybody, I didn`t expect to get as many responses.



After much debating, I decided that for the $30 to do it myself, that I`ll give it a try, and if it looks horrible than I`ll just fork over the cash and replace the handle altogether. It will cost me more to try both but everything I`m buying would likely come in use later anyway. And truthfully, knowing that it`s made out of plastic has eased my concerns regarding the clear-coat.



I`ll post some pics when I`m done.



Thanks again,



Matt

[extrabolts]

Thanks everybody, I didn`t expect to get as many responses.



After much debating, I decided that for the $30 to do it myself, that I`ll give it a try, and if it looks horrible than I`ll just fork over the cash and replace the handle altogether. It will cost me more to try both but everything I`m buying would likely come in use later anyway. And truthfully, knowing that it`s made out of plastic has eased my concerns regarding the clear-coat.



I`ll post some pics when I`m done.



Thanks again,



Matt



Just go at it easy. I might get blasted for this, but I also have some turtle wax rubbing compound. I wrote "sandpaper" on the lid with a red sharpie to remind me of how agressive it is. The hazing is from the rubbing compound. When you go at it with something less abrasive, just take your time - you don`t need to get it all done in a few hard swipes. Light pressure, let the product do the work over a half minute or so, then wipe the area and take a look at it, let the surface cool back down, go at it again if needed. The paint on your plastic handle will come off easier than paint on metal, and be very careful not to press down around the edges of the handle. It is pretty common for paint to be thin around edges, and combining that with the handle being plastic I`d make sure to go easy so as to not remove all of the paint.