Looking for advice on probable burn through repair

[Tomeh]

I have been lurking for a while and first want to say "Thank You" for all the great information I have gotten from this forum and a few others.



I have a 2004 Toyota 4Runner and decided to take on repairing 13 rock chips in my hood prior to the vehicle have to spend its first winter outside in a northern environment. Seven of them disappeared so that I can`t spot them anymore, three of them were not perfect, but acceptable and the other three are what bring me here.



I have attached links to photos of the problems, I was using 2000 grit sandpaper, plenty of water and going really slow by sanding about 3 times and checking progress. Both spots had the chip repair pop out too and the one the hood had an additional chip appear from seemingly nowhere as well.



It felt like the spot on the edge of the hood appeared suddenly, as it seemed it was not there on one pass and was there on the next, the other two I only noticed after I had used rubbing compound on the area to remove the sanding marks.



For reference the one at the edge of the hood is about an inch long total and the other two are slightly larger than a pencil eraser.



I am guessing that all of these are burn throughs in the paint and the one that is not so obvious the very beginning of burn through, yes?



If I don`t want to have the hood and the front fender completely repainted which I know would be the best option, what are my other options for repairing these spots? Is it possible to create a "chip" or "scratch" to repair? Can I scuff the area and touch up? What tools would be best? Air sprayer? Rattle can?





Any and all help would be appreciated!!



Thanks!!







https://www.dropbox.com/s/vfl4uiicfgo4gur/IMG_5063.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w1b3ulrna1wrdae/IMG_5066.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2uhzwttipdfljem/IMG_5069.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vm3ezr5s0teoa02/IMG_5079.jpg

[Dan]

That`s not probable. It`s definite burn through. Did you use touchup paint before you just started sanding?



At this point, the only was to fix this is a repaint of the affected panels. You could use touchup paint but its not going to look good to you if chips were bothering you. One of the things that makes a good detailer is knowing when to stop. I think you have a long way to go in that respect.

[Tomeh]

That`s not probable. It`s definite burn through. Did you use touchup paint before you just started sanding?



At this point, the only was to fix this is a repaint of the affected panels. You could use touchup paint but its not going to look good to you if chips were bothering you. One of the things that makes a good detailer is knowing when to stop. I think you have a long way to go in that respect.



Hi Dan,



Thanks for the response. I sense your disapproval, but yes, I primed, base coated and clear coated all of these spots. I did have the majority of the thirteen repairs completely disappear to the point that they won`t show up in photos. As a beginner, I think that early success made me over-confident and I sanded the rest of the repairs before going back to rubbing compound them.



The worst burn through was on the last repair and as soon as I saw it, I did stop. When I applied rubbing compound to the other repairs is when I found the other two spots. Tough way to learn the lesson I just did, but we are all beginners at some point.



If I can use touchup paint, I would like to hear about the method needed to create a surface that the paint will adhere to. I am looking for alternatives to having to repaint two panels and the hood as these are in three different locales. I completely understand that the repaint would give the best result, but I am hoping to find an acceptable middle ground.

[Tomeh]

The worst spot seemed very large in the other photos, so I have added another to put it in better perspective.



https://www.dropbox.com/s/liyje4p0```0erk/IMG_5082.JPG

[mikemurphy234]

The paint near an edge is going to be thinner. I`d imagine that`s why you had success on the flatter areas. As for touching this up, it`s a whole different animal. When you fill a chip you have a crater like hole in the paint. It has definite sides that hold the paint and the existing paint around it acts like a guide when you sand. When you have strike thru the sides are tapered (nothing to act like a guide) and attempting to fix them like you would a chip is very difficult to say the least. You could try but I`d imagine you`ll keep getting strike thru`s.

[LeMarque]

I have been lurking for a while and first want to say "Thank You" for all the great information I have gotten from this forum and a few others.



I have a 2004 Toyota 4Runner and decided to take on repairing 13 rock chips in my hood prior to the vehicle have to spend its first winter outside in a northern environment. Seven of them disappeared so that I can`t spot them anymore, three of them were not perfect, but acceptable and the other three are what bring me here.



I have attached links to photos of the problems, I was using 2000 grit sandpaper, plenty of water and going really slow by sanding about 3 times and checking progress. Both spots had the chip repair pop out too and the one the hood had an additional chip appear from seemingly nowhere as well.



It felt like the spot on the edge of the hood appeared suddenly, as it seemed it was not there on one pass and was there on the next, the other two I only noticed after I had used rubbing compound on the area to remove the sanding marks.



For reference the one at the edge of the hood is about an inch long total and the other two are slightly larger than a pencil eraser.



I am guessing that all of these are burn throughs in the paint and the one that is not so obvious the very beginning of burn through, yes?



If I don`t want to have the hood and the front fender completely repainted which I know would be the best option, what are my other options for repairing these spots? Is it possible to create a "chip" or "scratch" to repair? Can I scuff the area and touch up? What tools would be best? Air sprayer? Rattle can?





Any and all help would be appreciated!!



Thanks!!







https://www.dropbox.com/s/vfl4uiicfgo4gur/IMG_5063.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w1b3ulrna1wrdae/IMG_5066.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2uhzwttipdfljem/IMG_5069.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vm3ezr5s0teoa02/IMG_5079.jpg



Takes a bit of practice, but:



Amazon.com: Paasche VL-SET Double Action Siphon Feed Airbrush Set: Arts, Crafts & Sewing (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00397TTTY/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00)

[IHA Mark]

I understand your desire to have the vehicle look perfect, but due to your inexperience here you might want to have the burn through spots refinished by an experienced professional. Might save you a bunch of frustration and time.

[Tomeh]

Takes a bit of practice, but:



Amazon.com: Paasche VL-SET Double Action Siphon Feed Airbrush Set: Arts, Crafts & Sewing (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00397TTTY/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00)



Thanks!! I was looking at airbrush sets last night and wondering what a good one might be. Much appreciated!

[Tomeh]

I understand your desire to have the vehicle look perfect, but due to your inexperience here you might want to have the burn through spots refinished by an experienced professional. Might save you a bunch of frustration and time.



I really do appreciate that viewpoint, but right now, I have a lot more time on my hands than money and I am willing to learn. I guess I also believe that I could try to repair this myself a couple of times and barring a major disaster be roughly where I am right now in what I would have to pay a professional to fix these problems. Please correct me if I am wrong though. But if I am successful, I have added another set of skills to my car care toolbox.



I don`t know that I am after perfect. The front end of the truck has pretty good road rash, enough so that I could spend weeks on repairing all of the nicks and dings. So if I could get it to the point that it looked okay from 5` away, I would probably be happy with that.



Thanks!

[Dan]

Well, it sounds like you haven`t learned your lesson here yet, the airbrush thing is going to be lesson #2. With an amazing amount of skill you could make it look great, from 5 feet. Close up its not going to look good and the repair will eventually fail, usually takes about two years on a car parked outside 24x7 for the paint to start lifting to the point where you can easily see it.



It`s likely you will waste a lot of time and money and still not be happy.

[rmedtr6]

I say go for it! I have done touch ups on my vehicles with an AB on a few different occasions with great results. I use an Iwata AB, but there are other good ones on the market that will cost less. I`d look at a Grex or even one of the one offered by Eastwood Co. Get an internal mix, thin your paint to the consistency of milk. use low pressure 20psi +/- and get close to the surface, you don`t want alot of overspray to deal with. Be sure to spray light coats at first, you can go heavier on subsequent layers. I apply a tack coat, (just a misting) and then applier heavier coats. If you mess up, a quick wipe with laquer thinner should bring it back to what it was before you started painting. Be sure to use a quality clear. I typically decant auto clear to spray vs. getting touch up bottles. Go to an auto body shop particularly for your clear coat. Once you`ve got it looking the way you want. Give it a quick buff with a light compound to remove any over spray, I usually use Meguiar`s Scratch X 2.0. Good Luck with it.

[Tomeh]

I say go for it! I have done touch ups on my vehicles with an AB on a few different occasions with great results. I use an Iwata AB, but there are other good ones on the market that will cost less. I`d look at a Grex or even one of the one offered by Eastwood Co. Get an internal mix, thin your paint to the consistency of milk. use low pressure 20psi +/- and get close to the surface, you don`t want alot of overspray to deal with. Be sure to spray light coats at first, you can go heavier on subsequent layers. I apply a tack coat, (just a misting) and then applier heavier coats. If you mess up, a quick wipe with laquer thinner should bring it back to what it was before you started painting. Be sure to use a quality clear. I typically decant auto clear to spray vs. getting touch up bottles. Go to an auto body shop particularly for your clear coat. Once you`ve got it looking the way you want. Give it a quick buff with a light compound to remove any over spray, I usually use Meguiar`s Scratch X 2.0. Good Luck with it.



Thanks so much for the information! As the spot is very smooth, would you sand before applying your tack coat and if so, to what level?

[Richard Grasa]

Not to be a bummer, but good luck with this. The metallic in that paint is going to turn this into a nightmare for you. Even if you do get the paint to properly spray, adhere, flow out, wet sand and compound without making a huge mess, it will never match, not even close. The depth at which those metallic particles are lying in the base coat, and also what angle they are laying at directly affects the shade of the paint. You will be able to see a touchup on that spot from a mile away, even when done by someone experienced. If it were a solid color, I`d say get a scrap fender or something and practice, then do your touchup. But with that heavy metallic, the only proper fix is to respray the entire panel.



I have been painting as a hobby for more than 20 years and have had the same exact thing happen to me when I was learning. I know you want to fix it instead of respraying it, but from experience I can tell you it will just make things worse.



Before you do this on your car, I would recommend get a scrap fender or something with metallic paint and try to do a touchup and make it look good. At least you will get an idea what we are talking about before you go mess up your new paint job more.



Also, keep in mind that if you are able to get this to match and look ok, touchups and blends fail. Much better off respraying the entire panel or you will wish you did when the clear starts to lift.

[rmedtr6]

I would rough it up ever so lightly with 600-800 wet, followed by a wipe down with IPA. It difficult to tell in your last posted pic, but is that the primer or is that metal showing? If its metal, your going to have to prime first. One option you may want to consider is masking close to your burn through for your inital coats of primer/ paint. I wouldn`t paint up to the mask, (if that makes sense) but it would control the amount of overspray you get on the surrounding areas. I would personally remove the masking prior to clear.



It`s too late to try on this area, but if this were a chip, I recommend using the Langka system followed by airbrushed clear. I had a door ding on my Tundra that I touched up in this manner and even looking for it at 6", I can`t find it.

[Tomeh]

It is primer showing through, not metal.



I considered the Langka system, but read several bad reviews of it. Sort of wish I had tried it now, as even the worst review didn`t lead to this type of issue, but that is good old hindsight.



Were you a long time airbrush user before you started using it on your vehicle, or did you get it to use for vehicle repairs? I know it will take practice to get the technique down before working on the problem spot, but was wondering what the learning curve is like.