Removing tape lines

[slammin86]

I have 2 tape lines on my car that annoy me every time I see them. One is right on the edge of the rear fender where the trunk and fender go together. The other is right on the edge of the front fender where the hood meets the fender. Would I be able to wetsand this?

Any advice?

[Accumulator]

Do you mean lines from where it was masked during repainting? If so, I dunno if you`ll be able to fix it, it gets tricky since you need to keep clear over the basecoat and when you "feather" the repaired area you`ll most likely uncover the basecoat.



Sounds like something a shop botched up. I`d live with it myself rather than risk opening a can of worms and having to have it reshot.

[slammin86]

Do you mean lines from where it was masked during repainting? If so, I dunno if you`ll be able to fix it, it gets tricky since you need to keep clear over the basecoat and when you "feather" the repaired area you`ll most likely uncover the basecoat.



Sounds like something a shop botched up. I`d live with it myself rather than risk opening a can of worms and having to have it reshot.

I cannot deal with it any longer. Should I just go at it with a 2000 grit?

[papi_jay]

is the tape line color or clear though ? if its color dont touch it at all ever as the color will change to a much lighter color once wetsanded and it will be much more noticeable .

[slammin86]

is the tape line color or clear though ? if its color dont touch it at all ever as the color will change to a much lighter color once wetsanded and it will be much more noticeable .

It appears to be only in the clear coat.

[slammin86]

Anyone? :hairpull

[Accumulator]

OK, since you sound determined to do something about this (please be careful ) I`ll try to point you in the right direction. But [insert repeat of warnings here].



Go with 3K grit, not 2K. Yeah, it`ll make a huge difference. Get the Meguiar`s Unigrit stuff, don`t use the "regular" stuff like from 3M. Soak it in a water/wash shampoo mix. Use a sanding block.



Do only *ONE LIGHT PASS* . Wipe and inspect. Repeat but don`t keep going until you think it`s perfect, by that time you`ll have done too much. Just try to make it better; you can always do more at a later date but once you`ve gone too far you`re SOL.



Remove the sanding scratches with a pretty aggressive compound that`ll still work by hand/PC. I use the old 3M PI-III RC (05933) but it`s getting hard to find these days.



Let us know how it goes and please take my warnings seriously.

[slammin86]

OK, since you sound determined to do something about this (please be careful ) I`ll try to point you in the right direction. But [insert repeat of warnings here].



Go with 3K grit, not 2K. Yeah, it`ll make a huge difference. Get the Meguiar`s Unigrit stuff, don`t use the "regular" stuff like from 3M. Soak it in a water/wash shampoo mix. Use a sanding block.



Do only *ONE LIGHT PASS* . Wipe and inspect. Repeat but don`t keep going until you think it`s perfect, by that time you`ll have done too much. Just try to make it better; you can always do more at a later date but once you`ve gone too far you`re SOL.



Remove the sanding scratches with a pretty aggressive compound that`ll still work by hand/PC. I use the old 3M PI-III RC (05933) but it`s getting hard to find these days.



Let us know how it goes and please take my warnings seriously.

Thanks for the responce. Where would be a good place to buy the Unigrit sandpaper?

Sfx2 should take out the sandpaper marks right? I will try to remove them by hand.

[papi_jay]

Since youre only purchasing the unigrit to do very little you can buy individual papers here > http://www.autodetailingsolutions.com/Meguiar`s%20Professional%20Wet%20Sanding%20Supplie s.htm . I would get 2500 and 3000 grits .

Also purchase the sponge backing pad , never do it with your fingertips only as you will burn thru quickly . I found that out the hard way not long ago .

After wet sanding you will need a medium compound such as mirror glaze fine cut #2 & a yellow or green foam pad to remove the wet sanding marks

SFX 1 would probably work by hand , sfx 2 I doubt will but would by machine

[slammin86]

Since youre only purchasing the unigrit to do very little you can buy individual papers here > http://www.autodetailingsolutions.com/Meguiar`s%20Professional%20Wet%20Sanding%20Supplie s.htm . I would get 2500 and 3000 grits .

Also purchase the sponge backing pad , never do it with your fingertips only as you will burn thru quickly . I found that out the hard way not long ago .

After wet sanding you will need a medium compound such as mirror glaze fine cut #2 & a yellow or green foam pad to remove the wet sanding marks

SFX 1 would probably work by hand , sfx 2 I doubt will but would by machine

They only accept paypal as payment. Is there anyone who sells single sheets that would allow me to pay with credit card?

Would pep boys have this sand paper?

What is wrong with the 3m paper at walmart?

[papi_jay]

Payments can be made there with any major credit card OR paypal ..

Lots wrong with 3m paper compared to unigrit

[papi_jay]

Also haven`t you noticed 3m doesn`t make any grit finer than 2000 ?

[slammin86]

I went ahead and ordered 3 pcs of 2500 and 3 pcs of 3000 as well as the sanding block from that website listed above. Should I make one pass with the 2500 first, or should I try one pass with the 3000 to see if that will do the trick?

[Accumulator]

No idea about the SFX, as I haven`t used it I don`t want to guess.



I`d try the 3K. In my experience, anything you can do with 2.5K you can do with 3K, it just takes a little longer. Since you can`t put paint back on I`d try to be as conservative as possible.



I have a 2.5K sanding block that I use for rough leveling, but anything I can do with that I can do with the 3K paper. That`s on Spies-Hecker paint too, fairly hard stuff.

[slammin86]

My sandpaper arrived yesterday, and I plan to tackle the lines in the next few days. Any last minute tips?