I think I screwed up

[NathanDrake]

I have a few scratches on my car ( think scrape marks ) and I decided to fix them myself. I have neever done anything like this and I feel a bit lost now.

This is what I have done so far :
>Sprayed acetone gray primer ( spray can bought at store, forgot to use masking tape to cover non-affected areas and the spray covered a large area )
To undo primer overspray, I decided to use nailpolish remover. It proved very very slow.
>Used wet 1200 grit sandpaper , to remove the primer instead
>Used Meguiars detailing spray and clay bar
>Used Meguiars carnuba wax

Now, the areas I wetsanded have scracth marks. It feels smooth and has not cut through the clar coat. If I wet the area, the scratches are hardly noticeable. What are my next steps ?
Use 5000 grit sandpaper > Spray car paint ( spray can ) > Use rubbing compound by hand > Spray lacquer ?

I am a bit strapped for cash at the moment, so taking it to a bodyshop is not an option.

Many thanks!

[ShawnF350]

Can you post photos?
What area you live? Maybe someone here can help.
I won`t let sandpaper touch my vehicles since I have no idea what I`m doing either.
IF the scratch wasn`t thru the primer I don`t think you need it, was it?
I don`t think nail polish remover is a great idea.
How about mineral spirits.
Find someone with a touch of experience to help so you dont do any further damage.
I would use some Meguiars Ultimate Compound to remove the sanding marks when your done.
Not sure how well it will go by hand though.

[Merlin]

Do not touch it with sandpaper any more!

Can you post pictures via Photobucket?

What area are you in?

[Merlin]

Please do not "work" on it any more until we can see some pics.
There are a few less aggressive products that I may suggest.

The clear coat on modern vehicles is VERY thin!

[NathanDrake]

Thanks for the replies.
I am in Britannia. so, most likely nowhere near you guys.


Here`s a few pics of my tomfoolery :

[RaskyR1]

I hate to say it but you`re in way over your head. Your best option IMO would be to polish out the sanding marks you put in (assuming there is clear left) and just live with the marks until you can pay to have it painted properly. If you try painting this yourself you will make it look even worse. You`ll probably need to hit the sanded areas with 1500/300 grit first to help remove the sanding marks via polishing. If you can get someone with experience to do it even better.

I would tread very lightly on the panel bend you sanded just to the left of the door handle.

[Accumulator]

I am a bit strapped for cash at the moment, so taking it to a bodyshop is not an option.

At the risk of sounding like a total [jerk], IMO you oughta merely conserve your resources to hasten the day when you can take it to a (hopefully very good) body/paint shop. If the clear isn`t already destroyed, it almost certainly will be in short order due to being too thin to withstand UV exposure.

[NathanDrake]

Well, I spoke to a body-shop guy a friend knows and he reckons it will cost me £300 to fix it all and is not worth it , considering it is a 15 years old car. The car valuation states that it is worth £750 now

[Accumulator]

Well, I spoke to a body-shop guy a friend knows and he reckons it will cost me £300 to fix it all and is not worth it , considering it is a 15 years old car. The car valuation states that it is worth £750 now

Heh heh, my 15-YO vehicles are just getting broken in

Well...it`s your call, but I spend whatever my vehicles need regardless of their market value and I`ll often put *many* times the fair market value into work that I consider necessary. It`s one of those subjective things where everybody`s gotta figure out what`s right for their specific situation.

Hope you stick around here whatever you do!

[NathanDrake]

Guys, I am back!

I have since
cleaned wet sanded areas with tack cloths > mask taped affected area > sprayed couple of light layers of primer > wet sanded bumps lightly > sprayed light coats of paint > sprayed Lacquer ( clear coat ) and I am now proud to show the below results.

[NathanDrake]

The next thing I need to work on is how to get the glass effect shine on the painted areas.
Am I at the mercy of Meguiars ultimate compound and a polisher ? Is it even remotely possible to achieve anything by hand ?

[rlmccarty2000]

I won`t say impossible, but highly improbable. Try it you have nothing to lose. You have shown admirable work ethic so far and most of us would have never attempted what you have done. A machine just does the job so much faster and more importantly, evenly.

[NathanDrake]

Just wanted to give an update.

Holts knifing putty - covered up the badly scratched areas on the bumper and the wheel arch.
Harris masking tape - marked borders around all scratched areas to set work areas.
Halfords grey primer spray - sprayed three light coats on boxed areas. Let it dry
Halfords midnight blue spray paint - matched the paint by referencing the metal sticker from my car. Sprayed light coats. Let it dry
Halfords bodyshop lacquer - sprayed few light coats and let each coat dry for a while.

The bumper looked good. Unfortunately, the Halfords paint was not a perfect match when sprayed onto my doors. The only way to get a perrfect match is to go to a bodyshop where they use a digital colour gadget and use a related software on a PC to then mix up a paint batch.

After much deliberation, I decided to remove the paint from the doors but left it on the wheel arch.
Acetone free nailpolish remover - removed lacquer, paint and primer
I then used masking tape to once again box work areas.
2000 grit sandpaper - as sanding was already done in the past with 1200grit sandpaper, I decided to use 2000 grit to smooth things even more.
Meguiars Ultimate compound - I used UC together with Meguiars foam applicator pads by hand couple of time and applied slight pressure to rub in a circular motion.
Finally, I re-sprayed the bodyshop lacquer.

This has given me the below results.

[NathanDrake]

As you can see, the mirror look is missing on the doors. The next step is to buy a cheap Dual-action polisher and Menzerna FG400 and achieve this.

[jtford95]

Looks pretty good for what it was and how your doing it. Good work