Gurge
New member
We all make mistakes. It was an embarassing moment and a hard lesson. But I share this with my autopians here to educate others. I'm not looking for sympathy. I'd like for others to learn from my screw up to save themselves some grief.
Woman drops off a 2005 Nissan Altima SE-R. Dont look at it closely until she is gone. I see what I believe is the beginning of clear coat failure on the hood, roof, A pillar. Take some paint measurements and I was not happy with the results. Already I was questioning the paint, but I moved on and figured after the wash I'd re-evaluate. First I was doing the headlight restoration
Taped off the painted areas surrounding the headlights with masking tape (purchased from body shop supplier - stuff I use all the time). After I stepped back and admired my work, I removed the masking tape.
On the urethane bumper, the masking tape peeled the clear coat right off passenger side. Just like a dead layer of skin. So on the verge of a panic attack I carefully remove the drivers side tape and it does the same thing.
On closer inspection of the bumper I realized there were some funny areas on the bumper too where the paint may have been starting to lift. So this paint was on the way out. I just happened to be wrong place at the wrong time.
Call my client and explain the whole thing. Tell her I'm definitely not buffing the car. In the end I went way overboard on her interior which was gross and still knocked $100 off the final bill
I also called my paint expert from Albert Kemperle (major body shop distributor). This guy trains local techs how to do their job. He had a variety of reasons why the paint was failing. But ultimately he gave me one very good tip i'll follow in the future
He told me about the good ol days when GM was paying body shops to re spray hoods / roofs that were failing prematurely. They wouldn't pay for a a blend in, so the adjacent panels, which were nearly shot, would have to be taped off. The clear would peel right off just like in my case if you werent careful. These guys would run the tape on their jeans or sweatshirt. So the lint you would pick up would reduce the adhesive power of the tape. Seemed so easy and might have saved me on this one.
Woman drops off a 2005 Nissan Altima SE-R. Dont look at it closely until she is gone. I see what I believe is the beginning of clear coat failure on the hood, roof, A pillar. Take some paint measurements and I was not happy with the results. Already I was questioning the paint, but I moved on and figured after the wash I'd re-evaluate. First I was doing the headlight restoration
Taped off the painted areas surrounding the headlights with masking tape (purchased from body shop supplier - stuff I use all the time). After I stepped back and admired my work, I removed the masking tape.
On the urethane bumper, the masking tape peeled the clear coat right off passenger side. Just like a dead layer of skin. So on the verge of a panic attack I carefully remove the drivers side tape and it does the same thing.
On closer inspection of the bumper I realized there were some funny areas on the bumper too where the paint may have been starting to lift. So this paint was on the way out. I just happened to be wrong place at the wrong time.
Call my client and explain the whole thing. Tell her I'm definitely not buffing the car. In the end I went way overboard on her interior which was gross and still knocked $100 off the final bill
I also called my paint expert from Albert Kemperle (major body shop distributor). This guy trains local techs how to do their job. He had a variety of reasons why the paint was failing. But ultimately he gave me one very good tip i'll follow in the future
He told me about the good ol days when GM was paying body shops to re spray hoods / roofs that were failing prematurely. They wouldn't pay for a a blend in, so the adjacent panels, which were nearly shot, would have to be taped off. The clear would peel right off just like in my case if you werent careful. These guys would run the tape on their jeans or sweatshirt. So the lint you would pick up would reduce the adhesive power of the tape. Seemed so easy and might have saved me on this one.
