Made a booboo...

M

mc01ta

New member
I was doing my first full correction summer detail on my 1 year old black pathfinder and had been working for hours when I let my backing plate skid along a curved area on my bumper. I was using my PC and took paint off!



I've been detailing my cars and others for profit for years, I cant' believe this is my first mistake.



I did not take it down to primer but took about a quarter size of paint off. I went and bought touch up paint, 2000 grit wedsanding paper and already have 2 layers of touch-up on. I'm going to apply another 2-3 and let it dry over the next 2 days.



Then I'm off to my first ever wetsanding. I have a solid block and know to go in one direction 3-4 passes, check my work and use soapy water.



I'm not worried about polishing, I will probably just polish out by hand with rubbing compound since its such a tight area.



Any other recommendations, tips, prayers? I'm so upset about it, hundreds maybe in thousands of hours on my PC and never ran into this. Guess I was due for a break.
 
Sounds like you have everything under control, now go get your feet wet. Good luck and post some before and after pictures.
 
Should I buy any clear? I'm thinking touch up is sufficient but want feedback. I've applied 4 layers so far. I'm thinking if time permits and I have the feedback before tomorrow night I will be wetsanding tomorrow late pm and then polishing.



My approach is lots of layers, light wetsanding, then handpolishing if possible because of the tight area. I'm so not happy I made this mistake.



Glad its my car and not a customers. I find it amazing that no matter how well I take care of any of my cars whether new or not always require such maintenance.



I reguarly wash and have my method down but this is a black daily driver and in the year i've owned it I still pick up rock dings, random scratches and swirls.



I guess I've accepted 90-95% perfection and I'll be happy with that.
 
I know of a method where the clear is mixed with the color pigment. I think it helps with the depth a bit.



Good luck with that.



Grabby
 
Yes, use clear otherwise you will have a dull spot compared to the rest of the paint that has clear coat. Just get enough color on the burn to cover it up and then start layering with clear coat. Then wetsand and buff
 
Can I pick up clear at Pepboys? Looking for something quick and local. Do I have to spray it on or can I layer it with a q-tip or toothpic?
 
A one part lacquer clear will not look good or last, but it's better than nothing. You should be able to buy it among the touchup paint at your auto parts store.



If you're not happy with the results, a bumper specialist can do a blend repair on your bumper for $150.
 
I can't predict the longevity of your repair without pictures.



You could have your bumper removed and entirely repainted for $500.



A mobile bumper specialist should be able to do a blend repair for $150 with a 3-5 year warranty.



Your money, your car.
 
Thank you for the advice. I'm going my route first. Took paint off an area the size of an eraser on a corner of my bumper. Filled it tonight. Will add another layer or two tomorrow, then wetsand and polish. I'll be happy if its near 90% back to normal.
 
You should go and see if you have a commercial paint place near you. Then you can buy the 2 part urethane clear. The problem with most lacquer based paint is that you can't just let it completly dry and reapply more paint and/or clear later on, especially if you plan on thinning the paint. What'll happen is that the previous layers will krinkle on you as you apply fresh paint. So you have to do all your painting and clear at the same time. You only let the paint dry about 10 or so minutes between thin coats. Urethanes actually cure and crosslink making them solvent resistant. Touch up paint only dries by flashing off solvent put more paint or solvent on top and the paint and it expands and krinkles up. Trust me I've used spray paint to do entire fenders and you can't go back the next day, or even a couple hours later, and shoot another coat. If your touch up goes bad you've got to strip it and start over.
 
Just ordered laquer thinner, more touch up paint, and clear from dealer. I wasn't happy with how the current touch up looked and did not have clear to move forward.



My process will be remove current touch up. Apply a few layers of touch up then add 2-3 layers of clear. Then wetsand and polish.



Question that I have is it ok or recommended to lay a couple layers of clear down? The clear is in a bottle without a sprayer I think so I will have to use a toothpick and or a q-tip. Is this ok?
 
Go to Harbor Freight and buy their cheapo airbrush and their chepo compressor. Or invest in a nice airbrush like a Badger or a Paasche. I have a Paache single action, Badger dual action, and a Badger Cyclone II compressor. Haven't used them on cars yet but they do great for modeling and should fill in nice for spot duty detaling jobs. As a matter of fact I'll be getting busy with them sometime next week to fix a few boo-boo's myself!
 
mc01ta said:
Just ordered laquer thinner, more touch up paint, and clear from dealer. I wasn't happy with how the current touch up looked and did not have clear to move forward.



My process will be remove current touch up. Apply a few layers of touch up then add 2-3 layers of clear. Then wetsand and polish.



Question that I have is it ok or recommended to lay a couple layers of clear down? The clear is in a bottle without a sprayer I think so I will have to use a toothpick and or a q-tip. Is this ok?
Click to expand...

Do you not have to wet sand the touch up before applying the clear? If you dont, wont you have an uneven surface of touch up? After sanding, polishing and sealing, is applying clear really necessary on such a small area?
 
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