what would it take to go through a fresh coat of clear?

B

blackntan

New member
please see my other post for the background info.



The quick question is this.



How would I know if I cut through a fresh coat of clear?



About two weeks after I got the car back I went over it with a yellow pad and Pi-III. I only hit the major parts of the nose, not all of the nooks and crannies and such. The paint shows no signs of typical paint burns or missing layers. It still has a very uniform appearance and shine.



I figured it wasn't cleared when my pads turned black while buffing. This happened with both the PI-III on the main parts, and the AIO, applied to the nose by hand over the entire nose.



aak! help!
 
You'll know for sure when you go through clear.



The paint under the clear will look dark.



I have eaten through clear, it took some decent wet sanding paper and quite a few strokes. On the edges of the panel it took 25% of the number of strokes as it did on the middle of the panel.



Watch out for the edges of any panel.
 
thats what I thought. The paint on the areas I did look no different than those I didn't do, and it still looks the same as it did when I brought it in.



I don't think it was cleared.
 
Sounds right.



There is alot of clear on a GM car, people have told me it looks like my compounding/polishing has actually made the clear a little smoother. It has a long way to go before it will be smooth as I want but it's looking decent.



I don't encourage people to wet sand. 3M has compounds that are as aggresive as sand paper and with a machine it is applied even over a panel, does not leave sanding marks and the micro swirling is far less obvious.
 
blackntan - Sorry to hear about all the troubles you're having with your Miata.



As you suspected, your nose wasn't cleared. The PI-III (even PI-III Rubbing Compound, and I'm guessing you're using the Machine Glaze) wouldn't just "cut through it" and it would look VERY messed up if you had.



Sounds to me like you need to find another paint/body shop, AFTER your current one fixes all their mistakes.
 
Thanks for all the support guys,



I took it back to the shop, and they said that the last coat of clear has some black color in it as well, to make it shine...



He said that I shouldn't touch it til it cures, 3-4 weeks, but after that, I should only pick up a light layer of black on the pad.



I'm really getting sick of all of this body work. It's not perfect, doesn't last as long as the factory, and I have to keep dropping the car off for days at a time to have it fixed.



I love the car to death, and would take her to the grave with me, but it's killer trying to detail your car, knowing fully that the paint will never look perfect because its a respray. I don't even preach to my friends about how to take car of their paint anymore, cuz if they get to close to mine they'll see how bad it really is...



ah well, I guess i'll just name her 'Monet'
 
I love the car to death, and would take her to the grave with me, but it's killer trying to detail your car, knowing fully that the paint will never look perfect because its a respray.



There is no reason it can't look as good a factory. Last winter my car was sprayed with gravel from a road sander and as a result all of it was resprayed but for the 2 pass doors/trunk lid and lower rear valance.



The car is a 03 Black Passat. Yesterday at a car show I was in I had a fellow from Libby Montana drag 1/2 their attending club over so I could explain how the car looked they way it did. They could not believe it was a respray untill I showed them where the spray had stopped in the door jams. All I have done to the respray paint was a minor polishing with Menzerna Intensive/Final polish and Zaino coats.



Don't be discouraged .. go back to the shop and ask for a proper job.



If you like I will e-mail you pix of mine as I can't post cuz my host is down (PM me your e-mail addy)
 
Most people I know don't look at my car to see how much I know, I impress by answering questions or detailing their car.



In regards to your car. It would be nice if you could post some pictures and show us what you are talking about, don't let the car scare you, most paint defects can be corrected. If you want a perfect looking black car then it'll come at the cost of a brand new paint job and I can bet 1,000.00 within 3-6 months you'll get either rock chips, a door ding, get a scratch or experience something else that will disgust you. Make the car look as nice as you can and try to keep it like that with the expectation that your paint will degrade and look worse over time if it's a daily driver. Most paint jobs look like crap after a year from what I see in Boston. People from this site keep their paint looking great for years on end.
 
blackntan said:
I love the car to death, and would take her to the grave with me, but it's killer trying to detail your car, knowing fully that the paint will never look perfect because its a respray. I don't even preach to my friends about how to take car of their paint anymore, cuz if they get to close to mine they'll see how bad it really is...



ah well, I guess i'll just name her 'Monet'
Click to expand...



A GOOD body shop can put on a MUCH better paint job than the factory. Mecedes is the hardest to match because they really do a eceptional job on the paint.



Factory paint jobs are low quality.



Wayne B
 
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