Looking for advice from the "paint" guys

[GodWentPunk]

So the other day I put in a nice scratch in my car door, about 2 inches long and as wide as a sharpe... and unless I pointed it out to you, you might not even notice it. The scratch took off the top coat and paint but did not get thru the primer. A self inflicted scratch.


I tried to repair it with some touchup paint and I totally rushed this and made a mess. While I did fill the scratch somewhat, I left a little paint on the topcoat.



Without making things worse, is there a way to remove the paint from the topcoat that would not hurt the top coat?? Something like goof off (although that did not work). Is there some chemical that will breakup the paint but not the top coat?



Even with the little over-paint, it's still not that noticeable but I would like to fix it if possible.



joe....

[mikeinmobile]

Google how to sand it down and buff out. Or you could probably still get the touch up off w/paint thinner but I'd study up on that too.

[rdanzel]

+1 on using laquer thinner. Apply it by a q-tip.

[Dizzy82]

Wet sand with 1000 grit, then 1500 grit, then 3000 grit. Compound buff and polish.

[GodWentPunk]

I did find this stuff "Langka: Paint Touch-Up Blob Eliminator" which seems to be what I need to do. Not sure though.


joe...

[InFiD3ViL]

Originally Posted by Dizzy82

Wet sand with 1000 grit, then 1500 grit, then 3000 grit. Compound buff and polish.

I would preface that with the warning that if you are not familiar with and experienced in wet sanding, I would maybe leave that to those that are experienced. The clear coat on these cars is so damned thin that getting a little too heavy handed with the sand paper can lead to severe disappointment and depression.

I have wet sanded bird dropping etchings on my Camaro hood, but I will admit it was a nerve wracking experience. It came out ok but I was so worried about burning through the clear that the end result was not as perfect as I was hoping.

[mbesman]

I've used the Langka on two hood scratches through the paint and I didn't really get the difference between that and touch up paint. I tried following instructions but it looked just like touch up paint in the end. I ended up getting it filled and painted by a mobile paint guy. Cost extra but job looked great. I can sell you my Langka kit cheap if you like (kidding). Hopefully you get better results than I did.

[christianchevell]

get remnants off with lacquer thinner usually immediately......

[Jayjellyfish212]

Sometimes it’s better to just live with a scratch that’s barely noticeable than take on a chance if you don’t have experience with paint and body of attempting to fix it. Seen this so many times. Paint pens are never gonna give you a fixed look. They will only assist in getting protection back on but always will look cheesy. The best way without getting into full detail of how to is to wet sand, airbrush in the missing paint, clear coat blend, wet sand then buff and polish. Only way to really make it disappear.

[Jayjellyfish212]

White is the easiest to repair. Your best bet is to wet sand it with 2500 and use soap
and water. The clear coat from the factory is thin but a very hard type coat of clear. Go slow, then wipe with a dry microfiber and check the progress. Keep going back and forth wet sanding and then checking progress. You just want to knock things down a slight bit and won’t take much to get there. Go get a good airbrush kit with a pump to. You can use the paint pens color match paint in the airbrush. Just cut open and put the paint in a separate container etc. put some paint in airbrush. Mask off around the scratch with tape so you can do a build up of layers of paint in the focused area. Spray just outside the scratch area as well. After you achieve a good build up with slow layers you remove the masked area. Go back to wet sand process to knock it down and make flush. Your scratch will be filled in and now even with the other surface finish. If you didn’t need to cut to deep from the wet sand process then you won’t need to use any clear coat. Go right to buffing then polishing and you should have the scratch gone completely and body gloss back to normal. SLOW is the key to success when fixing any paint and body issues.

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

I'm PPG certified. If you have never done wet sanding and polishing now is not the time to start learning. Paint edges burn fast.
Bring it to a professional. They can also fill the rest of the scratch and blend in some clear coat for a pretty decent touch up job without spraying the entire door or panel.

[lemontwist]

i had a huge ding the size of a half dollar fixed on my door that had a large dime sized paint chip.
this is basically what it cost me labor for r+r door card,r+r door handle,r+r mirror and window scraper and paint=450 bucks.
great body shops don't come cheap looks like new.

[Reichler]

If you want to remove touch-up paint, grab some isopropyl alcohol and saturate the touch-up paint with a rag. You should be able to easily remove all of it and start again.