Burn Through repair advice needed, Please.

[Tomeh]

I have a 2004 Toyota 4Runner and decided to take on repairing thirteen rock chips in my hood prior to the vehicle having to spend its first winter outside in a northern environment. Seven of them disappeared so that I can't spot them anymore, three of them were not perfect, but acceptable and the other three are what bring me here.

I burned through in a couple of spots and have attached photos of the two worst problems. I was using 2000 grit sand paper and hand sanding and going very slow. It felt like the worst spot appeared suddenly, as it seemed it was not there on one pass and was there on the next. The other spots do not have any primer showing and are smaller. I only noticed them after I had used rubbing compound on the area to remove the sanding marks.

I have already learned several hard lessons from this that I certainly won't forget, but now trying to figure out next steps. If I don't want to have the hood completely repainted which I know would be the best option, what are my other options for repairing these spots? Is it possible to create a "chip" or "scratch" to repair so there are hard edges to fill to? Can I scuff the area and touch up? What tools would be best? Air sprayer? Rattle can?

Any and all help would be appreciated both in options and techniques!!

Thanks!!

 

[rmagnus]

This is the reason getting a cheap panel from a junk yard makes for perfect practice.

Okay this is more than a burn through your at the primer next is metal. This means a spot repair will be very difficult to do. Yes you are going to need proper paint tools to even get something looking respectable. A lot also depends where on the hood it's located. Yes a complete panel respray is the best solution but scuffing blending base coat then clear is possible and will be an improvement. It would be best to find a mentor to help demonstrate the process. If that doesn't work make google your next best friend and do a lot of research. YouTube has some good educational stuff on blending color coat and clear.

 

[wrx495]

did you use a polisher or just sanding?? this makes me not want to even use the DA i just got =\

 

[cleanmycorolla]

did you use a polisher or just sanding?? this makes me not want to even use the DA i just got =

Thats the last thing you should worry about IMO. Focus on technique, it'd take a hell of a lot to burn through the pain with a DA! I was nervous about it one time too, then you do it and you wonder why you made it so tough in your own head! rops:

 

[Tomeh]

This is the reason getting a cheap panel from a junk yard makes for perfect practice.

Okay this is more than a burn through your at the primer next is metal. This means a spot repair will be very difficult to do. Yes you are going to need proper paint tools to even get something looking respectable. A lot also depends where on the hood it's located. Yes a complete panel respray is the best solution but scuffing blending base coat then clear is possible and will be an improvement. It would be best to find a mentor to help demonstrate the process. If that doesn't work make google your next best friend and do a lot of research. YouTube has some good educational stuff on blending color coat and clear.

Thanks so much for the response, I think my biggest mistake was having the first several go really well and giving me a sense of confidence that I probably shouldn't have had.

I have attached a wider angle photo to give a better view on where it is located. It is such a small place, but because it is through to the primer, it really pops.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Tomeh]

did you use a polisher or just sanding?? this makes me not want to even use the DA i just got =

I compounded, polished, and waxed the entire vehicle by hand and that turned out great.

This was done with sandpaper while working on chips after that.

I don't think you have much to worry about if you are just polishing with a DA though.

 

[wrx495]

Thats the last thing you should worry about IMO. Focus on technique, it'd take a hell of a lot to burn through the paint with a DA! I was nervous about it one time too, then you do it and you wonder why you made it so tough in your own head! rops:

Alright then I will definitely be focusing on technique I'm guessing I would need to put it on speed 6 and hold it there for like an hour .. But just the thought of clear being 2 mils and a stick note being 3 mils and it being that thin .. But I guess just light polishig doesn't take out anything noticeable rops:

 

[wrx495]

I compounded, polished, and waxed the entire vehicle by hand and that turned out great.

This was done with sandpaper while working on chips after that.

I don't think you have much to worry about if you are just polishing with a DA though.

I won't compound but I'll polish with megs ultimate polish and adjust the pad to the lightest needed and then seal and wax but definitely not using any sandpaper

 

[BobbyG]

Sanding or wet sanding the effected area as you did is actually the correct way to repair chips and nicks IF your plan was to refinish the area.

Generally, chips are very small but to repair them correctly requires wet sanding and "feather edging" the area out as much as 1 1/2 to 2 inches so no difference in paint thickness is detectable.

Feather Edging

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB4wXeliKCI&feature=related]Feather Sanding auto paint - YouTube[/video]

Since you've sanded through to remove and repair a paint defect, I suggest you do the same to any others as this panel needs to be repainted.

 

[ken tuep]

Where are you located?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Sanding or wet sanding the effected area as you did is actually the correct way to repair chips and nicks IF your plan was to refinish the area.

Generally, chips are very small but to repair them correctly requires wet sanding and "feather edging" the area out as much as 1 1/2 to 2 inches so no difference in paint thickness is detectable.

Interesting, I have an article on Feathersanding and in it I actually use a feather to drive the point home...

RIDS and Feathersanding - A Highly Specialized Technique by Mike Phillips


Here's an excerpt...

When it comes to removing RIDS the method I use is painstakingly laborious and long...

What I do is compound a panel and remove all the light or shallow defects, this will cause all the deeper defects that remain to now show up like a sore thumb.

Now, take and sand each of these deeper defects out carefully with small pieces of sandpaper you cut out of a sheet of sandpaper using some scissors. What you want to do is sand against them at about a 90 degree angle and either sand them out completely or just feather them to look less noticeable.

I call this Feathersanding for no real good reason except that's what I felt I was doing, and that was lightly sanding the scratches out or in other terms, feathering them out. If you look at a feather you can see the the edges are tapered, it doesn't have hard, uniform lines or a rigid design to it but is instead soft...

Well that's the idea I was trying to capture with the term Feathersanding. That is you want to sand-out the scratch which would mean removing most of the paint directly near the scratch, which is a void of paint, but feather or taper the depth of your sanding marks as you move away from the scratch as you blend the area with the surrounding paint.

The goal to be to remove the scratch in a way that you can then buff the area back to a high gloss with a uniform appearance and this means trying to keep the surface as level or flat as possible.

Now days I just use a 3" Unigrit or Trizact disc on the Griot's 3" Mini Polisher to reduce the size of my footprint but at the same time sand the paint flat fast with a sanding mark pattern hat easy and fast to remove.


Griot's 3" Mini Polisher works great as a 3" Dampsander

Dampsanding with 3" Griot's Garage Mini Polisher

:buffing:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

To the OP,

Sorry to hear of this mishap, it's kind of a sinking feeling when you abrade or burn through the clear layer and expose the color coat and more...

It's going to be hard to fix this and make it look like nothing ever happened. First thing though is to get some touch-up paint that matches very well.

Something I point out in all my detailing classes on the topic of wetsanding and that is,

• Sanding removes paint
• Compounding removes paint
• Polishing removes paint
• Paint from the factory is thin

So everything is working against you from the very start...

 

[wrx495]

To the OP,

Sorry to hear of this mishap, it's kind of a sinking feeling when you abrade or burn through the clear layer and expose the color coat and more...

It's going to be hard to fix this and make it look like nothing ever happened. First thing though is to get some touch-up paint that matches very well.

Something I point out in all my detailing classes on the topic of wetsanding and that is,

• Sanding removes paint
• Compounding removes paint
• Polishing removes paint
• Paint from the factory is thin

So everything is working against you from the very start...

Hey mike ! I read in your book that a sticky Is 3 mils thick and a average clear is 2 mils ... A rough estimate does light polishing make that 2 go to like 1.9 or 1.8?or my fear .... >1?!?!
Thanks !
Edit: I'm using a gg6" da I just got yesterday

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hey mike ! I read in your book that a sticky Is 3 mils thick and a average clear is 2 mils ... A rough estimate does light polishing make that 2 go to like 1.9 or 1.8?or my fear .... >1?!?!

Thanks !
Edit: I'm using a gg6" da I just got yesterday

Hard to say because top coat hardness is a huge variable.


Instead of worrying about how much paint you're removing, focus on removing the defects in your cars and then AFTER you've removed the defects to your satisfaction, start practicing "Best Practices" that don't re-instill swirls and scratches and then you won't have to do more "major correction" work.


Be proactive, not reactive.

 

[wrx495]

Hard to say because top coat hardness is a huge variable.


Instead of worrying about how much paint you're removing, focus on removing the defects in your cars and then AFTER you've removed the defects to your satisfaction, start practicing "Best Practices" that don't re-instill swirls and scratches and then you won't have to do more "major correction" work.


Be proactive, not reactive.

Since they are daily drivers I'll take light defects out and then seal and wax.. And practice my washing

 

[Tomeh]

Sanding or wet sanding the effected area as you did is actually the correct way to repair chips and nicks IF your plan was to refinish the area.

I had filled the chip with primer, base and clear coat to above the surface of the paint and was working on sanding the blob down when this occurred, is that what you mean by refinish the area?

I would prefer not having the entire hood repainted for a spot the with and thickness of a quarter. The front end is by no means pristine, it has a fair amount of road rash in the plastic bumper front end pieces and is a daily driver, so I could spend a ton of money getting it perfect and it would just start taking damage again on the next road trip. This is why I am looking for best options for touching up the area.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[Tomeh]

Where are you located?

North of Albany, NY currently.

 

[Tomeh]

To the OP,

Sorry to hear of this mishap, it's kind of a sinking feeling when you abrade or burn through the clear layer and expose the color coat and more...

It's going to be hard to fix this and make it look like nothing ever happened. First thing though is to get some touch-up paint that matches very well.

Something I point out in all my detailing classes on the topic of wetsanding and that is,

• Sanding removes paint
• Compounding removes paint
• Polishing removes paint
• Paint from the factory is thin

So everything is working against you from the very start...

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the response. You are so right about that sinking feeling.

I have touch up paint that matches very well from a recommended online source (Not sure if I can mention it here) as well primer and clear coat. Unfortunately, they are brush style and if I am going to switch to using an airbrush I assume I am going to have to get a different formulation. It probably isn't wise to try to thin what I already have, right?

At this point, I would be happy with getting it into that realm of seeing it if you were looking for defects, but not standing out to the casual observer. In the process, I am hoping to learn more and gain some new skills.

To be honest, there is too much road rash and other dings to the front end for me to get obsessed about one spot. Taking care of all of it would mean turning the entire front end over to a pro and the process would start over again on the drive home as it is a tall flat front that is like driving a target down the road.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the response. You are so right about that sinking feeling.

Yeah... been there done that and that's why I can feel your pain...


I feel your pain - Bill Clinton

I feel your paint - Mike Phillips

 

[RTexasF]

Just a thought......most large car dealerships have a guy (or gal) on call to fix boo boos on cars in the lot. I've seen minor miracles performed by these folks and it may be worth a few calls to find out who they use. Mine took a whack on the lot (white pearl at that) and it was repaired to perfection by one of these mobile folks. Even if it came out "pretty good" it would be an improvement no?