I messed up...

[daemon9]

Hey there...new here...

I've been working on the paint correction of my Ruby Red F150 for about 6 months and although I'm fairly new to paint correction, I feel like I've been doing well with the wet sanding/polishing out scratches and minor defects in my paint...up until this past weekend. I was about to start polishing the rear passenger bed panel when I noticed a small gouge in the coat like a pin was taken and jabbed in. I didn't think it was too deep but not something even an aggressive polish could remove, so I went over it with a 5000 grit pad like I usually do for light scratches, but it still didn't blend in with the first couple of passes. It was something I never encountered before and I became impatient and upped the speed and ended up with a patch of discoloration and I wasn't quite sure what it was. I thought maybe it would go away if I polished it over, but nope.

View attachment 72017View attachment 72018

After doing a bunch of research, I guess I burned the clear? The pictures don't show the slight bubbling around the edges of the patch and the camera on my S10+ is incapable of taking pictures as if it were through my eyes.

So my question is...how would a body shop properly fix this and how much do you think it would cost? Are they going to have to sand down and repaint the affected area then clear the whole panel? Or can they just isolate? I just want to know what I should be expecting if I were to take it to a pro.

 

[TMQ]

Yes..you went through clear coat.

Best thing is to take it to a body shop and see what they need to do if you can't find answers here.

My thoughts---will need to clear coat the whole panel.

Believe 2black1 on the forum is in better position to explain.

Tom

 

[2black1s]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Tom... I'll give it my best shot.

There are some variables to consider but we'll get to them later.

For the basic paintwork itself, a high-quality, OEM equivalent, repaint will probably be in the $500.00 - $600.00 neighborhood per panel. The process would include spot-repairing and blending the color-coat, and clear-coating the entire panel.

Now here's some variables that can impact the cost...

- If the color repair is adjacent to another panel, then blending into the adjacent panel MAY BE necessary along with clear-coating the entire adjacent panel. This alone could double or triple the cost but I don't think it applies to this case.

- How many emblems or other trim pieces are there? For the best repair these need to be removed so there could be some additional R&I (remove/install) costs.

- Panel size? Long bed / short bed?

 

[psnt1ol]

Sorry this happened to you. Many of us has burned through paint at one point in time. I learned that lesson many years ago.

Prices for respray can vary from region to region. In my area, it average around $500 to $700 per panel. Sanding will be involved and a good painter could blend it to a certain degree. They would have to spray the entire panel.

My suggestion is not to shop for a price... instead shop for the process. Make inquiries on their process of getting this done. You will learn a lot just from asking plus you would get a better result.

Good Luck...

 

[Billy Baldone]

If you're not burnin' you're not learnin' !!!!!!!!!! I did it to customer car a few months ago with my Flex and a wool pad. I was going after scratch that I shouldn't have. $1000 bit of education for myself. Good luck!!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

After doing a bunch of research, I guess I burned the clear?

Kind of late for these two articles but for those members and lurkers that will find and read this thread into the future...


Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips


The majority of cars being manufactured today and starting since the 1980's use what's called a basecoat/clearcoat paint system. With this system, a clear layer of paint is sprayed over the top of the basecoat which is also the color coat or the layer of paint that has pigment in it. If the car has a metallic finish then the metallic flakes are also in the basecoat.

The basecoat doesn't offer any gloss or shine and in fact it's dull or matte looking after it's sprayed. The basecoat gets it's gloss, shine, depth and reflectivity by the spraying of the clearcoat layer of paint over the top of it. This is why if a person removes too much clearcoat when buffing and they expose the basecoat it will appear to be a dull round or oval spot on a body panel. The part of the paint system that adds beauty has been removed revealing the dull or matte basecoat layer of paint.



Just how thin is the clear layer of paint on a factory paint job?

The factory clearcoat on a new or modern car measures approximately 2 mils thin.



The average Post-it Note is around 3 mils thin.

What does this mean?

This means the factory clearcoat on a new or modern car is thinner than a post-it note. The next time you have a post-it note in front of you, feel a single post-it note between your fingers. Like this...

This experience will drive home the point as to just how thin the clear layer of paint is on modern car with a factory paint job.

It should also drive home the importance of using the least aggressive pad, product and even tools to get the job done.

When I say, get the job done, the context of this usually means someone is buffing out a car to remove paint defects like swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation to make the paint and thus the car look better.

By using the least aggressive products you "get the job done" while leaving the most paint on the car to it will last over the mechanical service life of the car.

If you're working on your own cars and you're reading this you're already ahead of the game by reading the AGO forum and probably being a member so you can ask questions and get help.

If you're working on customer's cars take a professional approach as a service to your customers.


If you're reading this and you're going to do the work yourself or hire a detailer then do some research and make sure you hire a detailer that knows this type of stuff because the factory clearcoat on your car is thin.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Here's the other one,

Wetsanding removes paint - Compounding removes paint - Polishing removes a little paint


I've been typing the above for YEARS now on this forum in an effort to educate people of something that is VERY BASIC.

1. Wetsanding removes paint
2. Compounding removes paint
3. Polishing removes a little paint

Most of the time when I type out the above, it's in the context of someone that has NEVER wetsanded before and for whatever their reason, now they are THINKING of wetsanding their car.

Then as they share more information we find out the car in question has the FACTOR CLEARCOAT.


The factory clearcoat on a modern car is around 2 mils THIN. A Post-it Note is around 3 mils thin.


This means the clear layer of paint on your car is THINNER than a post-it note.




Here's my article with pictures that makes it easy for you to wrap your brain around this idea.


Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips

So for about 99.9% of the population... you should NOT be wetsanding the factory finish on your car because,

1. Wetsanding removes paint
2. Compounding removes paint
3. Polishing removes a little paint

And sooner or later, when you're running your buffer over the paint to remove the sanding marks or the holograms from a rotary buffer/wool pad compounding step - you're going to turn your buffer off, turn it over and see the COLOR of the basecoat on the face of the pad.


This is a REALLY BAD SIGN.


Now you get to repaint that panel.


95% of ALL wetsanding is done to CUSTOM cars with CUSTOM paint jobs where the paint is THICKER.


So watch some more YouTube videos and read some more hero stories on Facebook and go ahead and sand down your factory finish. And if and when you sand or buff through the clearcoat layer, don't ask how you can fix this with more buffing, that's not how you fix missing clearcoat. You repaint.

 

[daemon9]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Tom... I'll give it my best shot.

There are some variables to consider but we'll get to them later.

For the basic paintwork itself, a high-quality, OEM equivalent, repaint will probably be in the $500.00 - $600.00 neighborhood per panel. The process would include spot-repairing and blending the color-coat, and clear-coating the entire panel.

Now here's some variables that can impact the cost...

- If the color repair is adjacent to another panel, then blending into the adjacent panel MAY BE necessary along with clear-coating the entire adjacent panel. This alone could double or triple the cost but I don't think it applies to this case.

- How many emblems or other trim pieces are there? For the best repair these need to be removed so there could be some additional R&I (remove/install) costs.

- Panel size? Long bed / short bed?

Thanks for all the replies...I did NOT expect so many responses! It's a short bed two trim pieces at the bottom and the bed rail panel that runs down the top of the side. I could take them off before I take it to the body shop to keep from incurring another charge. The body shop I talked to quoted me $450 for about 3 days. Talk about lesson learned. After reading Mr. Phillips' responses, I will inquire about having the whole truck cleared with a few more coats. If only there were a way to protect the paint from rock chips...it's pretty bad where I'm at.

 

[98CayenneTA]

If only there were a way to protect the paint from rock chips...it's pretty bad where I'm at.

PPF (Protective Paint Film)

 

[TTQ B4U]

After reading Mr. Phillips' responses, I will inquire about having the whole truck cleared with a few more coats. If only there were a way to protect the paint from rock chips...it's pretty bad where I'm at.

You can not simply have more cleared sprayed on. Think Paint Protection Film (PPF) aka Clear Bra. Honestly though, it's a truck and likely a daily, don't go crazy worrying about every scratch. The cost-benefit isn't likely worth it. PF isn't going to be cheap. Use it selectively where needed.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Thinking outside the box....


How about a strategically placed STP sticker?

 

[psnt1ol]

On the lighter side....

Whatever you do... just dont do this !!!