Recent touchup job with clear coat, now what?

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blackwaterstout

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I’m a complete newbie to the auto detailing world. I’ve always been good about keeping my vehicle washed, clayed, and waxed but have never gotten into the world of polishing and buffing.

I recently had paint problems that required me to do some touch up work on my ’05 Nissan Frontier. The estimate for getting the paint repaired was astronomical. It’s an 8 year old truck now so I was hoping I could do some touch up work and get decent results. I ordered a touch-up kit from autorefinish.com that came with a can of my trucks base color and a can of clear coat. I watched some youtube videos and thought I’d give it a try. I wet sanded the bad area and coated with a few coats of primer. Then wet sanded again with 3000 grit sandpaper. I added about 5 coats of electric blue and wet sanded yet again with the 3000 grit paper. Felt smooth and looked pretty good. Then I added six coats of clear. The instructions on the can said not to sand or polish until after the final coat and after 24 hours. So needless to say its not the prettiest thing right now.

Now I’m not really sure how I should proceed? Should I wet sand the clearcoat with 3000 grit sandpaper or should I go straight to the polisher? At this time I do not own a polisher but was thinking about buying a Porter Cable 7424XP package listed at http://www.autogeek.net/poca74pofcop.html.

What are our thoughts about this package and would it be sufficient to get me started and get the finish at least respectable? I don’t expect it to look like it was professionally painted but at least would like to look better than what it currently does.

Are there better options in the <$200 range I should consider? Thanks.
I'd appreciate your help and comments. Thanks.
 
Here is an excellent write up on a key repair. Although this is a key repair the rules of filling and sanding still apply.

Sanding your clear coat is very dangerous without the proper tools and equipment. The thing to keep in mind is that the factory clear coats are no more thick then the thickness of a sticky note. With each pass of a sanding stroke you are removing a very small amount of this clear. Once you have gone too far then your only option will be a repaint.

Here are some articles you should read through to educate your self:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...6278-wetsanding-colorsanding-dampsanding.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ding-tools-tips-techniques-mike-phillips.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-wetsanding-fresh-paint-vs-factory-paint.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-buffing/25042-rule-thumb.html

There is a lot of risk when wet sanding but with the right education proper technique and proper tools it can be done. Its always best to practice before you take the keep and do it to the vehicle that means something to you.

BTW you font size is very hard to read. You may want to make it bigger. :props:
 
Evan.J said:
Here is an excellent write up on a key repair. Although this is a key repair the rules of filling and sanding still apply.

Sanding your clear coat is very dangerous without the proper tools and equipment. The thing to keep in mind is that the factory clear coats are no more thick then the thickness of a sticky note. With each pass of a sanding stroke you are removing a very small amount of this clear. Once you have gone too far then your only option will be a repaint.

Here are some articles you should read through to educate your self:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...6278-wetsanding-colorsanding-dampsanding.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ding-tools-tips-techniques-mike-phillips.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-wetsanding-fresh-paint-vs-factory-paint.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-buffing/25042-rule-thumb.html

There is a lot of risk when wet sanding but with the right education proper technique and proper tools it can be done. Its always best to practice before you take the keep and do it to the vehicle that means something to you.

BTW you font size is very hard to read. You may want to make it bigger. :props:
Click to expand...

I appreciate the links. I will go through the info tonight when I get home.

I'm not really sure if I need to wet sand the clear or if polishing with a DA will be able to get it decent. I want to buy a DA polisher for all of my cars and the Porter Cable seems to be the best bang for the buck. Just curious if the polish and pads that come with the kit mentioned about would be appropriate for my situation. Maybe I'd need a more aggressive polish and cutting pads but I've read that I should start with the least aggressive first.

I'm definitely going to order the polisher, but also should buy the compounds and pads that will best work with the new clearcoat.

Thanks again.
 
Here's a tip...


Consider allowing a few more days to pass before wetsandingand buffing...

You could even contact the manufacturer and check with them to find out if it's okay to wait a few days versus getting on it too soon. You want the paint fully dried and hardened. My guess is the company instructions are for people on a short time schedule BUT if it's not a dire emergency, it also won't hurt to wait a few days.


See what they say but I would be inclined to wait a few days and let this paint fully dry and harden. Even fully dried and hardened it's unlikely it will be harder than your factory paint.


Once you do decide to move forward, I would sand lightly using #2500 or #3000 Nikken papers. These are "finishing" papers, not "sanding" papers and the quality is much higher. The #3000 feels like notebook paper and is so non-aggressive I find myself reaching for #2500 more often and then if you want make a few cover sanding passes with the #3000

Autogeek sells individual sheets of Nikken so you can get just what you need.


Meguiars Unigrit Sand Papers 6 Pack Kit - Your Choice!



After sanding lightly, if you get the Porter Cable, also get a compound like the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, this compound along with its cousins, M105, M101 and M100 are all SMAT compounds and work exceedingly well.

Then buff the section with either a foam pad or a microfiber pad. You should be able to remove these sanding marks using a foam "polishing" pad, (non-aggressive), but you won't know till you try.

If the paint is fairly hard then you'll need either a foam cutting pad or a microfiber cutting pad like the Meguiar's or the LC MF pads.

Just take your time and you shoujld be able to get the repair to the point where it looks pretty good.


Read plenty and ask questions, you'll find a lot of very nice and helpful guys on here always willing to see you through to success.

Also...

welcome to AutogeekOnline!

:welcome:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Here's a tip...


Consider allowing a few more days to pass before wetsandingand buffing...

You could even contact the manufacturer and check with them to find out if it's okay to wait a few days versus getting on it too soon. You want the paint fully dried and hardened. My guess is the company instructions are for people on a short time schedule BUT if it's not a dire emergency, it also won't hurt to wait a few days.


See what they say but I would be inclined to wait a few days and let this paint fully dry and harden. Even fully dried and hardened it's unlikely it will be harder than your factory paint.


Once you do decide to move forward, I would sand lightly using #2500 or #3000 Nikken papers. These are "finishing" papers, not "sanding" papers and the quality is much higher. The #3000 feels like notebook paper and is so non-aggressive I find myself reaching for #2500 more often and then if you want make a few cover sanding passes with the #3000

Autogeek sells individual sheets of Nikken so you can get just what you need.


Meguiars Unigrit Sand Papers 6 Pack Kit - Your Choice!



After sanding lightly, if you get the Porter Cable, also get a compound like the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, this compound along with its cousins, M105, M101 and M100 are all SMAT compounds and work exceedingly well.

Then buff the section with either a foam pad or a microfiber pad. You should be able to remove these sanding marks using a foam "polishing" pad, (non-aggressive), but you won't know till you try.

If the paint is fairly hard then you'll need either a foam cutting pad or a microfiber cutting pad like the Meguiar's or the LC MF pads.

Just take your time and you shoujld be able to get the repair to the point where it looks pretty good.


Read plenty and ask questions, you'll find a lot of very nice and helpful guys on here always willing to see you through to success.

Also...

welcome to AutogeekOnline!

:welcome:
Click to expand...

I don't have a problem letting the paint cure longer. It'll take me a few days to get the polisher shipped anyway. I think I'll go with the kit I mentioned about but also add the Meguire's Ultimate Compound to my order. The above mentioned kit says it comes with 3 different pads, one of which will cut if I'd need it.
 
I actually have a new plan.

I was discussing this with a co-worker of mine and he offered to lend me his 6 speed HF DA polisher in order to get my feet wet. He said he has 3 Lake Country pads (orange, white, and grey) and also has Megs 105 and 205.

So I think I'm going to give this a shot this weekend. I still plan on purchasing my own equipment but for now I'm going to give this a shot.

I've read that I should start out on the conservative side of things but since we are not just talking about swirl marks I'm thinking the Megs 105 with the orange Lake country pad is the way to start. Then follow up with the 205 on the white pad?

Does this sound reasonable?
 
blackwaterstout said:
I've read that I should start out on the conservative side of things but since we are not just talking about swirl marks I'm thinking the Megs 105 with the orange Lake country pad is the way to start. Then follow up with the 205 on the white pad?

Does this sound reasonable?
Click to expand...


Yes. Sounds very reasonable. Just be sure to let the paint fully dry and harden. I'd give it a day or two as it's my opinion you're safer to work on paint sprayed out of a spray can after it's fully dried and hardened than to risk buffing while it might not be as hard as its potential.


Just my opinion but I also always recommend to go with the manufacturer's directions as they know their product best. It wouldn't take but a few minutes to contact the manufacture and ask them about the specifics of their recommended time to start sanding and buffing for the reasons I already outlined...


Already looking forward to your after pictures!


:Picture:
 
Something else to consider. What does the rest of the truck look like in terms of orange peel? You may want to match that texture as close as possible. If you use the foamed backed sanding paper (Megs for example) or make your own the foam will not cut the orange peel as much. Pertty much vision just smoothing out the peaks of the orange peel.

I would suggest getting a GG vs PC when you do buy a polisher. Pretty much the same price but a little more powerful. I'd also recommend wetsanding before buffing. If you post some pictures it would be helpful to recommend a starting point for sandpaper grit. Hard to go wrond starting around 2000-2500 grit then finish with 3000. Your HF polisher will tackle those sanding marks easily just pay attention to building up too much heat on fresh paint. 6 coats of clear is a lot of paint to work with.

:Picture:
 
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