That will NOT buff out! Or, I'm a bonehead.

lokerola

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So............after a very long and very stressful week full of 12+ hour days I hop in my 2011 Dodge Charger R/T after work. It's been sitting in the garage all day staying nice and protected from the weather. In fact I just waxed it with Collinite 845 2 weekends ago and it's been looking great.

I hop in the car, fire it up, put in reverse, turn the wheel all the way to the left, and gun it to back out of my spot. I gunned it because I was the only one left in the garage at the end of the day.

But I wasn't exactly alone. In a split second I head the horrifying crunch and the car came to lurching stop. Although there were no other cars in the garage, there was the huge 3 foot by 3 foot square brick column.

I had just smashed my beautiful black Charger up and into the column. And smashed it good. I was stunned. Then pissed. It was driveable and I drove it home and haven't been able to look at it the last 2 days I was so mad at myself. It's going into the shop Wednesday and I'm sure everything will turn out OK, but it sure sucks to have your ride so smashed up after working so hard to take care of it.

Look at the beautiful beading, LOL!
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Note the large chunk of paint that flecked off. More on that to follow.
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What do you mean that won't buff out, LOL!
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OK, so here's the interesting thing about the paint that flecked off. It's soooooo thin! I know from reading Mike's book and reading here that today's paints are thin, but it's truly unbelievable how thin the paint is.
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Backside of the paint was oddly metallic. The panel on the smashed fender is bare paint, so this fleck has to contain primer, paint, and clear. But it doesn't look or feel like I think primer should feel. I wasn't expecting something metallic and shiny. Maybe someone who knows paints better than me can explain why this is?
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Maybe a hair thicker than a post-it note. But not by much. that's the primer, paint, and clear!
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Almost can't see it from this view.
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Anyway, watch out when you're backing out!!!
 
You could try to buff it out if you want. It might make you feel better but it's not gonna fix it.

Sorry to hear about the damage.

Ed

:autowash: :buffing:
 
Start with the least agresive first, then you might need to try M105... lol that sucks!
 
I did something similar with my old taurus a few years ago.

It was late at night and my rear window was fogged up. I look in my mirrors figured, "Im good, there are very few cars in the lot". I was in a hurry so I backed out very quick and heard a terrible crunching sound shortly there after. Looked to my left and my car was hugging a light pole! I took these the next morning.

3-4.jpg

1-3.jpg
 
It would be neat if you would send that sample of paint to someone who owns a high quality paint guage and let them measure the total film build. Mr. Phillips come to mind and I'm sure he'd be interested in getting readings on that sample to share on our forum. Perhaps we all could learn something from his findings.
 
You could try to buff it out if you want. It might make you feel better but it's not gonna fix it.

Sorry to hear about the damage.

Ed

:autowash: :buffing:

Thanks Ed. Yea, I'm just going to let the body shop handle this one. No buffing or me (not that it would do any good).

Start with the least agresive first, then you might need to try M105... lol that sucks!

M105 and a hammer, LOL!

I did something similar with my old taurus a few years ago.

It was late at night and my rear window was fogged up. I look in my mirrors figured, "Im good, there are very few cars in the lot". I was in a hurry so I backed out very quick and heard a terrible crunching sound shortly there after. Looked to my left and my car was hugging a light pole! I took these the next morning.

3-4.jpg

1-3.jpg

Ouch! Looks like you got the whole side of the car. Sickening sound when you hit the car, isn't it? Did you get it fixed? How did it turn out?

It would be neat if you would send that sample of paint to someone who owns a high quality paint guage and let them measure the total film build. Mr. Phillips come to mind and I'm sure he'd be interested in getting readings on that sample to share on our forum. Perhaps we all could learn something from his findings.

Good idea Hoytman. Mike, if you're reading and you're interested, let me know and I'll mail you the paint chip. It would be interesting to know just how thick the paint is.
 
Ouch! Looks like you got the whole side of the car. Sickening sound when you hit the car, isn't it? Did you get it fixed? How did it turn out?

A few people from class were about 100ft away and they ran over to see if I was alright. So it must have been pretty loud lol. I just remember a loud crunch.

The car was worth less than what it would cost to fix' didnt help that it had an Earl Scheib paint job, so I never bothered. Interestingly too is that it was down to bare metal near the back where I initially hit, but it never rusted in the few months more I owned it till I got my altima.
 
Ouch, that really sucks! :(

I get the same feeling when I hear tree branches running along the side of my truck when off roading. I just call them battle scars to help lessen the pain a little.

My dad backed his Mustang into the basketball pole back when he got it. I don't think I'd ever seen him so devastated before that happened.

The worst pains are the ones you inflict.
 
The metallic coating on the back is the factory e-coat. It etches the paint with an acid to mechanically and chemically grab the metal. It's not metallic when sprayed, so my best guess is it pulled some metal off with it, due to the etching?
 
Excepting this is the first step to a complete recovery......it's OK to cry...:cry:

This is why we call things like this accidents. Simply put, they happen and when we least expect them...we've ALL been there...:doh:

Get it into a quality shop and let them restore it to new.....have them put a few extra coats of clear too!! :props:
 
Good idea Hoytman. Mike, if you're reading and you're interested, let me know and I'll mail you the paint chip. It would be interesting to know just how thick the paint is.

I'd send him a private message with a link to this thread just to make sure he's aware of the thread.
 
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