xakura21

I had a few large scratches that I tried to touch up, as well as tons of chips. After I let the paint dry, I tried to blend the touch up paint in by wet-sanding, polishing compound & then wax, but I think I sanded to hard, so now it looks like sh!t. How do I get the "faded" paint & scratches back to at least the way it was when I touched it up. If you might be able to tell me how to blend it in the right way, would be even better. I don't want to go buy a can of touch up paint. I only got a 2oz bottle of touch up because that's all I needed. Thanks

I didn't know where to post this, so I just put it here.

Help please

3.2TLc

Without being able to see the final results, it's difficult to say how to go about undoing the attempted touch up. The scratches must've been fairly deep, more like being "keyed". Faded clear-cote usually will clean up without resorting to sanding. What grit of paper were you using to sand with ?

If you got a good color match and the scratch leveled out, you maybe able to try the finest 3m fiber pad that you can buy, then go gently go over the sanded area that you were trying to repair. Clean residue with some mineral spirits, then carefully spray some clear over the area. Let it set up a few days, then try light polishing compound to blend in.

xakura21

I was using 2000 grit. The scratch wasn't too deep, but deep enough to notice easily. Any idea where to find 3M fiber pads? Is that like steel wool?

01tl4tl

STOP
look up auto paint supply in the phone book
drive there and ask what to buy

dreem1er

iTrader: (2)

The steps for sanding would've been, 1000-2000 grit, then a 3000 grit, and then depending on how it looks a buff with a light-heavy compound

xakura21

That's what I was thinking. I now know I should have used 3000 or even 4000 grit, so it wouldn't screw it up. Yea, I'm going to use a compound & buff it out to see how it looks. We'll see. I just got a little free-handed when I was sanding.

dreem1er

iTrader: (2)

Did sand down the paint completely or just messed up the surface?

xakura21

It looks like its just the surface. I'm going to buff it & see if it helps.

xakura21

It still looks like this...




And I used this...





What am I doing wrong?? I got all the scratches & dull surfaces off, but the rest of it is from the touch up paint. Also, where do I get those black plastic clips that hold the wheel well together?

01tl4tl

you seem to have ignored previous advice and PM
go to a place that sell auto paint and body SUPPLIES
they will hook you up with the right set of products
Ask them to look at the car- they will help!!

you need at least 3 grades of polishing compound to remove scratches
and a few different pads for the buffer too

jhinton

you need a polisher with hi-speed. that is going to need a lot of work. I agree with 01tl4tl go to an auto body and paint supply place they will have everything you need and you can fix it right for the last time

xakura21

Headed over to AutoZone Wednesday & see what I can do. I don't have any "paint & body" areas here that at least sell items. They only do the work for you. I will see if AutoZone can help.

3.2TLc

Hey Xakura21, going to Autozone won't really help you much......unless you want to add salt to injury. I'm unsure of the location of the botched touch-up, but if it's in a fairly noticeable area....you may really want to consider having a detail shop give you an estimate to professionally buff and blend the effected area.

Just my .02 cents ! Save yourself from inflicting any further frustration.

xakura21

It's on the front driver's side fender right above the wheel.

fsttyms1

You could have wetsanded it with 600 grit and polished it to a shine. It would have just required much more work though. Your issue (if you didnt sand thru the clear) is the compound you are using to polish with.

Napa does, and Some autozones and orileys etc.. do carry meguires products by the body repair stuff. They have the correct compounds for polishing after wetsanding.

Something like this

You may need to start out with something like a 85 then move to a 82 or 83 to finish the area.

http://www.meguiars.com/en/professio...ompound-32-oz/

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...332_0006406695

fsttyms1

Oh and with that cheap buffer (no offense) or any buffer for that matter be VERY careful near any edges.

xakura21

I fixed it! I just used Langka Blob Eliminator. It took off the touch up paint, which is all that was left & I just have to deal w/ the scratches, which weren't that noticeable anyway. Oh well, had to spend more $ to get back to where I started, but I fixed it & that's what matters.

3.2TLc

Learn something new everyday.......Was the Langka "BLOB" Remover available at your local auto part's store paint dept ? Did the BLOB product help remove the sanding dullness/scratches, leaving only the original defect to deal with ?

xakura21

I got it online @ Amazon.com. I just needed to buff & wax the area afterwards to get the shine back. It didn't take off the scratches, but it did help the dullness, but the main reason I got it was to take the touch up paint off.