flc

Stupid coworker I took to lunch the other day openned my passenger door on a tree bush that left an 8 inch long gash on my clearcoat.
So I went home, and tried glaze. no use. then swirl remover, no use. Clay bar, no use. Then I tried rubbing compound still no use. By this time, I figured I needed a paint job anyway, so I said what the hell and grabbed my trusty 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and a little of detailer liquid from Mother's, and wet sanded the gash out. After that, I applied rubbing compound, followed by swirl remover, then glaze, then polish compound. The gash on the clearcoat is gone. Totally cool.

Question for you paint experts...How thick is the clearcoat, and how far can I wet sand before I break through to the basecoat? I got some clearcoat scuffs on my bumper as well.

RKA

1000 is relatively course. The remainder of your technique was good. Be very careful with high spots. The clearcoat is relatively thin, so I think it would be easy to sand right through it. Use very little pressure with the sandpaper, and lots of water to lubricate.

I would also recommend you use Dawn to wash the area you already worked on. Dry it, and look it over to make sure you didn't leave behind any scratch marks that the IHG and wax are temporarily hiding. Once you are satisfied that your technique is working, then work on the rear bumper. Of course, you'll need to rewax after washing with Dawn.

Why did you use a claybar on a scratch???

paul_858

clearcoat before wet-sanding any imperfections.

BoostLad

Had my two pups in the car, pulled in the drive, and the in-laws german shep jumped on BOTH drivers side doors... leaving claw scratches in the doors. Appears to be in the clearcoat only. You'd think the dog would have more respect for cars hailing from his motherland... So i got home and used swirl remover, which helped a little. But not enuff. But i dont think i have the cojones to wet sand- scary stuff. Would you mind posting a brief how-to for us sanding-impaired?? Thanks in advance Raj.

speaking of cojones- still driving the mustang to work, or are you finally driving the S4 like it deserves to be?? ;-P

flc

....and by no means am I responsible for any damage you do to your car. I learned most everything from painting my b-pillar columns and finishing the painting effort. I stand to be corrected by anyone else who has better experience.

Materials i used.
1) Mother's quick detailer
2) 1000grit wet sand paper (the kind that is black and washable. NOT the beige/orange kind). As suggested by others, use a finer grade (1500/2000) is recommended, but I was too cheap to go get that.
3) 3M liquid Polishing compound.
4) 3M swirl remover.
5) 3M hand glaze
6) Meguir's polish
7) Blitz one-grand wax.
8) clear tape and plasic wrap (for masking)
9) cotton polishing rags. 1 for each of the steps 1-7. NEVER use the same rag for more than one step.

Step 0: Wash your car, or at least the panel you will be working on.

Step 1: Mask off the scratched area. Make sure you leave some surrounding, unscratched paint, because you don't want to just exclusively sand the scratch, otherwise your paint will look funny when you are done. For a scratch, I left about 1/2 inch border around the scratch.
I just used clear tape with some clear wrap to mask around the scratch. Make sure you use light-tack tape, that isn't too sticky, otherwise you'll regret it later. Also make sure you crease the edges of the tape so you can easily peel it after you are done. I didn't, and it was a PITA to peel the tape off the door (duh!).

Step2: Take the quick detailer. And spray it liberally in the scratched area. The detailer liquid will function like a lubricant when you actually sand. Make sure that the area you are sanding is ALWAYS lubricated. NEVER NEVER dry sand paint, you will take too much off too quickly and eat the clearcoat too fast. ALWAYS ALWAYS keep the paint you are sanding well lubricated (IE always heavily wet) with the detailer while you sand.

Step3: Take the wet sandpaper, and pre-wet it with detailer. Lightly sand the scratched area, apply very very little pressure, evenly across the area you are sanding, just enough to lightly scuff the area. Make sure you are careful, don't accidently sand the paint outside of the masked area (although your mask should protect the covered area). Sand back-to-forth in a light manner, avoid circling. Make sure you sand all of the masked-off area. KEEP THE AREA WET WITH DETAILER. Sand a few strokes, then take a dry rag and dry the area off. I make about 10-12 backward and forward passes then dryed the area off with a cotton polishing rag.

Step 4 Look at the results to see if the scratches are flat with the rest of the paint. It will be kinda hard to tell, because your paint will be scuffed, but do the best you can. If in doubt, just don't sand anymore and continue with the next steps. If in the end you're not happy with the results, you can always repeat the process of wet sanding starting with (2). Be patient, don't try to sand too much, you will regret it if you remove all the clearcoat.

Step 5: Take the polishing compound, and a NEW rag and apply to the sanded area. Apply medium pressure, and buff in a backword/forward motion. No circles. Buff the area with a little pressure. The scuff should be slightly smoother as you buff.
Be careful with polishing compound. It is like liquid sandpaper. If you buff too hard with it and too long, you will eat your clearcoat. Just be patient and buff with some light pressure, until the paint becomes slightly clearer. polishing compound (despite it's name), won't make your paint shine like new. It's purpose it to smooth out the clearcoat that was scuffed by the wet-sanding. It should make the paint smoother, and the clearcoat slightly clearer, although with visible polishing marks.

Step6: After some buffing with the rubbing compound, look at the paint to see if you happy with the results. If you still see the scratch, you need to make a decision. Depending on the depth of the scratch, it may be impossible to wet sand it out completely. Honestly, I can still see my scratch if my eyes are 1 inch from the actual area AND if I knew where to look. Don't expect perfection.If you want to wet sand more, go back to step 2, otherwise proceed.


Step 7: If you are happy with the results, continue as follows. Take the swirl remover and apply it in the area you just sanded WITH A NEW RAG. Do not use the same rag you used for polishing compound, you not be able to achieve a nice shine if you have polishing compound remains in your rag.
The swirl remover will make the area smoother,as it contains light abrasives. It basically smooths out the clearcoat where the rubbing compound leaves off. Buff with medium pressure. In this step, I used a combination of back-forth motion and circular motion. Paint detailers insist never to buff in a circular motion. I get mixed results if I only polish in back-forth motion, so I usually start with a circular motion and finish polishing back-forth motion. Just do this until the paint becauses shiny. At the end of this step, your paint should shine, with still some small visible polishing marks.

Step 8: Remove the mask CAREFULLY. Slowly peel the tape with as little force as possible, as slowly as you can. Don't rip the tape off quickly, you could accidently peel the paint (doubt it would happen, but you never know.)

Step 9 Continue polishing with the swirl remover, blending the masked area with the surround unmasked area. Use a back-forth motion here.

Step 10: Use a NEW RAG, and apply the hand glaze to the area, using a back-forth motion. Apply medium pressure. This removes small polshing scratches left by the swirl remover. MAKE SURE YOU USE A NEW RAG, otherwise you won't achieve a nice/scratchless shine. Polish until you can't see the scratches no more.

Step 11: As suggested by RKA, you might want to wash off the area to make sure you polished out all the scratches.

Step 12: Use a NEW RAG, and apply liquid polish to the area, using a back-forth motion. Polish contains no abrasives, so it just makes the area shine.


Step 13: apply your favorite wax.

Step 14: pray your 1-2 hour of work was worth it and that you didn't screw up sanding too deep into the paint.

Good luck.

RKA

I would add a few remarks, but basically, that's exactly what I would do.

First, use a small flat object as a backing plate for your sandpaper. On flat-ish surfaces, it helps even out the pressure on the sandpaper. If you're working on curved areas, use your fingers, because you'll be able to distribute pressure more evenly on a curve, whereas the backing plate will place all the pressure on the high spot on the curved panel. Use your judgement. Obviously there are gentle curves where you might be able to use the backing plate or you might be able to use your fingers.

If you are leery about doing this, find a beater car to practice on (your neighbor's) or go to a junkyard, purchase a test panel, scratch it accordingly, and go to town on it, until you have a feel for it.

I watched my body shop wet sand a Carmen Ghia with fresh paint. They were leveling the clearcoat to remove the orange peel. Once I saw them do it, I was a lot less scared.

3M's website has a whole range of products that will take you from wet sanding to the final waxed paint. You can buy all the products you need to do the job, and I believe they will ship for free. 3M probably has the best "system" set up to do the job right (meaning a group of polishing and rubbing compounds that will gradually increase the shine, and lessen the scratches as you work).

Nice job flc!

RKA

I modified the exhaust on this beast! I should bring it to the Reading drive, just so I can show you what she can do!

The mod: rusted heat shields! At 2500 rpms, it lets out a rasp that will scare away German Shepards and K04'd A4's!!

BoostLad

I did basically that last nite, but started with the polishing compound (did not sand) and worked my way up from there, to swirl remover, then IHG, then wax. Worked pretty well. Like you, i can still see the scratches if i know where to look, and get the right angle of light and view. Thanks for confirming the difference between swirl rem. and pol. compound too- wasnt sure. Indeed- post to tech section.