firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

When I bought my car a year ago or so, I noticed in one section of my paint that it was faint. It has been pissing me off ever since, and I want to do something about it. My question is, what do you think I can do?? I have a pc, and all kinds of compounds, do you think I can get it looking better, or will I have to repaint?

Here are the pics....THERE ARE MORE PICS BELOW IN POST #9 !!!!

Pic 1

Pic 2

Any suggestions are welcome, and also the reason I didn't put it in the Body work section is because I really hope I don't have to do it that way, because i am a noob when it comes to body work.....

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

I guess no one can help me??? This sucks ....

MadIceV8

iTrader: (12)

Its hard to tell by that picture, but I would try some rubbing compound then polish. If that doesn't help you could possibly wet sand it then repeat the top steps.

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

Ok, I think I will try some 3M stuff i have laying around. I will hit it with my pc, and then try some of the random polishes I have laying around. I think I also have some PoorBoys SSR2.5 laying around too.

I know this may be a stupid question, but will light wet sanding the area wreck my paint? I am not familiar with doing this, nor have I ever seen it done. If it doesn't hurt.....then can I just polish and buff the original shine back, or is there more involved???

Thanks again guys!!

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

bump for a good guy....lol

Gipraw

iTrader: (10)

Very hard to tell from that pic ..

have you tried claying it yet ?

I would try the following:

Wash
Clay
PC with the 3M or Pb's that you have .. see if it makes it any better ..

mrws6speed

Polishing is a series of more and more agressive steps.

1) SFX-2 or equivilant (scratch remover) with the PC

2) SFX-1 or equivilant with PC

3) 3M Perfect-It II or equivilant with yellow pad. This should get almost anything you could possibly have in the paint.

4) Color/Wet Sand. On factory paint this is VERY dangerous because the clear is way to thin. I wouldn't recommend any lower than 2000 grit.

5) Repaint.


If you go down the list of more agressive steps, then when you're through with that step do each step back up the list to polish it out to a nice shine. Don't foget to wax/seal after you're through polishing as it obviously strips all the protection away.

Good luck.

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

I will probably post more pics of it later on today, or tomorrow. The way it looks to me is like it isn't cleared. It looks like a duller black, and many tiny scratches in it.

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

I think it is an actual paint problem. It looks like it was never cleared, and someone used real shitty paint. I will post picks later today.

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

Ok here are a few more pics from a couple different angles, and one is real close.....

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

PLEASE help me out! And excuse how dirty my car is, I just put it in the garage for the winter and have yet to clean it....

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

bump again for me!!!!!!!

Gipraw

iTrader: (10)

Still hard to tell from the pic, probably due to the glare from the flash ..

my first guess is that someone wetsanded the panel with a course grit, then never did anything to buff it back out ..

My suggestion would be to wash it, clay it, then hit it with your PC, with the strongest cut you have (that will work with the PC)

won't coast you but a few bucks to try .. if that doesn't dent it .. then my next step would be to wet sand it, then polish it ..

BUT .. you could also be correct in that there is no paint clear at all on the panel .. (maybe removed by solvent, etc)

can't hurt to try and fix it yourself ..

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the input. I think I will try and use my PoorBoys SSR2.5 first. Is there a stronger cut polish out there that is relatively easy to use??

Another question is, if I wet sand it, will I only have to re-polish, then seal it??

WickedRamAirWS6

iTrader: (48)

it looks to me someone may have either "rattle canned" a touch up...or sprayed base coat but never cleared it......either way someone has messed with it ....if u wanted you could find a body shop that could sand and prep properly from the moulding down.....leaving a "window" behind the moulding where the upper part of the quarter meets the lower section where your paint problem is.....and then base and clear the correct paint code of black (because black is black isn't black) and then "smoke the area where u left the window.....to later after the paint has cured be wet sanded with some 1000 or 1500 and buffed out....and u should be good to go

Gipraw

iTrader: (10)

there is stronger available, but the SSR2.5 has enough cut to let you know whether polishing will fix it or not. so I would start with that..

as for the wetsanding, that all depends on what shape the base coat is in .. if there is clear still there, then proper wet sanding, followed by polishing, then waxing or sealing would be the correct process .. but my guess is that if the Poor Boys doesn't put a big dent in it, you are going to need to have the panel reshot ..

mycamaroSS

iTrader: (4)

yea see if you can just buff it out..that would **** me off as well. In my case i have those little rock chips around my front bromper and hood, im just gonna repaint

firebirdman469

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, it is to the point that whenever I wash it, I look down and feel like it didn't make a difference. It is very disheartening. I think I will give these suggestions a try. Thanks a lot guys.

More info would still be cool...