Would wet sanding fix this

[fsSnowboard]

I just removed the door guards from my Mazda 6 as they were falling off. I cleaned off the expected dirt ring with a claybar and the dirt came off. But only the driver side door is flawless. The other three doors have what looks like paint splatter where the door guard strip was.


This picture shows the driver side door, then the outline on the rear door.



More images of the outline.






Would careful wet sanding fix this so I wont have an outline anymore?

[Michael Stoops]

While wet sanding should take care of it, we'd rather see you try something less aggressive first. If you're going to wet sand we also assume that means you a rotary buffer and the skill to use it, right? We ask because once you put those sanding marks into the paint you'll need a rotary to get rid of them. So if you have a rotary, or even a DA, the better move here would be to use a polishing pad and a liquid paint cleaner and see how that goes. Ultimate Compound on a W8207 foam polishing pad will most likely take care of this on its own, without having to resort to wet sanding.

Bottom line: if you're pretty experienced with wet sanding and compounding and you're really confident in your ability to do this, then go for it. If not, don't even think about it - try buffing it out first.

[fsSnowboard]

Nope, I've never wet sanded anything. I will try what you recommend and give it a shot. I thought wet sanding after trying clay bar was my only option. I'll post results when I get a chance to try this. Thanks!

[Michael Stoops]

If you care about this car, this is not the time to learn how to wet sand! Wet sanding is an extremely aggressive process and usually should be reserved only for those situations where nothing else can correct a given problem.

[fsSnowboard]

Thanks for the advice. I would like to have this car continue to look nice.

[beb0816]

is there any update on this thread? i have the same problem with this... pls help!! thanks!!

[beb0816]

anyone?? pls help me guys....

[Hemin8r]

Hey beb0816, if you have the same problem as fssnowboard and do not have experience in wetsanding try what Mike Stoops has suggested before you try anything aggressive. Start out safe.

[fsSnowboard]

sorry, things came up and I havn't had a chance to work on this car yet. I will post pics when I do, just $$ is tight right now.

[SydneyDetail]

I did a wetsand repair to a client's metallic silver paintwork when he received a lit cigarette butt lodged between his provisional licence plate and his paintwork.

Here is the before pic:



The process I followed was thus..

1. Cleaned the area of about 1ft either side of the burn with a small amount of gold class.
2. A very small amount of clay and clayed the area with increased pressure than normal. This told me, as expected, that the damage was through the clearcoat. I always clay on any repair job for a number of reasons. Mainly to take off any damage on top, and also to have the area completely clean ahead of any rotary or compounding work.
3. Hand application of Ultimate Compound. Took a very, very small amount off the paint work, time to step up.
4. Rotary application. Since this was a plastic panel (front bumper), I had to be very careful about heat. The rotary did not help much, and I did not want to get too aggressive for the aforementioned reason. Time for the ultimate fix.
5. 1800 wet-sand. It took quite some sanding to get through and fix this up. I was sanding lightly for about 3-4 minutes, always lubricated until the damage was nearly gone. The reason why I sanded until it was nearly gone is because I knew the rotary would take away the last remaining amount when I got rid of the sanding marks.
6. Rotary application of UC to clear the sanding marks.
7. Polished the area.

Here's the result, 30 minutes later:


As you can see, it was pretty good when finished. My client was ecstatic.

From my method, you'll see I slowly work up in aggressiveness, which serves two purposes. One, I never get more aggressive than I need to ('testing' how deep the damage is) and second, to have the paint fully prepared for the fix job.

The best advice I can give you, and as has been said here, is to start at the least aggressive stage and work up. You'll actually be surprised at how well a clay bar can work!