Detailing / Paint Help

[kmnd05]

This is my situation:

I go to U of Texas and park in a student lot near the baseball stadium. Needless to say it is being remodeled and overspray got on my car! It turns out the construction company doing the renovation knew about the problem and is being cooperative in fixing all the damaged cars. They have set me up with a detailer to clean off the epoxy and refinish my paint.

This is my question:

I took my car in today to get fixed, when I went pick it up, the guy said that the only way he could get the epoxy off was by wet sanding (2000 grit) The paint looks great, absolutely no eggshell, but do I have to worry about having a lesser amount of clearcoat now? Is there anything that I sould tell him to do or ask him to assure that my paint will last? Is there anything I should do to prolong the life of the paint? Thanks in advance

p.s. the car is black and the epoxy is white.

[BlueZero]

Re: Detailing / Paint Help

Did you try clay?

[Murr1525]

Re: Detailing / Paint Help

Not familiar with the different types of paints, and what the differences might be... But had anyone just tried claying the car?

Anywho, if all of your panels were already wetsanded, then you really wont know how much clear you started off with. But you could get a paint thickness gauge if you wanted to be sure of what is left everywhere. Though I think the guage might measure total paint, not just clear. Not sure...

Measuring Clear Coat Thickness

Paint Thickness Tools

And what about the overspray on your windows?

But after the work is done, a good shop wont have removed too much clear, so just treat the paint as normal. Here are some basic paint care links:

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

Step 1 Wash

Step 2 Clean

Step 3 Polish

Step 4 Protect

Step 5 Maintain

Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

Recommended Products - G100a Dual Action Polisher

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

[kmnd05]

Re: Detailing / Paint Help

They tried claying the car first, but they said the paint was too fresh and the the epoxy overspray was just too stuck for it too work. Then, they tried just buffing it out and it kind of worked, but it took an hour just to do a 3 foot by 1 foot section and it was causing the paint to get too hot. It took off the epoxy paint, but left discolored black spots behind.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Detailing / Paint Help

If the work is all finished then about the only thing you have left to do is cross your fingers and hope,

They didn't burn through the paint on any of the high points or body lines.
Didn't remove too much paint creating a potential for clear coat failure in the future due to thin clear coat.
Didn't instill buffer swirls, also called Holograms or Buffer Trails
Didn't leave sanding marks behind

Best thing to do would be to wash the car to remove any products currently filling in the swirls or sanding marks and then inspect in bright sunlight and florescent lights. Look closely at different angles.

Both the wet-sanding and machine cutting and polishing procedures will remove paint. Also, unless the people doing the work are absolute perfectionist performing multiple-step processes with the last one machine polishing with a dual action polisher to remove the swirls the rotary buffer likely instilled, the the odds of having a true professional quality results are pretty slim.

Sorry to inform you of this but the majority of the questions on this forum are on how to remove swirls and scratches and quite often after some painter's helper or some detailer has worked on you car.

It's really hard to find people that actually know what they're doing, use all quality products and care about your car as much as you do and thus pour their heart and soul into their work like you would do.

Wash the car, find some bright sunlight and some bright florescent lights and thoroughly inspect the finish. Even get a Swirl Finder light and inspect in a garage, (not outdoors), these can be had at Target fro about $25.00 (Brinkman Xeon Flashlight)

Best of luck to you and sorry to hear of your mishap...