Mid-detail!!!! Please help

[wkbrdr03]

So i am using the scratchX and i was softly working it in on my first section and flipped the applicator over and it was black(black car)...does this mean there is no clear coat and i am taking off the actual paint...is this right? I already cleaned and clayed the section I am working(hood)

Thanks guys...by the way...this forum is ****ing awesome, otherwise i would have stopped now and cried

[wkbrdr03]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

by the way...i know ur supposed to use passion but the black scared me

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

Appears that you're working on a single stage paint.

What are you working on? As in what kind of vehicle and what year?

[wkbrdr03]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

'01 lexus is300

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

If the paint you're working on is glossy then it's very likely that you are truly working on an original single stage paint as most of the color coats in a 2-part, basecoat/clearcoat system are not glossy but flat. These basecoats get their gloss and beauty when the clear coat is sprayed over it.

[wkbrdr03]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

it is glossy, so should i change anything or just keep working...i'm not really sure i understood ur last response

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

'01 lexus is300

• Could be a factory single stage
• Could be a tinted clear
• Could be a re-paint

If this is the factor paint, then chances are good it's either a tinted clear coat of a factory single stage paint with odds on it being a tinted clear. When you say you're seeing black on the applicator pad, is it a little black color or is the pad completely turning dark black?

If the car has been repainted, then it is possible the body shop has sprayed a single stage paint, (Yes, some shops still do this).

You could check by testing the entire car panel by panel and see if each panel pulls black color or not. If you find a section that doesn't pull any color then this panel is clear coated.

If the entire car pulls color then it was either completely repainted, or came from the factory with either single stage paint or tinted clear.

Big picture is this, if the paint is shiny and glossy after you wash, clay, clean, polish and wax, then there's nothing to worry about, just use good technique and polish away!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

it is glossy, so should i change anything or just keep working...i'm not really sure i understood ur last response

Big picture is this,

If the paint is shiny and glossy after you wash, clay, clean, polish and wax, then there's nothing to worry about, just use good technique and polish away!

[wkbrdr03]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

ok...thanks for your help...at least now i know what the options are...i am very confident that it is all factory paint,bought used but lady had all work done at dealership and there are lots of chips in the hood which tell me its not a new hood

so here is what i'm going to do...

gonna try to polish up the same spot on i'm working on, and then go to another spot on the car and see if it pulls anything up

it seems like it pulled some up and then it was done, and it seems more like a tint than the actual black paint

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

it seems like it pulled some up and then it was done, and it seems more like a tint than the actual black paint

Sounds right. Don't worry, it will turn out great!

[wkbrdr03]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

thanks mike...back to the car...

[CharlesW]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

Just another thought.
The paint may have been meglected to the point where it actually had a layer of dirt that the Scratch-X is removing.
The comment made, "it seems like it pulled some up and then it was done, and it seems more like a tint than the actual black paint." could be indicative of dirt on/in the paint.

[wkbrdr03]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

ok so i have done about a 3x2 area on the hood and it looks good...not great but good, swirls have completely been removed, just some isolated scratches. i am waxing it now just to double check but it def seems much better.

the only problem is that one applicator is almost completely black, should i keep going cuz it looks better?

[hondaprelude98]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

I have a black car and when i used the product it did not turn black, but liek the other ppl said if it is glossy then dont worry, it could have been dirty maybe

[wkbrdr03]

Re: Mid-detail!!!! Please help

ok well you guys can draw your own conclusion before i move on...

before...

applicator...

after...