Fixing ugly touch up paint blobs

[sean]

I've been detailing my Lexus RX300 which I got used a few weeks ago. It's covered with scratches, swirls, you name it. I just got the g100 which is simply amazing. I've gotten most of the abuse out, but I've noticed a lot of areas where the previous owner slapped on some touch up paint. It's nothing short of an eye sore, and the worst part, it's everywhere. The finish is black so the paint is pretty easy to touch up, but just as I said he slapped it on, so theres huge blobs and such. What can I do to get rid of this? Should I try wet sanding?

[joenj1]

Ah yes.... I would LOVE to see this subject covered too... Unfortunately, I have some areas on my car where I applied touch up paint in a hurry and they are pretty ugly.... Always wanted to go back and fix them but didn't know how.

[Mike Phillips]

This topic comes up at almost every Saturday Detailing class we hold here at Meguiar's. It does deserve a full-on how to article except that when it comes to doing any kind of wet-sanding this will typically require the person to follow-up with a rotary buffer to remove any sanding marks as the G100 dual action polisher is to gentle in it's cleaning action to remove sanding marks and most people don't posses the skill and ability to remove sanding marks by hand with ScratchX although it can be done.

Paint hardness is a big factor when it comes to removing sanding marks and this varies across the board.

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Paint hardness is a big factor when it comes to removing sanding marks and this varies across the board.

Bearing this in mind, I've had decent results using Meguiar's sanding blocks (forget the "proper" name for them) in 2,500 grit. I was able to remove the sanding marks by hand using a product similar to the (new, reformulated) #2 fine cut followed by more work with something milder. Gotta work *very* carefully though...

[Sydney Benz]

OK, you may think this is crazy, but it works.

Step A - order some Langka from Langka.com
Step B - wait till it arrives
Step C - whilst waiting buy the correct touch up paint from your dealer

then

1 - dab some paint thinner on to a clean soft cloth.
2 - rub gently over the paint blobs [car should be clean]. I have also used cotton swabs instead of a cloth
3 - the touch up paint will be removed [I have seen it remove touch up paint that is up to a year old]
4 - the original factory paint/clear coat will not be effected. It is too hard and is baked on [this assumes your car still has the original factory paint]
5 - wash down any area that had come in contact with thinner well. Discard or wash cloth
6 - make sure area to be painted is dry and clean
7 - apply the factory touch up paint carefully. I use a very fine brush or a tooth pick - never the paint brush that forms part of the lid for the touch up paint. This may take several applications to build up the paint to a little over the existing factory paint level
8 - then follow Langka instructions
9 - give area a good buff with Scratch X
10 - give the whole car a good coat of NXT, with extra focus in areas touched up [the choice of wax is up to you]

I have very successfully used variations of the above on several brands of cars with differing colours:

Lexus - champagne coulour
Honda - red
Toyota - darlk blue
Nissan - metallic light blue
MG - silver
Honda - dark grey/green/blue
Mercedes - metallic black

If you don't want to go down the Langka route, you can use the thinner approach, start again with much cleaner smaller touch ups and then use the wet sanding approach. I however, would prefer the chemical route.

Again if you think this is part crazy, try it in an inconspicuous area first.

Good luck

[sean]

I've heard of Langka before, just was a little skeptical and for 40 bucks, I wanted to hear some success stories. Has anyone else tried it? Thanks for the info sydney benz.

[Sydney Benz]

Incidentally Mothers make an identical product to Langka. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it is the same stuff repackaged for Mothers.

Mothers California Gold Paint Chip Repair kit. It is available from Amazon.com for US$13.99.

I know Langka sell a complete kit, but you don't really need alot of the stuff in the kit - just the Langka stuff. You can buy that seperately from Langka.

Keep in mind Langka will not remove very old touch up paint, that is why I have used the paint thinner approach.

[rusty bumper]

My painter must not be too good at applying touchup paint. The G-100 buffs it off after a while.


sean,

Maybe you need to work the blobs a little more with your buffer and a good cleaner?

[sean]

I managed to smooth out some parts with the g100 and #83, I'll also look into langka

[Jbirk]

You can go to a professional paint shop.

Somtimes they apply the paint and then clear coat above the level of the origional paint.

Then they wet sand, polish...