thinning paint

[tomee]

ok guys
basically my car needs a good cutting...
its got alot of swirl marks that i want to get rid of....

but im scared my paint is too thin, as the edges are showing teh primer underneath the paint
pic here


what can i do to remove my swirls without taking off anymore paint????
ive got swirl remover 2.0 that ive used on my previous car that worked pretty well...
but the paint on that car wasnt as thin as this one

help please

[Ranger72]

Edges like that are always thinnger than the body of the paint. (most usually). To remove defects, swirls, you have to REMOVE paint. So you are left with a few choices: Use polishes/ waxes that fill the scratches so that most of the swirling is less noticeable (untill washed a couple of times) or you could try the #9 by hand on a test spot to see how works with the thinner paint. Thats a single stage paint, correct?

[Mike Phillips]

What I've done in the past for thin body lines is to tape them off with thin painters tape. If you look in the lower right and corner of the picture below you will see some thin painters tape.

[Accumulator]

Yeah, tape the areas that are already too thin.

I've had to deal with this on some cars that were in the family for a long time- there comes a point where you just can't remove any more paint, so you can't really *remove* any more marring.

That's the time to switch to nonabrasive measures and just try to take solace in the idea of "better imperfect paint than a repaint".

But the #9 is awfully mild, and white single stage is awfully tough, so I'd probably try it on some areas away from the thinned spots.

Then lots of something like #3/#5/#7/#81/Deep Crystal Step #2 before your LSP.

Oh, and if you keep the humidity under control the spots that are down to bare metal can stay OK for a long, long time. Gotta keep something on them though as a barrier against the environment though. But I'd consider applying a rust converter to the surface-rusted bare metal areas. It'll look like black primer but it beats further corrosion. I'd apply it with a fine (size 00 or smaller) artist's brush. I let some bare metal spots on my Jag go for over a decade before I finally applied the converter, now I don't have to think about them.

Mike- Gee, do they still sell the AutoMask stuff? I still have some from a while ago but I never see it around any more.

[tomee]

thanks for reply...
is that tape like masking tape?
can you even use masking tape on a car?

will swirl remover 2.0 be too harsh?

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by tomee
is that tape like masking tape?
can you even use masking tape on a car?

I'd only use genuine 3M blue or green masking tape. Others can leave a nasty adhesive residue that'll sometimes require solvents to fully remove. The generic blue masking tape they sell at Lowe's gave me fits, took forever to clean it up. But the 3M stuff has never caused any problems at all.

[Mike Phillips]

Just to note,

In the below picture that shows different types and width's of tape, I only use the blue and the green for use on paint.




The normal Masking Tape you see I do use when taping off a car, but not on paint. For example, if you look at the Corvette in the below picture you'll see the wheels and tires are completely covered with newspaper taped around the tire.



The newspaper is actually to pages taped together so that they become one large sheet able to cover and wrap around the tire. To tape them together, instead of using the blue or green painter's tape, (which when compared to normal masking tape is more expensive), I use normal masking tape.

Just wanted to clarify so no one thinks I'm putting normal masking tape on paint, or any other part of the car.

[rusty bumper]

FWIW, I've been able to remove light rust with a cleaner wax type of product. The cleaner wax will also act as a protective barrier to prevent futher rust until a more permanent solution can be found.

[tomee]

so what product will help me remove some light rust?

[Accumulator]

For something like what's in the pic, I'd first try a mildly abrasive polish. I'd sorta approach it like: "OK, I'm gonna polish this *one last time*, it'll thin/remove a little more paint but at least I'll clean up the rust." Then keep it sealed.

Products that chemically remove rust often contain acids, which aren't something I like to use on the surrounding paint. You could *maybe*, *VERY carefully* apply such a product to the rusted areas with a tiny artist's brush but be really careful. When it comes time to remove said product, try to *not* wipe it onto the surrounding paint or the metal trim (no telling how it might react).

But I'd just polish it into submission myself. I did something almost identical to this on an '84 Volvo and it held up fine for years, even though it was outside 24/7 and used all winter (totally slipped my mind when I posted before ).

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Accumulator
But I'd just polish it into submission myself. I did something almost identical to this on an '84 Volvo and it held up fine for years, even though it was outside 24/7 and used all winter (totally slipped my mind when I posted before ).

I had a small rust spot on a '72 Buick one time and cleaner wax always helped to keep it in check, as well as removing any rust buildup.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by tomee
so what product will help me remove some light rust?

ColorX, or even Meguiar's Cleaner Wax in the red bottle should help to remove it. But the trick is to massage the product until the rust is gone, if possible.

If the rust won't budge, then that area will have to be sanded and painted.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by tomee
so what product will help me remove some light rust?

I would agree with both what Rusty Bumper and Accumulator suggested with the cleaner/wax route being the least obtrusive.

I've had a couple Chevy trucks that had bare exposed metal areas and frequent waxing with a mild cleaner/wax like our A12 Cleaner/Wax kept the rust at bay and both the bare metal and the paint surrounding the metal shiny and looking good.

Of course this approach may just be a topical solution to the problem because if the metal is exposed and rusting underneath the panel then the best thing to do would be to disassemble the component, remove the rust and paint the panel with the appropriate coating.

[tomee]

thanks for the replies..
will be looking for those cleaner waxes if i find any around wher i am