clear coat runs... can I use PC?

[CrawlinTBSS]

Doing a detail for afriend and she had her hood scoop for her STi repainted. I got it back this morning and there is a few slight clearcoat runs on teh sides of the scoops. Should i try wetsanding first, or could say the 4" pad with green or SHR work to cut it down? or should i wetsand first then hit with SHR? this was just painted last nite.

[Odds and Ends]

I wouldn't do anything yet since it was just painted last night. Did they bake it? If not, it needs to cure. Let the car sit out in the sun for a day or two.

 

Those will almost definitely need sanding and if they're thick, you'll need to be careful not to be too aggressive and end up sanding through the areas around the run. This can be a slow and tedious process at best and will almost never come out as nice as if it were painted correctly in the first place.

 

Unless the paint job was free, I'd take it back and make them fix it rather than waste your time. Just my .02...

 

To answer your original question, if you sand with 2000, then SHR on a 4" should remove the remaining scratches. Good luck.

 

- Darryl

[Z71_Denali]

now is a great time in the year to let that paint bake for a few days out in the sun! bring it inside at night of course. if the runs are still present after a week, wetsand them starting with a very high grit and work down if it doesn't get it out, then work your way back up to the higher grit, 0000 steel wool, and on to SSR, SHR, and finally FMP on the 4" pads and a drill. wait a month or two before waxing it.

 

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT a get in a hurry! patience, and delicacy are definitely a virtue when it comes to painting and wet sanding

[Team Adam's]

The PC and the focus pads are not going to be effective means of removing paint runs... this is an issue that needs to be sanded to be fixed.

[CrawlinTBSS]

Sounds good yal! I will attend to it in a week or so.

[BRZN]

When attempting to correct or minimize a run with wet sanding I really like to use a sanding block so I stay up on the high spot of the defect and off the area that does not need sanding. You can get a nice foam block at most any PBE store. Mine have both a soft and firm side to them:

[bagged00]

brzn is the only one that hit the point. i work in a body shop as a paint prepper and do some painting my self. the problem with sanding a run to big is your gonna "wobble" on the run. youll hit the top of the run and both sides of it. since theres more clear where the run is obviously. you WILL MORE THAN LIKELY go through the clear on either side of the run. you need something that can shave the run down first more level with the rest of the clear. ive never used brzn method. all i know of is a shaver and a razor blade to shave the run.we usually dont go any lower then 2000 for sanding a run out.

[green6767]

brzn is the only one that hit the point. i work in a body shop as a paint prepper and do some painting my self. the problem with sanding a run to big is your gonna "wobble" on the run. youll hit the top of the run and both sides of it. since theres more clear where the run is obviously. you WILL MORE THAN LIKELY go through the clear on either side of the run. you need something that can shave the run down first more level with the rest of the clear. ive never used brzn method. all i know of is a shaver and a razor blade to shave the run.we usually dont go any lower then 2000 for sanding a run out.

 

This is exactly how I used to "shave" the runs down. Wrap a box cutter type razor blade in masking tape and very patiently shave the run down. Have to have a slight of hand here and take your time. You get in a hurry and you can nick either side of the run and gouge the clear or worse. I've painted a hand full of cars and removed runs this way to a perfect finish. Although time consuming, it works when done correctly. The body shop should correct their own mistakes however.

[Chris@Adams]

Ryan, keep us posted on how it worked out!

[CrawlinTBSS]

Shes stopping by today afterwork to finish it so i will post pics after!

[xlr8rvette]

....................

 

Unless the paint job was free, I'd take it back and make them fix it rather than waste your time. Just my .02...

 

- Darryl

 

 

Even if it was free why wouldn't you have the painter fix it??

[CrawlinTBSS]

It was done by a friend who does side work, and to which we've learned our lesson with. i have yet to/or will pay him, so im not to worried about it. I'll fix it and know it was done right. he complains about having to sand stuff, assuming why i got a piece with runs on it. luckily they arnt horrible and they are just on the lower side of the hood scoop.

[Z71_Denali]

so did you fix it?

 

how hard would it be to just sand/strip everything off he did, and do it yourself?

 

remember spray light coats so runs don't occur

[CrawlinTBSS]

hes a good painter and uses HVLP setup. he just rushed it all in one night.

 

i fixed it yesterday, and go figure, **** DSLR camera was dead.

 

hit it with 2000 on a sandblock so that i could stay on the runs only. worked great. got it down to smooth with the rest of the clear and then hit it with the drill and 4" orange pad with SHR and was brand spanking new!