Have I ruined my paintwork?

[neil354]

I had a go at removing a few stone chips from my bonnet and I seem to have made it look a whole lot worse than it did before.

 

I first cleaned the car, then I filled the chips using paint from Paints4u applied with a cocktail stick. I then let it dry for 1 week before I used a fine grade wet and dry (the one that came with the paint) to flatten the paint.

 

I am now left with a strange hologram type rings around the chip which I can't seem to get rid of. Its hard to photograph this and it looks a lot worse than the photo makes out. I have about 10 of these over one third of the bonnet. I haven't bothered to sand off the other two thirds yet.

 

 

 

 

I have tried using Megs Ultimate Compound applied via a DA polisher and also Blackhole using the DA and neither have made any difference.

 

Have I ruined my paint and need a respray, or is there anything else that I can try that might get rid of it?

 

Thanks.

[Beau]

What grade sand paper did you use, They recommend using 1500 wet and dry with soupy water and then 2000 grit wet and dry for a smooth finish. Then you will need to use some sort of finishing compound like 3m compound to make the paint work smooth.

 

so what sand paper did you use? If you used to harsh sand paper it could have possibly gone through the lacquer! But those pictures are very hard to tell.

[neil354]

I used 2000 grade sand paper that came with the paint, I followed the instructions that came with it. I forgot to mention that I also used the G3 liquid that came with it too.

[rtbiscuit]

chip repair kits aren't meant to be a flawless repair job; its designed to put a protective layer back over the bare metal and prevent rust.

 

looking at the picture its hard to judge exactly what the damage is; but by guess is you used a circular motion when rubbing back with the wet and dry.

 

my advice is take it to a good bodyshop and get them to take a look. if you're local to suffolk i have a good place that would be able to tell you what you've done and the options available.

 

also might be worth trying someone like chips away or a local smart repair place; they might be able to hide them better.

 

your options:

 

A: full repsray on the damaged panels

B: Smart repair on the damaged chips

C: leave it as it is

[neil354]

I think I probably did use a circular motion when rubbing back.

 

Would I make it worse if I went over it again with the wet and dry in a more of an up and down motion?

 

I'm based in Worcester so would be a bit of a trek to Suffolk, I might take it round to a few local bodyshops to see what they have to say. I have also requested a quote from Chipsaway.

[rtbiscuit]

that would be my advise go see a couple of bodyshops, preferable ones that come with a reccomendation from someone you, know. give you an idea of cost and also to see if their opinions match up.

 

i personally wouldn't touch it again till they have a look or you could make it worse.

[rtbiscuit]

also did you use a small block or your finger when rubbing down.

 

any kind of rubbing work should reall yhave a small block to give a flat rubbing surface. fingers are to uneven and the pressure can very over a surface as you rub.

[neil354]

Yes it came with a small block which I used. I had done a single chip a few months before which looks perfect. I think this made me over confident as I went a bit mad with it this time!

[rtbiscuit]

i think you have over worked the surface hence the hologram, as now you've polished it up its brought out the hologram which is your overzelest work with the wet and dry and your circular motion.

 

i know its not easy, but you really only want to rub down the chip itself and not the surrounding paint.

 

is the paint work a metallic black or a solid black?

 

only reason i ask is that if its a solid black its ni on impossible to blend into the paint, makes it very obvious, so you have to paint to an edge or crease.

 

if its metallic it can be easier to match in.

 

but in general a black paint is one of the hardest colours to repair with out just respraying the whole panel.

[Stew]

As a side note - Blackhole wouldn't do anything, it's glaze and doesn't have any cut what so ever.

[Dblock]

Could you not sand it with some 3000 then 4000 and then uses some menz IP or something similar?

[rtbiscuit]

Could you not sand it with some 3000 then 4000 and then uses some menz IP or something similar?

 

 

i think its past the point of more sanding, the area already has a nice shine to it, so higher grade W&D won't help.

 

its time to get it checked first by a body shop before doing anything else.

[Peter10]

I've used the kit you bought. Worked great on my Zed and a few other cars I have done. You just have to use the wet and dry very carefully and keep checking it every 3 or 4 strokes. The compund the provide is pretty strong stuff. You have to again keep checking it. I found buy using the compound most heavily on the repaired area and then working my way out gently from the scratch gave the best result.

[Dblock]

Could you not sand it with some 3000 then 4000 and then uses some menz IP or something similar?

 

 

i think its past the point of more sanding, the area already has a nice shine to it, so higher grade W&D won't help.

 

its time to get it checked first by a body shop before doing anything else.

 

ahh looked like it just wasnt flat to me and it needed some sanding.

[neil354]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I might try sanding one of the other areas I've painted, trying to keep it just to the painted area and not using the circular motions to see if that works. Not that it matters much now anyway, but would be nice to know if thats what the problem was.

[Madmarky]

That looks like the 2 paints have had a bad reaction with each other, seen something very similar before.

[Chris`I]

That looks like the 2 paints have had a bad reaction with each other, seen something very similar before.

Surface contaminants perhaps? I have used the P4U paint kit on the 350z and 370z and both were a perfect match with no problems. Perhaps there was some silicone or something on the paint before applying?