Hello, Anyone know of a person or company that can repair a pretty deep scratch professionally without repainting the panel, that does not look like a touchup. I am in the Jupiter area. Thanks. David
There is a right way and a wrong (cheap) way. The right way to do it is to NOT try to "blend" the paint in the scratched area but to remove the panel and refinish the entire piece as a whole. Sorry, but that is a fact. - Joe
I would call around to a few paintless dent removal guys, they probably could make a good recommendation. BT
Well, I want to do it the right way, was hoping not to have to paint the whole panel for one 1/2 in scratch. It is not the money as much as having the car at a facility. Something always seems to happen. thanks for the help.
thanks bill. Can't believe I was this stupid to actually do this myself when i am so careful with the car. I guess that's the way it goes, could be alot worse.
Bill has the right idea. There are touch up guys that use a small squeege to apply the paint in the scratch multiple times and then wet sand the surface flat. Its the best you can do. No need to repaint, if you get the right guy you will be the only one to notice it. BTW, how do I remove my 1/4 panel and get it repainted off the car. LOL
Accidents happen. No big deal, I am sure you can find the right guy to do the job without much hassle. I also do not like to leave a car at a repair shop. BT
Sorry about your scratch. Unfortunately, this is the best way. It's definitely a 'get what you pay for' situation...use a trusted body shop and enjoy having your baby look like a million bucks.
Todd is great but I don't think he does touch ups. At least he can make a suggestion. David, do you have the correct paint to match? Also, where is the scatch located. Maybe I can help. Let me know. PM to me.
I had bought a car that was entirely key'd and my detailer was able to work wonders except to two areas that were simply too deep. He is however in the Ft. lauderdale area and I doubt will come up to Jupiter. Eddie Fiuza: 954-415-5170 Or give it to a good bodyshop: Luc: 954-494-8772
Stupidly I scraped my right side mirror pulling into the garage several months ago. Took it to Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale. (was Shelton at that time) They did a great job. I can't even tell where the scrape was. Believe me, I was sick to my stomach when I scraped it. Good luck.
Joe let me play devil's advocate. It is my understanding that re-spraying an entire panel on a Ferrari; you would be losing a certain value to the car. Unless I am wrong, re-spraying the panel on a Ferrari will result in a loss of value. So the question is whether the 1/4 inch long, 1/50th wide paint scratch is going to cause more of a lose of value then having the vehicle panel re-sprayed. (Obviously a lot of you would know the answer to this question then I because I have no idea). Taking your comment a step further, there is a right way and a wrong way to do spot touch up. It seems that you have never seen it done wrong correctly, which would explain your comment and reasoning. Like everything there is a right and wrong way, and like anything, the results are often related to the quality of work done. The problem with spot touch up work is that it is time intensive. Since most detail shops are mobile or only see the car for several hours, there simply isn't time to do the job correctly. To do it correctly requires a lot of time because of the nature of paint. Paint is solids in solvent so as it dries and hardens (the solvents out gas) the paint will shrink and distort. Adding products that speed up outgasing can cause the paint to appear at a different gloss level or molted. Since the only way spot touch guys can make money (with out charging outrageous sums) is to work in volume they cannot take the time needed for a great job. The process of doing touch up is actually pretty simple and when done right the results can be outstanding. Because of the outgassing and the shrinkage that occurs (keep your minds clean, this isn't a cold swimming pool) it just takes time. A quick overview would be: Clean surface of the scratch and chip and widen the scratch if necessary. Apply base color (color) using a plastic tooth pick, allowing the droplet of paint to flow down the plastic and 'flood the scratch'. Apply enough paint cover the bottom of the scratch; this can take several coats with about an hour in between. Once the color match is there, the rest of the scratch will be filled with clear coat, using the same technique and allowing an hour between coats. The scratch should be carefully filled with clear until the level of scratch is actually above the rest of the paint. The reason we are waiting an hour between coats (even if using a heat gone to speed the process) is because 90% or more of the shrinkage takes place in the first hour if the coats are thin enough. Even we speed thru this or add coats to quickly, more and more solvent gets trapped in each coat which can soften the paint, cause it to lose gloss, or cause it to pull out of the scratch when it is buffed. This is where the main problem arises, time: The total level of paint thickness applied (to a scratch to the primer) is about 2.5 mils or 25/1000th's of an inch. This is actually pretty thick in paint terms, and even waiting an hour between coats, there is still a lot of solvent to gas out. Sanding and polishing the paint on the spot can cause several problems since it hasn't fully hardened. The longer the wait the harder the paint will be and the more it will bond with the surface of the scratch. I would recommend waiting at least 3 weeks before having the paint sanded level and polished and blended in. FWIW, this '84 Boxer had so many chips that we had to sand the paint on the hood and door panel completely to blend the paint in. However, once it was cut and polished the result was as close to perfect as I could imagine. Only under HID light and a 100x's microscope was any texture difference noticeable, and to the naked eye the Boxer was perfect. (pics attached) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
to bad you don't have an outlet in CA, bay area. need work on both cars, as they get driven every day.
I am in contact with Todd. His work is excellent, it is a matter of logistics and time. If anyone can do it, he can!! David
yes theres a way you can 'conceal' the scratch to the non observing eye... but it'll always be there like a old scar. first, you would have to find the exact color touch up paint..... then filli in the scratch with the touch up.... then when touch up dries, wet sand the area with a 2000 grit sandpaper ... after wet sanding, buff the area with maguires 80 or 83 (or any high quality compound).... followed by a high quality wax...thats the best its gonna get. if you have a dark color car and original paint, DO NOT TRY TO WET SAND!!!! YOU WILL MOST LIKELY SCREW UP!! you have a higher likelihood to succeed if: 1) the panel you are painting has previously been painted.. because itll most likely have more clear coat than the factory paint. wet sanding is essentially taking off a very very thin layer of clear coat thus giving a 'new' car look. 2) your car is NOT black/dark shades 3) use 2000 grit sand paper! DO NOT ATTEMPT WITH ANYTHING LESS cause youll most likely screw it up. wetsanding is a process by itself.. very very easy.... IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT.
I disagree that by using the process you prescribed that you get the best you are going to get. First of all, if you cannot get black perfect then you really shouldn't work on any other color. Since most new cars have a clear coat, you are actually fixing the top layer. The only difference is that black shows lack of skill and technique easier. Obviously for a do it yourselver you wouldn't want to start on black, but I don't really recommend any DIYer taking abrasive paper to the razor thin finish of their top coat anyways. Black can be made perfect, period. Part of the problem (and perhaps your reasoning) is that both Meguiars M80 and M83 are light polishes (or cleaners in Meguiars' terms). These products are designed to remove swirl marks vs. remove sanding scatches. Staying in the Meguiars' line something like M84,M85,M95, or M105 might serve more purpose and they are much more likely to level the sanding marks. Also I recommend finishing to a higher grit then 2000, something like 3000 Meguiars UniGrit or 4000 grit Trizac will produce a more even finish and one that it easier to restore gloss to.
what i meant about the black color is that it is the HARDEST color to work with as an amateure. there's no doubt that a professional detailer like yourself can easily work on any color.... but an amateure may screw it up more so than if the car was a lighter color. i havent seen M105 lately.. still made??
what i meant about the black color is that it is the HARDEST color to work with as an amateure. there's no doubt that a professional detailer like yourself can easily work on any color.... but an amateure may screw it up more so than if the car was a lighter color. i havent seen M105 lately.. still made??
Gotcha I wasn't trying to single you out and I didn't take into context that you prescribing a DIY approach (which might not be the best IMO on an F430, only because of the risk (though slight) involved). M105 is a new product released in 08 by Meguiars in their Mirror Glaze line. It features a non diminishing abrasive and extremely short work time. It cuts for about 8-10 seconds then flashes dry. Although Meguiars' rates it as a 12 out of 10 in terms of cut, I have found that it is very paint dependent. Though the defect removal is quick, it isn't the best for removing sanding marks. It tends to 'round' the scratches vs remove them.
