[oz07]

My car was painted a few yeras ago B/C and it's always looked dry in a couple of spots. Can a painter scuff and shoot more clear to help or live with until I can afford a paint job.

[PetesPonies]

better vthan that would be to have the car cut and buffed again. That would take care of the dry spots, as long as there is anough clear on it. If you let a professional take care of it, they shouild be fine. I would do a small spot and see how it looks, before I proceeded with sanding the entire car. I would work with some very fine paper ( 2000) such that I would not be removing much clear.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Hello oz, not being able to see your car for myself, I can't evaluate it the way I would if I were actually making the suggestion in person . A lot of things could be reason for the drier looking spots, would have to see car. So let me just go with this:


oz07, yes you can re-clear the previous paint job. Pete has a good idea in all regards, but you may not have enough clear to work with in the "spots" and you will be removing the material film more still with the buffing. A master professional can produce practical small miracles with his knowledge and a buffer if he has something to work with, but it's a temporary service and a lot of work. I would play it safe and re-clear, the car will look great that way practically guaranteed. The buffing could go either way on success/failure. It may even be an "integrated clear" on the final coat if it was done at one of the Maaco or Fact-O-Bake type paint shops. Those can turn out looking like a zebra if overbuffed the least bit.


A thorough scuffing of the car with a grey scotchbrite and/or 1000-1200 grit wet-paper ( I always do both - wet paper first - then a wet scotchbrite follow up, always use a scotchbrite especially around the trim and tight spots ) then re-clearing with 2 or 3 good coats of clear will produce an Excellent looking finish. You will also have plenty of strong clear to hold protection and to work with in case you wanted to do a master-buff on it later in the future, also or again.


It could come down to a coin toss on the decision, the re-clear may cost you more than a good professional sand/buff/machine glaze/hand polishing job - but it will last about 5 years longer, especially if you're going to drive it right much. Some dealership body shop painters have spray areas at home or can access one (like myself), most would rather do the clear job. All that sanding and buffing and rubbing is a Bit@% for a temporary service.


Hope you spring a deal and get an even greater looking car either way you go.

[oz07]

I'll check around and see about both. I think that the clear may be sort of thin is a concern. The guy that painted it had to do alot of buffing before I would give him the rest of the cash for the job. What he promised and what I got are worlds apart. The base coat looks good, its a 67 GTO reef turq and the paints even no runs it's just "dry" looking in some spots. It's enough to agrevate me and keep a really decent looking car from looking really good. Thanks again all.

[engineer]

last thing my body man told me is the clear coat ( on a base coat \ clear coat system) should be applied while the base has not fully dried. IE, you can not do the color coat one day and then do the clear the next day. they must be applied within 1-2 hours of each other for proper adhesion.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Hello engineer, that may hold true on the particular brand that your man uses. But "most" of the high end bc/cc products today can go anywhere from 48 hours (sikkens) and some as long as 7 days (ppg-global) before clear "has" to be applied over the base and still maintain a chemical bond.



The re-clear that oz is asking about would be using more of the "mechanical bond" process with the sanding of the old clear. I only know this because I have been professionally painting cars for about 25 years now.

[PetesPonies]

Barron...two things... first cutting and buffing is NOT a temporary fix. If that solves the problem, that is permanent; done. Secondly..if the cleat is so thin that it cannot be sanded, even with 2000 and buffed, then you will not be able to prep it for more clear. ANY place that the clear is sanded through on, WILL show when new clear is added. In other words, you cannot go through the clear, then reclear without a spot showing. The way to cure that is spray new base color over the area that was sanded through; that is a must and the only way to do it. Also...the prep time that is takes to reclear is the same prep time it takes to repaint. Thus if sanding the entire car for reclear, you might as well spray new color. So I stick with my first suggestion of sanding with 2000 and buffing.

[PetesPonies]

Engineer, you are right that to get a proper chemical bond, you have to spray the clear over the base within the proper window. However, the proper window can be up to a week later on some paints. Spraying the clear the next day is common.

[justing70]

I would agree with both options previously stated, but there is an easy way to decide which would be the best for you. Before you do either you should measure the paint thickness that is on your car now,if it is below 3.5 mils you don't have enough film build to cut and buff.You may get the spots out without going through the clear but you will be greatly reducing the effectiveness of the clear to protect the base from the suns uv rays, which in turn will lead to a complete refinish in the future.Todays high end products are amazing but offer little protection if cut too thin.
If the paint on your car measures in the 4-7 mils range(Assuming it was striped the last time it was painted) I would say you are safe to cut and buff. If you have more than one paint job on the car your mils will read higher and then its difficult to tell how thick your top coat is, in this case I would prep for for a re-clear just to be safe, Unless your paint thickness is already at or above 12 mils then it is already too thick to add another coat of clear, it will most certainly crack, fade, or peel unless it is garaged. There are alot of variables when it comes to a cars finish. I would advise you to find a reputable resto shop in your area and let them look at your situation and advise accordingly.

[engineer]

common is one thing, but a good idea is another. The jobs I have seen screwed up are usually due to delays or a rush to finish.