RacerX1166

I've had my 993 for four months and the blobs are killing me. The PO apparently did some stone chip touch up on the hood and missed the part about getting rid of the paint blobs after applying. There are three small but obvious blobs to deal with. I'm thinking, since the paint has already cured, the best way to address the situation is to wet sand said blobs. My 89 coupe had a massive chip in the hood that I filled then wet sanded, and that came out great. BTW, that was my first time wet sanding a car's paint. Great place to start, huh? Since I'm currently not working, I figure a few decent days would make for a good 'fluff and buff' exercise. But, for some reason, I'm really hesitant to wet sand this car. Can someone please talk me down and tell me it'll be okay, so long as I go slow and use the right materials (which I have)?

Thanks for the support

matt777

I'm fuzzy on which years/colors had base/clear paint but either way wet sanding factory paint jobs with thin clear coat scares me. If you want to take a Meguiar's sanding block or a pencil with sand paper on the end to knock down the lump that might be doable.

Christian J

I have a black '97 that was wet sanded last winter. I'd say that the clear was on the thin side (after I went through it on the roof) but it behaved like any other paint. Take your time and go REALLY light. I think sanding a small blob is tricky compared to body filler. Good luck!

il pirata

High resolution pics up close would really help.

If you can do that post here and also start another thread under Perf. & Comp Concours section.

So the car is a 97 Guards Red right? Put some polish on a micro type fabric and rub reasonable hard and see if any paint comes off, if yes single stage if no clear. I have a 96 Guards Red...single stage...there is confusion as to when Porsche switched to clear on solid colors although I think it was 97 or 98.

Assume you do not have a paint meter.

So if the car is single stage...I would start with a medium polish. Do you have an orbital tool? If yes then use a medium cut pad with the polish, go easy do 5 or so passes and buff off. If not you can hand rub for for 5 or so times and buff off. If still not fixing the problem you should look for further help in the Perf. and Comp. concours section. Same Applies if you think you have a clear coat.

jscott82

I would not try to wet sand down a high spot.. Not sure I can articulate this well without pictures, but a trick I learned awhile back is to modify a razorblade and scrape the high spot, that way you can focus your attention to the spot without disturbing the surrounding paint.

Take a razorblade and strop it in one direction to create a small burr.
Bend the blade ever so slightly so the burr is on the convex side
Use the sharp burr to work the spot down.

zirrah

Hows that any different than wet sanding other than you didn't mention using any moisture?

matt777

Its just fixing one small defect and not touching the surrounding area or entire panel which is what I assumed he was thinking of doing.

e9stibi

I would only experts let do this. Wet sanding a high spot is TOUGH. There is a big risk of grinding down the clear coat around the high spot. You can guess what looks better: High spot vs. clear coat damage.

I gave it a shot one time when someone rear ended the bumper to wet sand the scratches out. I was prepared to do a full repaint and was lucky that I could fully remove the scratches. In any case, patience will be required.

RacerX1166

To clarify, my intention is only to wet sand the individual blobs down so they're flush with the rest of the paint. I'd use the Meguiar's sanding block I've already got.

I'm 99% sure my paint is single stage. When I got it, I didn't have the time or weather to do the full fluff and buff but I couldn't stand the swirl marks on the hood. So, I did a light polish with my orbital and the pad came away with red residue. So, it's either single stage or someone already burned off the clear coat on the hood.

I'll try to take some photos later today, if I pull the car out. They're the ubiquitous touch up paint blobs.

Mike J

Depending on the blob and the quality of the touch-up paint, sometimes you can take out a blob using an orbital, firm pad, and some good cutting polish (like Menzerna) -> its a bit of a gentler try, and a bit hard on the pads though.

Best of luck!

Cheers,

Mike

Top-Gun

I've used a product before called "Blob Eliminator" by Lanka. Its a mild solvent based cream that will soften and remove the touch-up paint (even if cured) without touching the surrounding finish. My experience with it has been on base-clear so I don't know if it would bite into single stage but it may be worth some research.

Basically you wrap a cloth around a credit card or similar and rub the product on the touch up paint blob. It gradually removes the paint until its level with the surrounding finish. Once your happy with it you hit it with some polish and it will look considerably better.

RacerX1166

Langka can be a bit dangerous removing paint you don't 'know' well in that you rub slowly and take your time but the blob doesn't go anywhere but you suddenly find the clear around the blob eroded. Langka isn't as gentle as you might think. I may try a quick shot with the Langka and break out the sandpaper if the first blob doesn't start to erode.

hkspwrsche

Auto paint is catalyzed two stage and touch up is usually less durable. Thats how langka works. At a body shop touch up is usually just base coat. In a touch up bottle could be lacquer if from the dealer. If you want to have a professional do this, check out Joel at JA detail. He details ferraris, lamborghini, antiques, etc. He is usually at cars and coffee every other weekend.