Screwed Up Paint -- My fault!
07-01-2010, 05:17 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Screwed Up Paint -- My fault!
I am about as annoyed with myself right now as I can be. Yes, it's only a car as I keep telling myself, but I am sure peeved at my own stupidity.
In working on a stone chip on the upper portion of the rear fender right behind the driver's door, I messed up big time. I'm usually careful at this but instead of leaving well enough alone after a reasonably good fix, I tried to do better. So, what happens? I put the wrong compound on my pad and rubbed too hard -right through the clear coat and into the paint.
Now instead of a 1/8 inch dot which no one but me would ever notice, I have a nickel sized hole in the clear coat with slightly darkened paint. Arctic silver doesn't hide mistakes well. I've attached a photo and, please, no one needs to tell me I screwed it up royally. I'm confessing to that.
I have a high end bodyshop that I used for a bumper repair on the car and I brought it over there on the hope for a quick and easy solution. Of course, that isn't in the cards.
Choice 1: Live with it.
Choice 2: Respray the clear coat but I will still see the outline of the distinct circle that I made when I cut through the clearcoat and into the paint and the paint under that spot will always be slightly darker.
Choice 3: Sand, prime and spot spray it - not recommended by the shop's painter because it never turns out to be the best match and they don't want to do the kind of job that may not satisfy me. They do excellent work, were highly recommended by my dealer, so I suppose I can understand this reluctance.
Choice 4: Re-paint the whole fender and blend into door and adjacent fender panel. $1200. But then, I have given up an acre of factory paint to fix a nickel sized blemish. I know they do great work, but can paint ever be perfectly matched on a four year old (albiet garaged) car? They did a great job on the bumper but painting that alone versus painting the metal with blending seems like two very different tasks.
I've kept the car in great condition and now I've taken a tiny stone chip and turned it into a major paint repair. With all the sh#t going on in the world and in the great cosmic scheme of things, I know this ranks low on the list and I should take it in stride, but, damn, it is annoying. Mostly because, no, entirely because I have no one to blame but myself.
I 'm venting here a bit because I know only other Porsche owners will empathize though I expect no sympathy. By the way, which of those four choices would you choose assuming, for a moment, you had no better use for the dollars.
Morals of the story for me: Leave well enough alone and stick to the few things I do best if I can remember them.
Kevin
In working on a stone chip on the upper portion of the rear fender right behind the driver's door, I messed up big time. I'm usually careful at this but instead of leaving well enough alone after a reasonably good fix, I tried to do better. So, what happens? I put the wrong compound on my pad and rubbed too hard -right through the clear coat and into the paint.
Now instead of a 1/8 inch dot which no one but me would ever notice, I have a nickel sized hole in the clear coat with slightly darkened paint. Arctic silver doesn't hide mistakes well. I've attached a photo and, please, no one needs to tell me I screwed it up royally. I'm confessing to that.
I have a high end bodyshop that I used for a bumper repair on the car and I brought it over there on the hope for a quick and easy solution. Of course, that isn't in the cards.
Choice 1: Live with it.
Choice 2: Respray the clear coat but I will still see the outline of the distinct circle that I made when I cut through the clearcoat and into the paint and the paint under that spot will always be slightly darker.
Choice 3: Sand, prime and spot spray it - not recommended by the shop's painter because it never turns out to be the best match and they don't want to do the kind of job that may not satisfy me. They do excellent work, were highly recommended by my dealer, so I suppose I can understand this reluctance.
Choice 4: Re-paint the whole fender and blend into door and adjacent fender panel. $1200. But then, I have given up an acre of factory paint to fix a nickel sized blemish. I know they do great work, but can paint ever be perfectly matched on a four year old (albiet garaged) car? They did a great job on the bumper but painting that alone versus painting the metal with blending seems like two very different tasks.
I've kept the car in great condition and now I've taken a tiny stone chip and turned it into a major paint repair. With all the sh#t going on in the world and in the great cosmic scheme of things, I know this ranks low on the list and I should take it in stride, but, damn, it is annoying. Mostly because, no, entirely because I have no one to blame but myself.
I 'm venting here a bit because I know only other Porsche owners will empathize though I expect no sympathy. By the way, which of those four choices would you choose assuming, for a moment, you had no better use for the dollars.
Morals of the story for me: Leave well enough alone and stick to the few things I do best if I can remember them.
Kevin
07-01-2010, 05:22 PM
#2
Drifting
If it makes you feel any better, I did a similar thing on one of my previous cars a few years ago. Luckily, mine was on the hood, which is much easier to respray than a rear quarter panel. It doesn't take long to buff through that clear coat does it? I've learned to leave little blemishes alone.
07-01-2010, 05:28 PM
#3
At this point Choice 4 is the only solution you'll probably be happy with.
A few months back I ordered an OEM match paint pen & clear coat pen to deal with some rock chips. What a mistake, they looked much worse after being touched up. Luckily some polish took it all out. Rock chips need to be left alone.
A few months back I ordered an OEM match paint pen & clear coat pen to deal with some rock chips. What a mistake, they looked much worse after being touched up. Luckily some polish took it all out. Rock chips need to be left alone.
07-01-2010, 05:34 PM
#4
Poseur
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Rock chips can be repaired but it takes patience and knowledge of how to proceed. If you can't do that then leave it alone! I'm afraid that a respray may be in the cards, but ask them if they can do a blend--without affecting the surrounding paint. Try to keep as much original paint undisturbed as possible.
07-01-2010, 05:50 PM
#5
.org
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I guarantee that if you install a nice exhaust and spoiler, no one will ever never notice the small blemish
Last edited by Graygoose997; 06-07-2013 at 04:21 PM.
07-01-2010, 05:50 PM
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Clear coats have gotten a lot better over the last years and I've been told a good shop can match factory levels. What about going with option #2 first, and see how it looks over time? It is the least intrusive to the paint work. If you're still not happy then one of the other options can be pursued. Don't feel bad, this has happened to all of us to some degree. When working on my car I always remind and repeat to myself "The enemy of good is perfection"...
07-01-2010, 06:10 PM
#7
Three Wheelin'
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another suggestion - have a body shop try to clean up the area and then put a clear bra on the front of the car. the film will protect the car and will cover some of this.
you'll notice some but others probably won't
you'll notice some but others probably won't
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07-01-2010, 06:32 PM
#8
Three Wheelin'
Thanks for sharing - tough lesson that maybe others can avoid.
Last edited by stevepow; 07-01-2010 at 06:50 PM.
07-01-2010, 06:34 PM
#9
How about living with it for a while longer? Especially, if you're planning on keeping the car. You can always do some sort of repair at a later time. These things have a way of losing their importance over time. Another issue, due to the location, may be blending up the window pillar.
07-01-2010, 08:06 PM
#10
Sorry to hear that. Experience is a great, but sometimes harsh teacher.
My neighbor and I joke when working on projects like this where we're at 99.9% and are tempted to go for perfection. We say "Hey, if we try to (bend, torque, or whatever) that just a little more, I bet we can break it!".
My neighbor and I joke when working on projects like this where we're at 99.9% and are tempted to go for perfection. We say "Hey, if we try to (bend, torque, or whatever) that just a little more, I bet we can break it!".
07-01-2010, 09:43 PM
#12
Three Wheelin'
Your car is not 1 of 100. The 997 is mass produced so pay the $1,500. Note: Shop around for the best tech in your area and checkout prior work. Tell them if they over-spray the car someone dies for sure.
07-02-2010, 03:42 AM
#13
Race Director
I am about as annoyed with myself right now as I can be. Yes, it's only a car as I keep telling myself, but I am sure peeved at my own stupidity.
In working on a stone chip on the upper portion of the rear fender right behind the driver's door, I messed up big time. I'm usually careful at this but instead of leaving well enough alone after a reasonably good fix, I tried to do better. So, what happens? I put the wrong compound on my pad and rubbed too hard -right through the clear coat and into the paint.
Now instead of a 1/8 inch dot which no one but me would ever notice, I have a nickel sized hole in the clear coat with slightly darkened paint. Arctic silver doesn't hide mistakes well. I've attached a photo and, please, no one needs to tell me I screwed it up royally. I'm confessing to that.
I have a high end bodyshop that I used for a bumper repair on the car and I brought it over there on the hope for a quick and easy solution. Of course, that isn't in the cards.
Choice 1: Live with it.
Choice 2: Respray the clear coat but I will still see the outline of the distinct circle that I made when I cut through the clearcoat and into the paint and the paint under that spot will always be slightly darker.
Choice 3: Sand, prime and spot spray it - not recommended by the shop's painter because it never turns out to be the best match and they don't want to do the kind of job that may not satisfy me. They do excellent work, were highly recommended by my dealer, so I suppose I can understand this reluctance.
Choice 4: Re-paint the whole fender and blend into door and adjacent fender panel. $1200. But then, I have given up an acre of factory paint to fix a nickel sized blemish. I know they do great work, but can paint ever be perfectly matched on a four year old (albiet garaged) car? They did a great job on the bumper but painting that alone versus painting the metal with blending seems like two very different tasks.
I've kept the car in great condition and now I've taken a tiny stone chip and turned it into a major paint repair. With all the sh#t going on in the world and in the great cosmic scheme of things, I know this ranks low on the list and I should take it in stride, but, damn, it is annoying. Mostly because, no, entirely because I have no one to blame but myself.
I 'm venting here a bit because I know only other Porsche owners will empathize though I expect no sympathy. By the way, which of those four choices would you choose assuming, for a moment, you had no better use for the dollars.
Morals of the story for me: Leave well enough alone and stick to the few things I do best if I can remember them.
Kevin
In working on a stone chip on the upper portion of the rear fender right behind the driver's door, I messed up big time. I'm usually careful at this but instead of leaving well enough alone after a reasonably good fix, I tried to do better. So, what happens? I put the wrong compound on my pad and rubbed too hard -right through the clear coat and into the paint.
Now instead of a 1/8 inch dot which no one but me would ever notice, I have a nickel sized hole in the clear coat with slightly darkened paint. Arctic silver doesn't hide mistakes well. I've attached a photo and, please, no one needs to tell me I screwed it up royally. I'm confessing to that.
I have a high end bodyshop that I used for a bumper repair on the car and I brought it over there on the hope for a quick and easy solution. Of course, that isn't in the cards.
Choice 1: Live with it.
Choice 2: Respray the clear coat but I will still see the outline of the distinct circle that I made when I cut through the clearcoat and into the paint and the paint under that spot will always be slightly darker.
Choice 3: Sand, prime and spot spray it - not recommended by the shop's painter because it never turns out to be the best match and they don't want to do the kind of job that may not satisfy me. They do excellent work, were highly recommended by my dealer, so I suppose I can understand this reluctance.
Choice 4: Re-paint the whole fender and blend into door and adjacent fender panel. $1200. But then, I have given up an acre of factory paint to fix a nickel sized blemish. I know they do great work, but can paint ever be perfectly matched on a four year old (albiet garaged) car? They did a great job on the bumper but painting that alone versus painting the metal with blending seems like two very different tasks.
I've kept the car in great condition and now I've taken a tiny stone chip and turned it into a major paint repair. With all the sh#t going on in the world and in the great cosmic scheme of things, I know this ranks low on the list and I should take it in stride, but, damn, it is annoying. Mostly because, no, entirely because I have no one to blame but myself.
I 'm venting here a bit because I know only other Porsche owners will empathize though I expect no sympathy. By the way, which of those four choices would you choose assuming, for a moment, you had no better use for the dollars.
Morals of the story for me: Leave well enough alone and stick to the few things I do best if I can remember them.
Kevin
My body shop friend tells me arctic silver derives its color from the size, shape, and orientation of the metal particles in the paint. The size and shape is controlled by the paint manufacturer so using the right brand of paint sees to that. The orientation is controlled by the paint gun, air pressure, humidity, temperature, alignment of the planets.
But a good painter can match the factory paint very very close. The spraying of the adjacent panels back a ways is the key.
Still to be a top end job the shop will take the trouble to block sand the adjacent panels down a bit and then after painting sand them down again to bring the paint thickness back to "factory". Generally the fenders have thicker paint on the top then the sides but the shop will measure the paint on the other fender and develop a paint thickness profile and match the paint thickness profile on the repainted fender. This goes for any other panels that get resprayed.
Sincerely,
Macster.
07-02-2010, 08:48 AM
#14
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Unfortunately, the only solution is to repaint the whole thing. I had a stone chip situation like this in the past and even the best restoration shop in the region couldn't avoid the "clear coat burn" you got. It's a function of how thin everything has gotten in terms of paint / clear from the factory. I got a very detailed report (post-mortem) about how in order to meet emissions rule changes, Porsche, and others, have been reducing the thickness of paint. So if we used to get 6-8 microns in the older Porsches, now we get half that. When somebody tries to "buff", it burns.
In 25 years I've only done the "dab method" of chip coverage, never interested in trying to buff. The one time I actually went to a shop for chips, they burned the 5 spots and it looked just like yours. They ended up stripping and re-painting the entire hood and front quarter panels at their expense - tough lesson. But the job was literally better than factory and even an expert couldn't tell it was repainted.
In 25 years I've only done the "dab method" of chip coverage, never interested in trying to buff. The one time I actually went to a shop for chips, they burned the 5 spots and it looked just like yours. They ended up stripping and re-painting the entire hood and front quarter panels at their expense - tough lesson. But the job was literally better than factory and even an expert couldn't tell it was repainted.
07-02-2010, 11:15 AM
#15
Are you guys sure? "Repaint the whole thing?" There's GOT to be some shop somewhere that knows how to squirt on some clear coat and blend it in. The silver has not been removed so the color is still there.