paint fixes

[farmer]

I took the splash stickers off my truck, and the factory clear coated over them so now I have stupid lines. I figure I'll sand down the ridge and hit it with rattle can clear.
What grit should I use to get rid of the ridge? And any advice on making the repair clear match the rest of the truck?
And does anybody know where I can get Lapis blue in a spray can? I need to paint the marroon valence on my blue truck haha

 

[Crane]

Maybe try wet sanding with 400 if the line has a pretty big difference between the two sections, or 800 if the difference isnt too bad

heres a link for paint, ive never used this site, but i found it through google
http://www.automotivetouchup.com/ch...anger&colordesc=Lapis+Met,+KE,+No,+No,+*46009

 

[lindsay_elaine]

Are you sure the factory cleared over them? I don't think you'd be able to peel stickers off if they were actually under clear, you may be seeing adhesive residue or wax buildup. If it's actually a clear coat ridge, try wet sanding and buffing, rattle can clear will never match.

 

[dirttrackracer]

rattle can clear will never match.

true

 

[gwaii]

the factory would not have cleared over decals,but a repair may have been done and the bodyshop was too lasy to mask them-it's real common.to fix it,mask where the decal was,butkeep about 1/4'' inside it,so the ridge is fully exposed.sand evenly with 1000 wet or dry to remove the ridge.take off the masking,and sand the whole area(several inches all around the decal area)with 1500 grit to level it.now sand a slightly larger area with 2000grit to prepare for polish.if you have a power polisher,this is the time to use it.if not,use progressively finer polishing compounds by hand.it's a lot of work,but the problem will completely dissapear if done properly.

 

[farmer]

ok maybe it isn't clear coat. but its a ridge and its a clear layer that flakes and chips. I'll try what you said gwaii.
btw gwaii, i think you truck needs more flex

 

[lindsay_elaine]

Try cleaning it off with some denatured alcohol first, it may wash right off. If it does wash off you may be left with shiny paint under the sticker and scratched everywhere else, in that case break out the polishing compound.

 

[farmer]

would the alcohol do the same thing as the 3M adhesive remover I already used?

 

[lindsay_elaine]

would the alcohol do the same thing as the 3M adhesive remover I already used?

Adhesive remover works best on adhesive that's still sticky, not so great on adhesive that's 10 years old and been baking in the sun. Give it a try, it will also take off wax build up.

 

[farmer]

ok I wil definately try it.
Hey you're a local too!

 

[gwaii]

ok maybe it isn't clear coat. but its a ridge and its a clear layer that flakes and chips. I'll try what you said gwaii.
btw gwaii, i think you truck needs more flex

if it's a clear layer that flakes,it's most likely clearcoat,and the surface wasn't prepped properly before spraying(by sanding with 400 to promote adhesion)this may need to be sanded further from the ridge to get to where the prep ended,or you may have a small line at the blend line.this is from prepping the repair area and then spraying the clear past the repair onto unsanded clearcoat.since the top layer is sitting on smooth paint it won't adhere properly,and when you try to sand it down to blend it the edge will break off leaving a very small(but noticable)ridge.the factory clearcoat is under where the decal was,and this is quite thin and easy to sand through-this is why in the first post i said to mask this area when doing the initial blend sanding.go through this layer and the only fix is to properly prep and reclear the area with a top quality clearcoat(not a cheap fix)a big part of my business is autobody repair and paint,so i see this sort of thing lots.it can be made perfect with a bit of work,just be carefull with the sanding and don't use anything coarser than 1000 on clearcoat.

 

[lindsay_elaine]

ok I wil definately try it.
Hey you're a local too!

Hey, didn't notice you were in Rochester - I do airbrush work in a body shop down in Hampton, and the shop owner lives up near Rochester. We were set up at Rochester Harley all week during bike week.

 

[farmer]

Thats funny one of my dads buddies works at the Harley shop, big guy named Josh
Small world