The Junkman Battles Another Keyed Paint Job
 

Hey boys and girls, I had the opportunity to go at another keyed paint job this week. As a lot of you already know, fixing paint is a passion for me and not something I do for money. So when the owner asked me what I wanted in return, I told him nothing but some pictures and food. He decided that was not good enough and bought me this setup:

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cforum/HT-BD1250.jpg

It's the Samsung HT-BD1250 Blu-ray DVD player and 5.1 HD audio with wireless speaker setup. I have to say that this beats Outback Steakhouse since I didn't have anything to go with my new 46" LED wide screen I just bought. I also needed a Blu-ray player as I hadn't bought one yet!

On to the repair. This scratch was too deep in places to totally remove but in situations like this, you try and make the damage as least noticeable as possible. At first glance, you would not be able to see the fixed product. That's what you want to achieve with damage like this. Here's the damage and it was not pretty. The scratch went from the front fender to almost the rear quarter.

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo...a_scratch1.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch1a.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch1b.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch1c.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch1d.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch1e.jpg


As you can see, this puppy was deep. I was going to have to start with 2000 grit paper for this scratch. This posed two problems. One, I cannot use the PC-7424XP to repair 2000 grit wet sanding damage (it is not powerful enough and would take forever). I would need to use my Flex 3401VRG polisher in this case. Two, this is a new Toyota, which is notorious for having some of the thinnest clear coat on the planet (the same with Nissan's). In a situation like this, you have got to use a paint thickness gauge that measures both base coat AND clear coat. I didn't have one handy and was going to opt out of trying to fix this but the owner insisted that I go at it, even after I warned him of the danger. That scratch was bothering him so bad that anything would be better in his mind. So, at it I went.

I started by claying the entire area as claying is the foundation of my shine. Another reason that I clayed the area is because the owner had used some Meguiar's ScratchX on the scratch in an attempt to repair the damage himself and I didn't want anything in that scratch that would affect my repair attempt. The only thing he managed to do was make the paint dull around the scratch. Once the area was clayed, I started with 2000 grit paper. When doing a repair like this where you are NOT going to be painting the car, you have got to know when to stop sanding. You do not necessarily totally remove the scratch. In most cases you won't, especially on clear coat that is as thin as it is on these cars.

After the 2000 grit, I followed it with the 2500 and then 3000 grit papers. Again, you have got to take into consideration that these papers are also going to remove clear coat so if you remove too much with the 2000 grit paper, you've screwed the pooch. That's why a paint thickness gauge is so important. At a body shop where they are going to paint the car anyway, a paint thickness gauge is a waste of time and not necessary. Here's some shots of the sanding process.

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo...a_scratch2.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch2a.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch2b.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch2c.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch2d.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch2e.jpg


Once I completed wet sanding the damage, I broke out my Flex polisher, some Swirl and Haze Remover and a orange pad. After buffing all the damage away with that combination, I followed it with some Fine Machine Polish and a white pad. After that combination, these were the results that I was able to achieve.

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo...a_scratch3.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch3a.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch3c.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch3d.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch3e.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch3f.jpg

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._scratch3g.jpg


So as you can see, I earned my keep and this is probably why the owner was so happy. Now I need to go setup my new gear and hear what it sounds like! ;)


The Junkman

Nice Repair.... Almost can't see it at all...

Very impressive.

nice job. Excellent job considering repainting was avoided. I only see deep scratches below the door handle but figured they were deep enough where they couldnt be removed. Overall EXCELLENT JOB

Great work! Daring approach as well... ;)

Have fun with the new toy, well deserved :tup:

You are exactly correct sir! Under the door was wicked deep. That is not coming out without painting but it is a lot less noticeable now. :tup:

very nice... talk about confidence in your abilities to have the guts to bust out the sandpaper like that. Good job!

On a side note--Saw one of your videos using the PC polisher, s&h removal, fine polish and wax...along with clay-bar, well funny story....my girlfriend found the video still up on my laptop and she doesn't know that I KNOW shes getting me the set for Christmas BWAHAHAH so im just waiting until the unwrapping occurs. :iamwithstupid:

YOU DOG! :happydance: :rofl2:

good job! :tup: most people wont even notice it. :)

amazing work junkman :tup:

Thanks guys!

All I can say is wow! Impressive as usual.

I honestly wasn't expecting it to come out that nice. Fantastic work.

Seriously, people who key cars like that need to have their hand(s) chopped off.

I have got to agree with you.

Nice repair. You've got some good vids on you tube also. Very informative.

Awesome work as usually. Two :tup: :tup: I'm def gonna try my best to show up to your next local detail clinic!

Thanks for watching! I plan to upload a good series this week on proper washing techniques.

The next New Jersey clinic I do will be in conjunction with a Mustang car show so it will probably be pretty big. Bring an appetite as we do dinner after the clinic! :tiphat:

whoa great work!

holy mother of god on earth and in heaven at the exact same time! thats awesome! REP POINTS!

:rofl2: at Ryan! That was the what the owner said after he saw me buffing the wet sanding damage away. Not understanding what I was doing, he was thinking that I was getting ready to paint the car at some point!

man, quite impressive. I know where I'm going if I get a nasty scratch...

it's truly amazing what can be done with a little time, sandpaper, and polish....i would have been cringing after seeing the wet sanding lol...its scary when you dont know the process.

again, nice work!

It's scary when you do know the process if you don't have a paint thickness gauge!

Not that I'm ever going to try that on my own, but what thicknesses are acceptable and when do you 'call it quits'?

Incredible repair and I enjoyed your washing tutorials as well. Let me know if you're coming to Chicago for any clinics.

I would like to leave at least 1 MIL of clear on a car but you have to have a paint thickness gauge to measure that. The only time I'm near Chicago is for Bloomington Gold Corvettes. I'll be there this year too.

Do you know of anyone you'd recommend in the Houston area? I've got a 6 inch hairiline scratch from my front quarter panel over to my door. It can barely be felt with fingernail and is nearly invisible, but it's there and it bugs me to no end.

I'm having a hard time finding someone to work on the car who uses a paint thickness gauge. After hearing how thin the clear is on the Z, I'm not letting anyone wet sand it who doesn't have one.

Agreed. Amazing work on the car above. Watched the tutorials but just can't bring myself to try it on the car just yet. Plan on practicing on an older Mazda we've got though.

That's just shy of flawless -- and only just. Amazing work :tiphat:

I don't know anyone around you as I am not in this line of business. I do this for fun and therapy. If I actually had to do it for a living, I would probably charge way more than anyone would pay! I agree with you on the paint thickness gauge. That Z paint is tricky as hell.