Does anyone do any auto body work here?

[sherwood]

Sort of interested in fixing a few (a lot) of scratches on my Pathfinder. Some are clear coat and some are down to metal. I'm completely new to this whole deal. Although I know Youtube will not teach me how to do this kind of work, I've watched a lot of how to's on there. It all started when I found a buffer at a rummage sale for $3. I then bought wax, 1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry sand paper, PPG auto wax remover, rubbing compound, and polishing compound.

 

Does anyone have any tips? I successfully removed a good clear coat scratch and I tried wet sanding another deeper scratch but I screwed up, I went down to the primer.

Edited June 17, 2010 by sherwood

[GrimGreg]

It's tricky stuff. If they are just in the clear coat and won't buff out, then a light wet sanding with like 600 paper or less would be the next step. If you get as far as sanding anything, you'll probably want to rehit the clear coat with new (then sand and buff to make it blend). If you are down to, or past the color coat then you will want to sand it smooth and rehit it with color then clear.

[slade420]

it can be hard to hid some scratches, touch-up paint is alright for the small but deep scratches. for sanding the clear that can be hard. you might have used to much speed or pressure with ur buffer and sanded too much off. you might want to sand by hand. also have you read into using a clay bar system. take your time and remember to start with small test spots.

[sherwood]

I actually think I have the buffing down. I definitely wetsanded too much. So much so that there's a small primer spot. I still went over the entire area with compound, then hit it with polishing compound, all with my buffer and it looks good except for that small patch. I'm not scared of screwing up. The damn thing has scratches all over. Maybe I should take some pics?

[ahardb0dy]

I did the wet sanding thing when I had my 87 Hardbody, did the same thing, sanded too much on a corner and got down to the primer, I skipped compound since it is usually difficult to work with but I used the 3 step mothers and it looked great when it was done, (except for the primer spot!!)