got a phone call from a buddy that he hit some cones in his integra at a autocross and had a few scuffs/scratches wanted me to buff them out. so i grab a few things and head over. inspect the car and its nothing major, grab the pc a green uber and some sip and do a quick pass, about 75% gone but this guys is a perfectionist and wants more. so i grab a surbuf and the 105, as soon as i spread it on 1, 5 bubbles appear every where on the panel where the scuff marks are deepest. now i start to panic, this guy loves his car built by himself he stripped the car had it painted, jdm type r front end, built k20r, jr supercharger full tein front and rear, spoon brake set up etc etc etc basically a 30k integra...show winner. now i used no pressure and was on speed 1, so i know i did not burn the paint. i call him over and we start looking at it. turns out after the car was painted he took it back to the painter for a few touch ups (1year ago) well the guy repainted the section directly above this area and instead of sanding to prep the lower quarter panel he just resprayed the whole quarter with clear. so the clear never bonded to the previous level of clear. we chipped the clear away as it was flaking once it started and the lower level was perfect the paint was intact and the clear was still there it never rubbed to the paint. anyway scary as hell luckily the guy knew the paint bad in this area already , and as soon as we took the car to the painter and told him what happened he admited to not prepping the car and agreed to fix it for free. just had to vent...and to warn others of repaints....my first thought was im buying a ptg today but it would not have mattered in this case
Chalk it up to a learning experience. I'm noobish and learn every day through trial and tribulation. At least the body guy fessed up and you got a really good look at clear not bonding to the paint..... Thanks for sharing! Btw what does ptg mean?
I had a really nice 1991 Integra GS in Red, and had it all tricked out, so I could totally relate to your post. An inexpensive Paint Thickness Gauge like the Highline that sells for $225, would have alerted you to the higher thickness in that spot compared the area right below it, so that may have helped alert you that something happened there and you would have asked the owner about it before proceeding. I use mine all the time, and even though it cant measure the exact thickness of the paint only, it does show when the total thickness is higher or lower in that spot, and compared to areas around, you can get a pretty good idea of how much paint thickness may be left in any one spot. I also find alot of shoddy taping for paintwork that leaves primer or color or both on the bottoms of rubber seals, etc., and that always tips me off that around that area, someone once taped up the car to paint it, so that raises a flag. Clients like it when you show them that you are technical enough to know how to measure their paint and many of them appreciate it to find out if their "baby" Ferrari, etc., has ever been painted or spotted in before.. Too bad the Painter here took the easy way out, and didnt want to spend a few more minutes to even scuff the finish around the spot-in area he shot; probably hoping he never got caught. I am glad he did, maybe he will start doing honest work for an honest days pay. Dan F
At least the painter is going to man up and fix the car. PTGs pop up here from time to time in the sale section, so keep an eye out. It helps out in your correction work, and you can even use it for PPIs... A great service to offer people.
Unless you have the upgraded DeFelsko model which can measure on non-metallic panels you still would have been out of luck(Phil saving my pennies for this......lot's of pennies). With any car, look closely at the area to be corrected, if the painter did this kind of shoddy work believe me there will be telltale signs of potential problems as follows. .Shrink, which will take a few months to rear it"s ugly head. Problem can be minor or severe where the actual block sanding marks will show thru and is sub-surface and cannot be corrected with any machine polishing. . Solvent pop, which looks like the finish has "Measles". . Blending borders, milky appearance which will not go away with compounding. .Dust nibs, which can be sanded and levelled however care is needed in case the nib has uncured paint trapped in the defect along with the dirt or insect which caused the defect initially. .Coarse orange peel texture which does not match adjoining panels. .Paint runs, which is self-explanatory. .Incorrect chroma match(color match) and tint coat where applicable, the difference can be slight or severe. . Mottling , case of metallic flakes (on metallic finishes) having a blotchy uneven appearance which is most easily seen on silver finishes. I have passed on jobs for all the following reasons, as YOU will be now in the liability chain as many clients will not disclose the repair or in most cases they do not know a repair has been effected(when purchasing a pre-owned car). Remember if the painter had not "Owned up" to this screw up, YOU might have had to eat the repair. People will ask me how do you know a re-spray is apparent, and I answer real good body shops will have you really searching for the repair, but there is always something that gives it away one way or the other you just have to know what to look for, and the DeFelsko comes in handy when the repair is so good you cannot tell(In my case presently if the repair is on a metal painted panel).
since working in a body shop...i find myself driving past cars, and just looking for repairs. its quite fun but also annoying i cannot stop. Also car shows are the worst. For example HIN i hate seen bad body work and polishing. Makes me sick. For example i did a 2008 Chrysler 300c yesterday for a local car dealer. Body looked great. Until i opened up the trunk and saw that the spare tire did not fit because a new bumper was put on but the inside was never fixed. Gave me a laugh.
the area had the measles for sure and i noticed but did not equate the two problems together......thank you ...this is why this forum is so valuable...i have been using a pc for 5-10 cars a year since 2000....back when scotwax was polishing by hand (showing my age). and have never had anything remotely like this happen. i stepped up to what i consider semi-pro this year and have done about 25 -30 cars this year and still learn everyday from working and from folks here like you
Thanks to the OP and NCbob for sharing this info...it makes us all better and helps to raise the standard in the industry!
