Cutting Deep

[glockyman]

Put simply, driving between two high schools is a disaster for my car. It means I park with double the idiots every day, and as a result, I've ended up with a number of scratches. One was a rather deep one, not to the primer, but past the clearcoat.

I blocked off a square around this scratch, and wetsanded with 2k grit. However, I'm worried that I've taken off the entire clearcoat, and that I'm going to have to take it to a shop to get the entire fender repainted.

To give you and idea of what it looks like and why I think I sanded too much, the paint has taken on a clouded and dulled appearance. The scratch is no longer visible, but I can't for the life of me get a shine back to the paint. Ive buffed (by hand) several different kinds of waxes in, none with any success. I don't own an orbital, so is that what I need to try next, or have I gone by the point of no return?

Also, Ive got a massive rock chip in the center of the hood. Iev filled in the dent it left, and used primer to cover the bare metal (short term to keep out rust) Does anyone know from experience what a good/decent painter would charge for just a hood?

P.S. Don't buy a car in Ruby Red Metallic. There's no touch-up paint made in that color. Gr.

[AAS SC/T]

The cloudness is what it looks like when you wetsand you will need to use a rotary buffer with cutting and polishing compound to remove the scratches you put in with the wetsanding. Start with a high abrasive compound and work your way to a very fine polish. ( Meguiars Diamond cut compound then Dual action cleaner/polish then swirl free polish then apply your wax. Use a Meguiars softbuff cutting pad and polishing pad.

[glockyman]

So, in other words, I need to go find someone with a rotary buffer and the experience to use it, haha. From the rotary horror stories I've read about, I wouldn't trust myself with one.

Thanks for the help though, I was worried that Id screwed it up beyond repair.

[levey]

Just going by what you said.

If the scratch was indeed deeper than the clear coat, and you got rid of the scratch by sanding it out. No buffing will bring back the shine, as you have removed the clear coat by going too deep with the sanding.

[glockyman]

Well, to be perfectly honest, I dont know if it's all the way past the clearcoat. Kinda hard to tell. Im gonna go the way of the rotary buffer, and see how that turns out, and if it doesnt work, I guess thatll tell me that if gone past the point of no return.