craters in clear coat after eraser wheel w/pic

[Philip Berardi]

well guys heres the deal! i am completely dead to body work. ive had my fair share of trying to fix something and then completely destroying the paint to where its worse then when i started. i would LOVE not to do this to my truck that i currently have. i took off my pin stripe on my 2000 f250. all went well on the second side i did, but the first side didnt go so good. the pinstripe is off, however i cratered a few spots on the clear coat. this is my idea....i got some paint chip repair stuff from a good online source, comes with paint and a thing of clear coat.... ...i was planning on cleaning the effected area with alcohol in order to get the wax and grease out. then build up the clear with dabs over time. then once its built up sand it down and buff it out. good idea??? ....more importantly im trying to figure out if this can wait till warm weather, or if i have to do it now! heres the picture, hard to see but you get the point. craters are about the size of a pencil eraser.

[Beechkid]

Yes, you could do that....what you might try 1st is (after cleaning with alcohol- denatured) lightly wet sand the area, and then spray with using an air brush....with the paint highly thinned, then wet sand & polish

[Philip Berardi]

gotcha, so is there a time period that i need to do this in...and what grit sand paper?

[Beechkid]

Originally Posted by Philip Berardi

gotcha, so is there a time period that i need to do this in...and what grit sand paper?

I would recommend 2500 grit with a drop of liquid dishsoap (to reduce initial friction/bite) mixed in a bucket of water....because the area is so small, either use a flexible sanding pad or for very small areas.....a old fashioned rubber (flat/square) erasor as the sanding pad. Propbably let the paint dry for 24 hrs befor west sanding....probably have to re-spray 1 or 2 times but it should look good.

[Philip Berardi]

thanks so much for you help man.....ok to wait until spring to start this?

[Beechkid]

Originally Posted by Philip Berardi

thanks so much for you help man.....ok to wait until spring to start this?

Yes- I would clena the area though with denatured alcohol (oil free) and wax over it just to make sure there are no impurities working on the paint while you wait .

FYI- when you use an airbrush, the paint must be thinned about 4-10 times that which the paint mfg stipulates.....sometimes even more. While this may shake you up a bit on the surface, the air brush sprays a much, much finer spray/volume than what the mfg has originally intended..this will not cause any issue with the paint application or finish quality since you are using a tool (airbrush) that is designed to do just that! I have actually thinned paint up to 200 times in some cases....just try it 1st and see how the gun sprays on just about anything...incuding cardboard....you will know immediately if it works or not in terms of correct thickness....remember you can always thin it out so start at 4-10 times.

[Action4478]

Most likely that side was repainted .. You may be able to spray more clear on it if you don't sand through the base color