Clay Bar Removing Touch Up Paint

[evan631]

Someone told me that i could remove touch up paint with clay bar...is this true? If so do you recommend one?



I have a small scratch that was touched up, but i would like to redo it. The paint was applied extremely thin. And is probably about 1/4 inch.



If i cannot use clay bar, are there any other safe methods to remove the touch up paint.

[Downgear]

I am very interested in getting an answer to this question as well. I know it "can" be done, however what are the autopians opinion on the matter? I actually red about it on s2ki.com.



You can check the link out here: S2000 Forums -> Scary paint chip repair



The guy firstly does wet sanding with excellent results (with cost of thinning the clear) and then later finds that using a claybar when the paint is left to dry only a few hours is best to level it. I am especially interested in this as i am in the middle of a major paint chip repair from egg damage. I have only put one coat on so far, as i am being very cautious and allowing one week dry time in between coats.



Post up your best paint chip repair techniques!

[Macruz19]

If it`s been applied maybe a fews days ago, I`m sure it can be removed by a clay bar. But from my experience I used a polish by hand to remove touch up paint with ease.

[evan631]

Are all clay bars the same? Is there a specific one i should purchase? Not just for this issue, but for future uses as well.

[Macruz19]

Are all clay bars the same? Is there a specific one i should purchase? Not just for this issue, but for future uses as well.

There`s different types grades for clay. I just use Megs/Zaino/Mothers for my car, but I believe from reading that Clay Magic has the most "bite".

[evan631]

Thanks...i will stop in the local shop and see what i can pick up. They have a full line of Meguiars...so i will probably grab that.

[Downgear]

For those of you that have experience, is it better to sand or clay bar your "paint blob" when touching up?

[Setec Astronomy]

If you have a modern, properly cured paint job, you can just use laquer thinner to remove the touch-up paint without affecting the rest of the paint.

[Accumulator]

If you have a modern, properly cured paint job, you can just use laquer thinner to remove the touch-up paint without affecting the rest of the paint.

I`d modify that to read "If you have a modern, properly cured *factory* paint job.." . Sometimes lacquer thinner can compromise even the best repaints, it`s only on factory paint that I`d consider that approach 100% safe. My painters all have horror stories of wiping a seemingly factory finish with lacquer thinner only to have the paint come off.



Downgear- I`ve never waited all that long between coats, I want the next coat to melt into the previous one a little bit, so I don`t *want* the paint curing all that much between coats. Note that a paintshop wouldn`t wait all that long between coats if they were doing the job. I layer the basecoat every few hours, wait ~24 and then layer the clear every few hours. Then I leave it alone for a while.



Once the chip is built back up slightly above the surrounding paint, I`d leave it alone to cure for a while. Trying to level/perfect a touchup too soon can send you back to square one, for sorta the same reason that it`s easier to do then.



As for claying...the clay oughta only shear off any paint that`s above the surface of the surrounding paint, but it doesn`t always work out that way and if the clay is somewhat aggressive it can/might remove the touchup as opposed to just leveling it.



Personally, I don`t use clay for this. I either wetsand or use Langka or just leave the touchup alone and live with the "blob" effect. But then I`m the guy who often just lives with paint chips for years (or even decades)



The issue with wetsanding is, IMO, a matter of the almost inevitable sanding scratches that get in the surrounding OE paint, which will almost certainly be harder than the touchup. Polishing those scratches out, *without messing up the touchup* can be a challenge. Usually not an insurmountable challenge, but still...



If wetsanding gives somebody pause (and I certainly understand that), then I`d suggest the Langka "blob remover" stuff..which is basically a mild solvent mixed with some mildly abrasive polish. Works OK (not super IME, but OK) for leveling and works better than that (again, just IME) for *removing* touchups.

[Setec Astronomy]

I`d modify that to read "If you have a modern, properly cured *factory* paint job.." . Sometimes lacquer thinner can compromise even the best repaints, it`s only on factory paint that I`d consider that approach 100% safe. My painters all have horror stories of wiping a seemingly factory finish with lacquer thinner only to have the paint come off.

Wow, I`m getting that strange feeling of deja vu...like you`ve scolded me on this before I`ll try and review my notes before I post...

[Accumulator]

Setec Astronomy- Heh heh, yeah...could be :think: It does sound vaguely familiar huh



I just don`t want somebody to wipe the paint right off their car, and you know how it works..that one-in-a-million car with unknown post-production paintwork is the one that it`ll get tried on.

[Setec Astronomy]

I just don`t want somebody to wipe the paint right off their car, and you know how it works..that one-in-a-million car with unknown post-production paintwork is the one that it`ll get tried on.

When you`re right, you`re right...and you`re almost always right!

[danponjican]

Good read on clay:

DetailingWiki - Clay Bar

[Accumulator]

When you`re right, you`re right...and you`re almost always right!

Heh heh, you and I are a regular ol` mutual admiration society, huh



OK..I gotta finish patting myself on the back and go wash the A8.

[3puttjay]

When I used touch up paint to fix a scratch and chip, I waited a few weeks then I taped around the chip and then used the wet sandpaper to level it. This way you save a lot of wear and tear around the chip. Once I had it level , I didn`t have any problem with clay removing the touch-up paint. I have found it easier to leave the touch-up paint not quite level to the surface and then getting some clear-coat to finish off the chip. It seems to be easier to sand off the clear-coat than the touch-up, plus your sandpaper doesn`t get the color of the touch-up all over it so you can brush off the clear coat and reuse the sandpaper on another car.