So I bought that Fix-it clear pen thing for my wifes car. It seems to work fine. My son tried to do it on the hood of my car...without me knowing! Not only that, he used too much of it that it globbed around the scratched area of the hood. Anyway, I tried using 600 grit sandpaper to remove it. However, it just left this haze where I sanded it.

How do I fix this thing. Should I start using 1500 grit sandpaper and then some rubbing compound? My instinct says to try that and then try to buff it out. Please help!!

 

you cant compound & polish out 600 grit sand scratches on top of the clear coat. in the body shop we sand the primer & sealer primer coats with 600 grit. we used to use 1500 & sometimes 1200 grit to wetsand imperfections out of fresh clear coat. the newer clear coats are softer & require finer grit sandpaper to remove imperfections. currently 1500 grit is considered a bit of an agressive bite. 2000, 2500 grit & even 3000 grit are now being usd to sand blemishes out of todays clear coats.

sorry

 

So what should I do now? Where do you get 3000 grit sandpaper?

 

BTW, I'm trying to sand out the extra layer of clear, not the original.

 

I was able to buy wet/dry sandpaper from this website: http://www.rplastics.com/sandpaper.html

They sell it by the sheet otherwise it would have to be purchased in bulk. The highest grit they have is 2000. Also they are a bit on the slow side, it took me a couple of weeks to get my order. I guess it doesn't matter much though, I still have not refinished my headlights.

 

I think you'll be ok then. You've used 600 to try to sand it down level...IF you didnt go down too far into your clearcoat then do the following. Do not do more than the area you've already touched....Wet sand with 1000 grit with mild soap and water....keep it WET...dip dip dip. Dont sand too much just enough to get it a little less hazy... Then wet sand with 2000 grit. Wet sand this the same way. But sand a bit more than you did with the 1000. After this wipe clean. When dry you should see it less noticable. After this get a buffer and throw on some turtle wax polishing compound. Keep polishing until the area appears to be near perfect. Then you can use some Meguiars swirl remover or scratch X and using a differnt pad or much elbow grease...just continue to work it in until perfect. This should get you where you wanted to be at. I paint frequently and this should do it for you provided you didnt already sand too much with that 600 grit. You should be ok though. 600 is a aggressive and usually used for sanding between clearcoat applications that haven't properly laid. Anyway good luck.

Btw, you can find all of these at your local store. If you can find all 3M products that will work too.

 

sorry that's just funny

 

Yeah, I didn't do it that deep since the layer is still there. I just got worried since I started seeing the scuff marks. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks!



DOH!!!

 

After wet sanding, try Meg Ultimate Compound or 3M Rubbing Compound. They're one of the better OTC product for removing scratches. 2 or 3 times should be good. I highly recommend a good DA polisher...your arm, elbow, shoulder or all related limps might fall off if you do it by hand though.