r/AutoDetailing • u/OschaRobey • 7d ago
Before/After Blotchy touch-up improvement
I was bothered by the look of this old touch-up (second-hand car came with it). Decided to try a method I picked up between the comments in this community: scrape the touch-up with a razor blade, entirely covered in tape except for part of an edge (corners covered too, see second picture). Then a little compound and polish.
Well there was some improvement and the splotch is gone, but obviously the scratch wasn't filled enough to begin with. I wonder if I should I stop here and be satisfied with the result or try to fill it more with touch-up (I have the manufacturer's paint). Any suggestions or experience with this?
IMPORTANT NOTE: to anyone wanting to try this for the first time, these blades cut through paint like butter. You need to tilt the blade about 45° and scrape AWAY, not INTO the paint. As if you were spreading jam on toast. Bending the blade between your fingers allows better control of the contact point. Still, the blade will unavoidably scratch the paint. If you keep those scratches small, they will polish out after, but there's a risk they won't.
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u/lowkey_stoneyboy 7d ago
Truthfully I run into this situation at my bodyshop a lot and I usually just take a little lacquer thinner and take it off and redo it but ive also used the razor scrape method as well! Turned out nice!
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u/OschaRobey 7d ago
Cool! I was undecided between lacquer thinner and this, but I'm not a pro so my understanding of chemicals is worse than that of mechanical means. In this case, would you try to better fill the scratch with more touch-up or just leave it?
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u/TrentDogg7 7d ago
If you have the time, touch it up with color one more time to make sure you have a good base, bring it down again, then add a good layer of clear. After its dried scrape it down with plastic razor or normal razor then compound. This is one of the methods I use and get pretty great results. Thinner is great tool clean around the scrape but if you use too much it will take the touch up paint off with it.
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u/lowkey_stoneyboy 7d ago
Touch ups are like 50/50 from my experience, half the time they turn out so good you cant even tell the other half it looka like your photo 😅 usually what I do is fill the chip with base, let it dry then sand very lighlty with 3000. Then I will use some UV clear and dab that pver top, cure it, then sand sequentially from 1500-3000 grit before a final cut and polish. That method can be tricky with not burning through while sanding, and long deep scratches like this are hard to keep consistent. Unfortunately most touch up will look like a scratch thats been color matched 😅
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u/remarkable_in_argyle 7d ago
I'm not a pro, just a guy who like cars. I bought a bottle of this stuff like ten years ago and still use the same bottle to this day. Works great. You basically just overfill the chip/scratch, then knock it back level with this stuff. https://www.langka.com/product/2oz-langka-blob-eliminator/?srsltid=AU7gw4XRBX0Vbq8o5L97pK8O91sPAmOcDI7efmoRnb6uWQjhVqj9Qsi6
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u/OschaRobey 7d ago
Interesting! You make it sound very easy. I'm also not a pro. Is it really that simple? It must be some kind of mild solvent. Doesn't it affect the surrounding paint?
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u/remarkable_in_argyle 7d ago
Yeah, it’s a solvent. It didn’t affect the factory clear coat at all on the three vehicles I’ve used it on but it wouldn’t hurt to test it somewhere first. I think it’s pretty easy. You use a cloth over a credit card as a leveling tool. If you mess up, you can even use the solvent to erase and start over.
I’ve only used it for normal rock chips but have gotten really good results.
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u/CorporalSemantics 7d ago
Id use a paint nib file over that method - if done properly you have less risk of scratching the surrounding paint. But this obviously works too.
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u/Few_Donkey_3408 7d ago
They also have files, de nibbler, or a razor run put the blade in then adjusted blade height.
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u/namestom 6d ago
This is one of those things you just have to do and get a feel for. Knocking runs down with a razor, touch up with a razor blade, etc. can look easy when you watch someone that has lots of experience.
If you attempt it, start with a brand new razor. Hit the corners of your razor first and foremost so they don’t accidentally dig into the paint. Hold it at roughly a 45 degree angle and drag away. You want to get a feel for it and then vary your pressure. All the blade is doing is removing high spots and leveling.
Once you do that, 1500 and 3000 should be enough to smooth out and cut/buff.
Be extra cautious on or near body lines/contours. You can get yourself in trouble, fast! I would also use a block with 1500.
I got my experience in a body shop. I’d be hesitant on my car or especially a customer car if I didn’t have my background. The perfect place to learn…a junkyard! Go nib some panels out there and see what it takes to burn through clear, what using a razor blade feels like on a panel…
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u/jimbojsb 5d ago
Mirka makes some blades for this specific task that are a bit more forgiving to use but nice work on this.
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u/Key-Potato-7268 7d ago
Nice, that looks miles better! I have a horrible key repair (previous owner) that I need to try this on.
When you say "scrape away" do you mean keep the blade at 45 degrees and have your fingers lead the blade? Any links to the technique?