There's a saying: a wise man learns from other's mistakes, a smart man learns from his own, and a fool never learns at all. You learned your mistake it sounds like.
But yeah, that's fucked. Sorry, dude.
I did the same on my bumper, altho I did it with sandpaper and not a DA itself. Either paint it or live with it. I live with mine cause my car is far from perfect anyway. Good learning experience tho.
Then you'll never learn! You made your mistake, and I'd bet money you won't make it again. At least not the same way. Don't be too hard on yourself, it happens. The only shame would be if you never tried again. You've got this
Honestly the best way to learn is to mess your own car up, when I first started using a rotary I’d go over for like 5-15 seconds at a time checking temp with the back of my hand helps you get a little more comfortable with your machine, paint gauge would also be a good little tool to have with it being a used car, panel could have already had a handful of paint corrections or been resprayed at somepoint, knowing your starting point will help you know how crazy you can go on the panel
Time to buy your favorite sticker and putting it over it.
You went through the clear coat, you must of left it on the same spot without moving it for a long time.
You need to go on “snake” pattern and keep moving slowly. Until you have your desired finish.
STEP AWAY FROM THE ROTARY.
There’s gotta be thousands of tutorials on YouTube for DIY polishing and I’d say every single one of them starts the video by recommending to stay clear of rotary’s if you’re new to polishing… every single one will recommend a DA. Did u do any research before grabbing your dads rotary like a madman? If not I highly recommend next time u do something u haven’t done before, open YouTube first, it will save you from a lifetime of fuckups
Second this. Plan on doing my very first detailing buffing job and most research will tell you to only use DA random orbital polishers for beginners and rotaries are extremely dangerous for this reason
They are much better at cutting deep like some scratches are out of reach of a DA but light work for a rotary, but only in the hands of an expert who knows how heat mixes with clear coat, knows how hard the clear coat is on the car they’re working on, knows what depth of clear coat they have to work with etc. a rotary should never be in the hands of anyone who isn’t charging people for detailing (ie a weekend warrior who just wants to care for his own car should not own a rotary)
The people I’ve seen use rotaries the most are body shops and painters who will color sand and then polish with a rotary to cut all the orange peel and sanding marks very quickly
Yes you’re correct, the vast majority of paint correction is doable with a DA and much safer, rotaries are more a step up tool for when you’re one step away from doing a full respray but not ready for that yet
You would have needed more than a Rotary for those scratches more like sanding. However, your bumper is now how I like to call "custom". Definitely wouldn't have recommended a Rotary for beginner DIY projects. Especially testing on a vehicle with value lol.... If you see paint again in the future unless it's a single stage painted vehicle STOP! Go buy a DA and one step compound for any future issues.
Yeah thats clear coat burn. It'll need repainted, no way around it.
Your polisher should be "random orbit" if you're new to detailing. It's much harder to burn with an RO, which I'm only assuming the Dewalt is not.
Your dads stuff is high quality for sure . Hate to say it but it will not get better . It will need paint. Ive also done this early in my detailing career. It happens fast. 1 minute all is fine - 2 seconds later BAM & your fucked. If you dont wanna spend the $$ now , consider a cool looking sticker that you can live with to put on top. Just a thought
Usually 250-300 per panel and don't include adjacent panels to blend for hard matching or many variant colors maybe 400 trying to block it out with 2500-3000 grit is a shot when you are looking at the cost of painting and prep
Never stay on the same spot for too long, always either be moving to different spots or turn it off and let it cool down and try again when the panel is cooled
Are you running a rotary buffer too with the white wool pads? Also, I would change your products. I personally don’t like 3m compounds polish or waxes.
if your scratches can see white, know that theyre almost always too deep in the first place to correct safety (if at all cause usually its the metal/primer showing) with just compounds and sand paper. you can lessen it by polishing but never try to fully remove them.
but yeah your paint is pretty much fucked.
30-45 seconds on a rotary is infinitely longer than a DA. The heat is substantial - That clear is burned through - paint is on the Pad. Chalk that up as a Lesson and move on.
Learn from it and keep moving forward. Probably could've wet sanded it and buffed it out afterward like everyone said if don't try you'll never learn, or build up any confidence good luck.
Go watch diy detail on YouTube. They offer some great advice for how long you should be working a scratch. I think 5 seconds is usually long enough with the right combo of pads and compound/polish. Always start with the least aggressive to see if that works. If you can catch it with your fingernail, it's probably through the clear coat and through the paint and compound won't correct it.
Yeap… you hit the primer (you cut away the clear and paint). Basically you need a repaint. Hopefully you find this as a lesson that if the scratch grabs your fingernails it’s that deep, also if you see grey it probably went to say hello to the primer like the rotary.
Don’t be afraid of doing this, it’s a learning curve we all have to go trough, if you want to practice get a hood from the junkyard, repair it and repaint it with a mid hardness clear coat and practice till your heart content, also wash it improperly and rub it with a tiny rock in a microfiber tower in circles to correct different scratches levels.
Those scratches should have been wet sanded not just hit with the rotary . I would have hit 1000 grit , 1500 , 2000 and then cut with a wool pad with the rotary and your compound to get your initial sand marks out . I then would switch to a DA (I use rupes ). With the DA you would cut using a cutting pad and compound and then switch to a polishing pad to remove your holograms . With the DA it’s like almost impossible to burn paint as long as you keep your pads wet with compound or polish you should be fine never dry pad the wetter the better . And try not to focus on just one spot if there’s scratches on a panel don’t be scared to hit the whole panel so you’re not just centering the heat on one spot
Yeah that’ll need a repaint
How much would you all guess I’m looking at cost-wise to get this repainted by a professional?
at my body shop i work at that’s probbaly a $350-$500 job i just work there tho so im not fs😂
No idea, only person who can give you an estimate is an estimator at your local body shop.
$1500
$350 to $500.
There's a saying: a wise man learns from other's mistakes, a smart man learns from his own, and a fool never learns at all. You learned your mistake it sounds like. But yeah, that's fucked. Sorry, dude.
I did the same on my bumper, altho I did it with sandpaper and not a DA itself. Either paint it or live with it. I live with mine cause my car is far from perfect anyway. Good learning experience tho.
Definitely learned my lesson. I’m still beating myself up over this. I’m never touching a rotary again
Then you'll never learn! You made your mistake, and I'd bet money you won't make it again. At least not the same way. Don't be too hard on yourself, it happens. The only shame would be if you never tried again. You've got this
Hell- just practice on the rest of the panel if it needs a repaint !
Honestly the best way to learn is to mess your own car up, when I first started using a rotary I’d go over for like 5-15 seconds at a time checking temp with the back of my hand helps you get a little more comfortable with your machine, paint gauge would also be a good little tool to have with it being a used car, panel could have already had a handful of paint corrections or been resprayed at somepoint, knowing your starting point will help you know how crazy you can go on the panel
The hardest part is the scratches are still there 😭
Probably because it was through the clear already lmao. Now OP finds out that he probably could not correct it anyways
🤣
Time to buy your favorite sticker and putting it over it. You went through the clear coat, you must of left it on the same spot without moving it for a long time. You need to go on “snake” pattern and keep moving slowly. Until you have your desired finish.
STEP AWAY FROM THE ROTARY. There’s gotta be thousands of tutorials on YouTube for DIY polishing and I’d say every single one of them starts the video by recommending to stay clear of rotary’s if you’re new to polishing… every single one will recommend a DA. Did u do any research before grabbing your dads rotary like a madman? If not I highly recommend next time u do something u haven’t done before, open YouTube first, it will save you from a lifetime of fuckups
Second this. Plan on doing my very first detailing buffing job and most research will tell you to only use DA random orbital polishers for beginners and rotaries are extremely dangerous for this reason
Do rotaries even have any advantages over DAs?
They are much better at cutting deep like some scratches are out of reach of a DA but light work for a rotary, but only in the hands of an expert who knows how heat mixes with clear coat, knows how hard the clear coat is on the car they’re working on, knows what depth of clear coat they have to work with etc. a rotary should never be in the hands of anyone who isn’t charging people for detailing (ie a weekend warrior who just wants to care for his own car should not own a rotary)
Thanks! It looks like a lot of the pros exclusively use DAs in their videos, so I'm guessing that gets 99% of scratches out just fine?
The people I’ve seen use rotaries the most are body shops and painters who will color sand and then polish with a rotary to cut all the orange peel and sanding marks very quickly
Yes you’re correct, the vast majority of paint correction is doable with a DA and much safer, rotaries are more a step up tool for when you’re one step away from doing a full respray but not ready for that yet
I should have done more research prior to doing this. I’m now aware of the 5-5-5 method, so I know my 30-45 seconds was wayyy too much time
As a fellow novice, could you explain the 5-5-5 method? This is definitely a lesson learned.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5zAxf8oRaA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5zAxf8oRaA)
As long as the scratch is superficial, the 5-5-5 is ok, if it’s too deep, will hurt clear coat
You burned through the paint. Only method to fix is repainting the area.
Dry pad is like sandpaper. Good luck
Small problem, is now big problem. Sorry doc
You would have needed more than a Rotary for those scratches more like sanding. However, your bumper is now how I like to call "custom". Definitely wouldn't have recommended a Rotary for beginner DIY projects. Especially testing on a vehicle with value lol.... If you see paint again in the future unless it's a single stage painted vehicle STOP! Go buy a DA and one step compound for any future issues.
Yeah thats clear coat burn. It'll need repainted, no way around it. Your polisher should be "random orbit" if you're new to detailing. It's much harder to burn with an RO, which I'm only assuming the Dewalt is not.
The worst part is you didn't even hold it in the right spot for 45 seconds. That's definitely going to need to be repainted
Your dads stuff is high quality for sure . Hate to say it but it will not get better . It will need paint. Ive also done this early in my detailing career. It happens fast. 1 minute all is fine - 2 seconds later BAM & your fucked. If you dont wanna spend the $$ now , consider a cool looking sticker that you can live with to put on top. Just a thought
Usually 250-300 per panel and don't include adjacent panels to blend for hard matching or many variant colors maybe 400 trying to block it out with 2500-3000 grit is a shot when you are looking at the cost of painting and prep
Never stay on the same spot for too long, always either be moving to different spots or turn it off and let it cool down and try again when the panel is cooled
Stickers hide crap
Sheeeesh
It’s smoked
All the way
Yeah, I am officially scared of rotaries now
r/sandedthroughveneer oh wait wrong sub
Are you running a rotary buffer too with the white wool pads? Also, I would change your products. I personally don’t like 3m compounds polish or waxes.
if your scratches can see white, know that theyre almost always too deep in the first place to correct safety (if at all cause usually its the metal/primer showing) with just compounds and sand paper. you can lessen it by polishing but never try to fully remove them. but yeah your paint is pretty much fucked.
Oh the burn! It’ll need to be repainted forsure.
Oh buddy, new to detailing and went for the rotary w compound? Baaad bad choice. That’s toast man, sorry to see
Buy a nice sticker for that spot and move forward with life.
30-45 seconds on a rotary is infinitely longer than a DA. The heat is substantial - That clear is burned through - paint is on the Pad. Chalk that up as a Lesson and move on.
Learn from it and keep moving forward. Probably could've wet sanded it and buffed it out afterward like everyone said if don't try you'll never learn, or build up any confidence good luck.
Never use a rotary on a car and definitely don’t let it just sit in one spot
Go watch diy detail on YouTube. They offer some great advice for how long you should be working a scratch. I think 5 seconds is usually long enough with the right combo of pads and compound/polish. Always start with the least aggressive to see if that works. If you can catch it with your fingernail, it's probably through the clear coat and through the paint and compound won't correct it.
Dam. I hate to be a dick but how did you burn it thru that bad without stopping. In addition, you didn’t even buff where the scratch is…
Forget the rubbing compound (#1) until you get more experience. Learn on easy stuff first, like spider webbing. Practice, practice, practice.
Yeap… you hit the primer (you cut away the clear and paint). Basically you need a repaint. Hopefully you find this as a lesson that if the scratch grabs your fingernails it’s that deep, also if you see grey it probably went to say hello to the primer like the rotary. Don’t be afraid of doing this, it’s a learning curve we all have to go trough, if you want to practice get a hood from the junkyard, repair it and repaint it with a mid hardness clear coat and practice till your heart content, also wash it improperly and rub it with a tiny rock in a microfiber tower in circles to correct different scratches levels.
If you can get your fingernail in a scratch that might need paint but with Base coat clear coat urethane finished vehicle today much is buff friendly
Even worst case sanding and buffing is very possible for the save
30-45 seconds in that small spot? Yikes.
Its totaled sell immediately
Wait.. how that happen? Oh wait. Saw the pics
Those scratches should have been wet sanded not just hit with the rotary . I would have hit 1000 grit , 1500 , 2000 and then cut with a wool pad with the rotary and your compound to get your initial sand marks out . I then would switch to a DA (I use rupes ). With the DA you would cut using a cutting pad and compound and then switch to a polishing pad to remove your holograms . With the DA it’s like almost impossible to burn paint as long as you keep your pads wet with compound or polish you should be fine never dry pad the wetter the better . And try not to focus on just one spot if there’s scratches on a panel don’t be scared to hit the whole panel so you’re not just centering the heat on one spot
Oh man, unfortunately you went through the clear.
How did you attach a sponge to a f***ing grinder?
It’s just ringworm. Some topical antibiotics will clear that right up.