i got some OEM touch-up points from my dealer, and i seem to have acted too quickly on applying it.

i had 4 tiny dots i needed to fix up: the biggest on at the back (no idea how it got there) was about 1mm in diameter, and seems just as deep. The other 3 which are next to each other in the front bumper, smaller, and shallower.

Surprisingly, i actually fixed up the large one perfectly. i applied the paint, got a bit of over-fill on it. i let it sit for about 1 minute, and immediately, wiped over it with a cloth, and some of over-fill dried up. i immediately followed up with meguiar's scratch-x, and done. I have no idea if this sequence of steps were the right to do, since i was just improvising. Nevertheless, it was perfect. i actually never got a chance to use the clear-coat (part of the touch-up kit) because i couldn't see where it was.

Off to the front once. I did the exact same steps, but it seems my luck has run out. I might have wiped off the blobs too late, and the dried bits were more than scratch-x can handle.

the blobs are actually not that noticeable, especially considering their location, but the OCD bits in my brain reminds me they exist, and it's bother me.

Anyway, long story short, any advice on how to get rid of them? I've read about lanka's blob eliminator, but i'm seeing mixed reviews. and by the time its gets to me, the paint would probably be a week (or more) old. i wonder if it would still work.

i've also read some users talk about meguiar's 2500 and 3000 grits. I kinda like these more, since i can get them from amazon w/ free shipping (i hate paying shipping). I've never had to sand cars though, and i'm not sure how safe this route is.

any advice would be awesome.

 

lanka works on older dried paint, it just takes a bit more elbow grease and time. Check their web site.

You can get 2500 and 3000 grit products at any decent auto part store but taking that to paint is something best practiced on something other than your pride and joy b4 you dive in. YOU CAN make a BIG MESS of things.

I think you'd need to try hard to do the same level of damage with Lanka . . . I've been using it for years.

 

Langka works on touchpaint that is a year old or more. I use it all the time for removing customer applied touchup regardless of the age.

As for sanding, if you really care about your paint, and understand that repainting a car is very expensive, then take it to a pro to have it fixed, or leave it alone. Like the Capt said, if you have never sanded before, don't try it on your MINI. It takes a very delicate hand and a keen eye as WELL as experience to properly sand the paint and be able to safely recover it through buffing.

I had a MINI customer bring me his car AFTER he has used an off the shelf kit that included some sand paper. He sanded right through the clear. The fix would have been simple and easy for me, but because he already thinned the clear..there was a spot about the size of a dime that was already compromised and couldn't be fixed without repainting.

Take my advice, don't sand. Touchup is fine. Use Langka if you want though I'm not a fan, I use it as a solvent as the resulting "smoothed blobs" don't look good enough to me.

Richard

 

thanks for the replies...

can you elaborate on what you mean by this? how does it look? the current state of my blobs are actually not all that noticeable anymore, unless i actually stare at it...which i will every time i was my car, but i'm sure i have enough self-control not to obsess over it.

although i foresee myself doing touch ups every so often (as my car is only 2 months old, and i'm doing touch ups). i already have the oem touch up kit, so i figured i'd complete my toolkit with the blob eliminator. but if the end-result isn't that much better, than i figure i'd save myself the 30 bux.

 

Aside from the touchup kits, there are several factors that make doing spot touchups difficult.

1.) Matching the orientation of metallic flakes with existing metallic flakes. Don't have metallic paint, then touchups are A LOT easier.

2.) If the existing paint hasn't been recently polished and is oxidized or heavily contaminanted, there will be a color difference between the new paint and old paint. Obviously not the case here on a 2 month old car.

3.) Even if you match the color, blending the repair so that when the light reflects, it doesn't bend significantly at the touchup is a challenge. You put paint on top of a hole. It's impossible to make the touchup perfectly level with the existing paint otherwise you will see the edges of the repair.

4.) As you've found, using the clear isn't always necessary if you polish the paint after touching it up.

5.) Products like Langka help you level the blobs without resorting to wetsanding. It's a feeling like wetsanding but with a solvent. It smells bad, and it takes touchup paint away...scrape too much and the paint is gone. Rub too much and you scuff the edges around the repair and must polish it. IMO, there is only one proper way to do touchup repair and that's to paint it, manipulate the metallic flakes as necessary, wetsand, and polish it. There are many risks involved however but the results look the closest to actually painting the area. I can make the light reflect so that it looks like a very slight dimple or what I call a paint drip at the repair point, barely noticeable. But matching the color or metallic flakes is hit and miss and is true of any touchup method short of repainting the entire panel.

Richard

 

luckily for me, i have a pepper white, so it's non-metallic. it seems like you have a very mixed feelings about using the lanka blob eliminator at all...

this is probobly a subjective question, but in terms of cost/benefit/risk analysis, do you think it's worth it to even use it? or just leave well enough alone?

not so much the cost, but i don't want to risk making the situation worse in an attempt to make a more perfect touchup.