[BeastMode335i]

So a buddy of mine painted my bumper for me for a great price, and he's done several jobs for me before with no hiccups, but this time there was an oops and I have a small clear coat run.. He would fix it himself, but he lent out his buffer/polisher and won't have it back for a few weeks so I'm just willing to have somewhere else fix it, but so far I've been told it's gonna cost around $100 and that just seems kinda steep for something so small.. I searched around and contacted a few shops and it seems that clear coat runs are pretty common in the paint world but I've never experienced it so I'm not sure how to approach it.. I'll swap turbos and engines all day, but body work is something I've never gotten into..

It's about 1/4" wide and about 3" long, and really only visible at certain angles, but I know it's there and my OCD says to fix it.. So anyone have an idea of what I should pay to get this fixed..?? If I were to challenge this myself, is it something that can easily be screwed up..?? I have another friend with a DA buffer so I may be able to use that but just gauging interest here to see if it's worth the headache to attempt myself knowing I may eff it up, or should I just kick someone some $$$ and fa'getta'bout'it..

Grazi..!

ps - it's gathered some dust from sitting in the garage the past few days so I should have wiped it off first but you can still see the run pretty clearly as it runs horizontally right in the middle of the picture, everything else is just reflections/glares..

[Peter944]

Looks super easy to fix. Clear runs are pretty normal and pretty easy to fix. Grab some dishwasher soap and 2k paper and start sanding the run down. Be sure to focus only on the run as of now to level it out. You could mask off the run also. Then when its level lightly sand the area around the run and use a lil rubbing compound (i use 3m with a rotary) and give it a light buff followed by a machine polish. 100$ is a lil steep but if they know what they are doing it is well worth it.

[BeastMode335i]

Originally Posted by Peter944

Looks super easy to fix. Clear runs are pretty normal and pretty easy to fix. Grab some dishwasher soap and 2k paper and start sanding the run down. Be sure to focus only on the run as of now to level it out. You could mask off the run also. Then when its level lightly sand the area around the run and use a lil rubbing compound (i use 3m with a rotary) and give it a light buff followed by a machine polish. 100$ is a lil steep but if they know what they are doing it is well worth it.

Thank you very much for your input! Do you perhaps know the levels of sand paper I should use..? Someone mentioned on a youtube video that when fixing runs to use like 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, but that seemed like a lot..

Thanks again!

[Peter944]

Originally Posted by BeastMode335i

Thank you very much for your input! Do you perhaps know the levels of sand paper I should use..? Someone mentioned on a youtube video that when fixing runs to use like 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, but that seemed like a lot..

Thanks again!

Since the paint is fairly fresh and you never doing this i would stick to 15-2000. Going any lower will make the polishing harder because you have to be extremely careful with surronding areas as they are not as thick as the run an you could sand through the normal clear quite easily or still have sanding marks. 2000 is very easy to work with a run, just do it wet with a lil soap an it should be gone in less than a few minutes. Be sure to just focus on the run itself not the other stuff.

[BeastMode335i]

Originally Posted by Peter944

Since the paint is fairly fresh and you never doing this i would stick to 15-2000. Going any lower will make the polishing harder because you have to be extremely careful with surronding areas as they are not as thick as the run an you could sand through the normal clear quite easily or still have sanding marks. 2000 is very easy to work with a run, just do it wet with a lil soap an it should be gone in less than a few minutes. Be sure to just focus on the run itself not the other stuff.

Ok sounds good..

Should I let it cure some more before I attempt this? It was just painted Saturday and I'm not sure if it's completely solidified yet..

Thanks!

[Mr. Tasty]

you never want to wetsand runs or drips. You will want to use a razor blade and remove as much elevation as possible. Then proceed to wetsanding.

Initial wetsanding will cause extensive damage around the defect in most cases.

[BeastMode335i]

Originally Posted by Mr. Tasty

you never want to wetsand runs or drips. You will want to use a razor blade and remove as much elevation as possible. Then proceed to wetsanding.

Initial wetsanding will cause extensive damage around the defect in most cases.

Thanks man I appreciate your input.. I haven't done anything yet because I heard I should wait at least 2-3 weeks for it to dry a bit more before I attempt anything..

[1QuikWS6]

Originally Posted by Mr. Tasty

you never want to wetsand runs or drips. You will want to use a razor blade and remove as much elevation as possible. Then proceed to wetsanding.

Initial wetsanding will cause extensive damage around the defect in most cases.

EXACTLY

This answer

May not need wetsanding either, could possibly get away with power buffing and compound

[psnt1ol]

Haven't been here a while... Just saw this thread. Not sure if you have resolved this issue yet but here are just some food for thoughts.

The biggest fear on projects like this is "accidental sand through" on areas surrounding the run. Put a layer of a polyester glaze putty over the run and its immediate surrounding area. Once it cured then proceed with your sanding. Work through your various grits 600 or 800 to 1200 to 2000 to 3000 until the surface is smooth and the putty is gone. Remove sand marks with a compound then bring the gloss back with a finishing polish. All these could be done by hand but a DA with a 3" backing plate (sanding disks, cutting pads, polishing pads, etc) will be much more efficient.

Good Luck.

[psnt1ol]

Here is a vid I found that's very similar to what I referring to.

[08njSTEP]

The most important part of sanding is a very hard block. You are trying to shave off the run and not roll over it. Runs are VERY common. P1500 or maybe P1200 to start. The more coarse the more shave. The razor also works. Need a new blade and run it perpendicular to panel(drag across run). Be careful that the corners don't touch panel. After scrape start wet sanding and have a squeegee handy. Every few passes squeegee off to check progress. Do not sand anything but run. When you start to sand adjacent to run change to a finer grit and be extra careful. When its almost gone STOP. This is the time that things go bad. A little too much and when you buff it'll burn. So it's almost gone and you're using P2000, go P3000 on orbital(DA) sander. This will eliminate the straight scratches. Buff. Keep the buffer moving because too much heat can melt the thin areas of clear. If you see a change in color where you've worked you have screwed the pooch and cut through. That means new paint job. This is totally something you can do yourself as long as you remember to STOP before it's completely gone and don't sand anywhere but the run. The P3000 and buff will remove that last little bit. Good luck.

[BeastMode335i]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

Here is a vid I found that's very similar to what I referring to.

That's pretty awesome..! If only I trusted myself with those materials lol..