Body/paint guy Delaware or nearby?

[Jamie]

Well by beautiful paint looks like it's staring to "shrink" for lack of better terms. I am seeing more and more sanding marks and pot marks on my hidden and fenders. I was hoping for a good reference in paint department. I am in Delaware not far from phllly or Baltimore. Any suggestions would be great.

[Cuda Cody]

Do you have a photo of what you're talking about?  I think I know what you're saying.

The way I paint is the the best way and the only way to do it... are words you'll never hear me say.      I try to learn more each time I step in the paint booth or watch someone else paint a car.  And there are soooooo many different ways to get a good looking paint job.  But somethings seem to be consistent and that is paint will shrink.  No matter how you paint it the paint is going to pull back some.

So you've touch on something I love doing and I'm planning on making a video about.  I'll try to keep this response short....  You might have heard someone tell you that when polishing / buffing a car to stay away from the edges.  If you don't stay away from the edges you might "burn through" the edge.  Burning through is a term used to describe the paint or clear being removed and exposing the layer under it.  The reason it's so easy to burn through the edges when buffing is the edges have less paint or clear coat.  And for the same reason the edges have less paint / clear is because of exactly what you are talking about.  Shrinking or "pull back".  And that Shrinking is what you are seeing in your paint.  Everything shrinks as it dries and now you're seeing those 400 / 600 grit scratches from the bodywork.  I know some painters that want to "cut" (polish the car) within a set number of days or weeks because it's easier to cut when it's still a little soft.  On the other hand, some painters wait weeks and up to months before cutting a paint job because they want it to be as hard as possible.  The longer you let the paint dry before you cut it the less shrink back you'll get.  I'm of the mindset to let it dry for many weeks (up to a month) before cutting it.  Yes, it' much harder to cut and takes a lot longer to polish, but you get less shrinking of the final paint and looks good years later.  Plus I put lots of clear on.  When I say lots, I do multiple days of just clear to get 7 to 8 coats.  3 to 4 coats one day and then days later (after cutting it open with 600 grit) put another 4 coats on.  That gives me a lot of material to work with.  So what I'm saying is that the sanding marks you are seeing is the shrinking that you think it is.  But here's the hard part, it could be in the high build primer and that's all under the paint / clear.  It might be in the clear, but do you have enough clear to chase it out?  It might be something that you can hide a bit with a good filler polish, but you might never be able to get them all out now.  How long ago was you car painted?

It's hard to explain to people just how much clear coats pull back (shrink).  One of the tricks I do is to leave a little of the clear in the bottom of my mixing cup when I'm done painting a car.  And when the clear in the cup is shrunk back to the point I know it's dry, then I can start cutting the clean on the car.  That way I know the shrinking is all done.  Here's a photo of clear in one of my cups that has dried completely.  It took months to dry all the way.  See HOW MUCH it shrinks?   

[Cuda Cody]

@Jamie  sorry I don't know someone near you that does paint.  But I want to share with you what I think you're seeing.

[Jamie]

I think you are dead on.  Car was painted in 2011, I bought the body painted already,and do not know exact painting of this car but it looks like fenders and hood were done at a different time than the rest of car,it's always had a slight tone difference up front and the rear of the car is still looking great as far as th shrinkage goes.  Ow I fear that the whole car will need painting because of matching tones perfectly being difficult. In the middle of the 500" transplant so paint is gonna kill my play money stash!!!   
Your details on the shrinkage is the details unknowing owners need to know about before getting paint work done so they know what to ask a prospective painter. Mine really stayed to show after year 4 so I would think that's beyond any warranty somebody would offer.

[farmboy70]

If you are thinking it needs a repaint do to color miss match that may be the way to go.
But if you want to try and save it as is .Have someone experienced do a light wet sand and buff.

It may have enough clear to do a 2000 to 3000 cut and buff.
What color is it?

You may be able to just buff the whole car and do a color blend just on the front clip, continuing into the doors to get the color.
Dave

[ChallengerHK]

I have a buddy in Dover. I'll check with him, but I don't think he knows any body folks well enough to give a recommendation.

[Jamie]

It's fc7
Top is color difference
Second is all I could capture of the paint shrinkage
Third is these tiny crater's that are popping up/sinking in

[Cuda Cody]

Yup, you are right.  Just a little pull back from shrinking and that's what's making them scratches show.   

Sure, the colors are off a bit.  That can happen when panels are painted off the car and the same number of coats or overlap is not used.  Seen it also happen from not batching the paint.  A few things can cause it, but really only one sure fire way to fix it is to repaint.  But that's a decision only you can make.  Is it a fun driving car that you enjoy on the weekends or is a trailed car that is for shows?  If it's a driver, maybe you can live with it and enjoy it for what it is.  In 5 or 10 years you can repaint it?  Good paint is NOT cheap and might not be worth the headache or cost.

[farmboy70]

Tuff to tell from the pictures but it looks like it was cut and buffed a lot. I would try a compound and polish to bring up the shine.  No wet sanding, you may be thin on the clear. Lack of film thickness in the clear  with cause a similar look.

Repaint to get the color to match unfortunately.
Dave

[Jamie]

It's a nice driver, I enjoy driving it so show paint is over the top and I know a good repaint is a super expensive ordeal and the body shop can't be filled with imbasiles. I always wanted an aar hood so maybe orangesol on the fender tops to go with the hood will suffice for a few more years as this drivetrain upgrade just knocked the bottom out of my pockets.

[ChallengerHK]

I did confirm that my friend in Dover has no leads on good body shops in the area.

[Mopar5]

I know this is an old thread but may be useful for someone when I look at the second photo it doesn't look like the shrinkage is in the top coat To me it looks like those deep scratches showing were from to coarse of sanding scratches in the filler and the surfacer shrinking back under the paint not enough blocking and coats of the surfacer or someone went cheap and used Laquer surfacer instead of 2k urethane