scratch repaired by body shop...have questions

[rx7owner]

hello...
new user here, so be nice!

I have a mazda rx7, silver stone metalic in color and just had an ~3 inch deep scratch repaired by my body shop. They ended up repainting the rear quarter and blending up through the sail panel.

2 little issues i'm seeking you advice on

1) where the blending on the sail panel occurred (where this meets the roof) i can see a slight sheen difference, however, the color match looks perfect. Its almost like the new area is not as shiny as the original paint. Can this be solved with a bit of #9 or some form of polish?

2) where the scratch was, and only in a medium light, i can see a small (~3inch in diameter) slighly different colored circle. any ideas on what i can do to minimize this?

thanks

[Mike Phillips]

Hi rx7owner,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

First,

"You never know what you can do until you try"

Have you felt this area where you see a difference in sheen? Perhaps its some dry spray, or overspray on the finish? It would feel kind of rough or textured. It should feel smooth as glass. If it doesn't feel smooth as glass, and perhaps there is some overspray on the finish, you could try claying the area with some detailing clay. Another option if you're working by hand would be to try working some ScratchX against the finish, this is more aggressive than the #9 by hand as the #9 is very gentle as far as cleaner/polishes go and best results are had when applied using a rotary buffer.

As for the other area, without seeing it first hand it's really hard to tell. Off the cuff it kind of sounds like a surface prep problem under the paint and the basecoat has reacted around the edge of where they applied their filler?

Just a guess, like I said, hard to tell without seeing it first hand. Can you feel this difference between where the circle starts and ends on the top of the surface with your fingers?

Or does it look like something under the clear coat?

Can you capture it using a digital camera?

[rx7owner]

thanks mike

thanks for the info and advice.
let me answer some of your follow up questions:

yes, it is both the feel and the way it reflects. the feel is not bad, just not glass like. also the reflection of objects is not quite as clear in this area as it is in the rest of the car.

as to the other area, i can't feel a difference between the "circle" and the rest of the panel. in addition, it is so hard to see and requires the "right" light that i dont think it will photograph.

it is clearly in the area where the filler would have been applied.


you guys make some great products, thanks again for your guidance.
eric