Can Wetsanding Remove This???

[the_invisible]

HI Guys!!

So a while ago I had my windshield replaced on my G35 by the Infiniti/Nissan dealer. The poor glass guy accidentally got some urethane onto the body finish. The dealer and the glass department, which belongs to a giant corporation that also owns a bodyshop, agrees to repair the damage for me at the corporation's bodyshop.

Today I brought the car to the bodyshop to check it out. The clerk checked out my car and said that he must go for the cheapest method to remove the urethane from the paint. If all else fails, the areas affected will be repainted.

So here is a picture of what the urethane is like:


Could wetsand possibly remove this type of urethane stuck on the paint? I tried many different type of solvents and clays to no avail. The glass department insists that a REPAINT is a MUST. But the bodyshop insists that it would NOT repaint the affected area unless wetsanding fails.

Note that I am comfortable with wetsanding myself. However, I do not want to alter the affected area so that the bodyshop would deny responsibility.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Can Wetsanding Remove This???

In theory, if you were incredibly careful and took your time you should be able sand that down without hitting the paint too much. Maybe tape the surrounding area first with painters' tape, and then with duct tape for extra strength. Replace the tape if you start to go through.

[Mike Pennington]

Re: Can Wetsanding Remove This???

Shouldn't be too much of an issue to repair with sanding but...

1) Since the glass guy is / should be paying for it, could you have the body shop do sanding / polishing, and if it doesn't work / or they burn through, then can repaint and they are also aware of the entire situation ?

Mike

[the_invisible]

Re: Can Wetsanding Remove This???

Oops, I forgot to mention.

The bodyshop will be doing the sanding/cut polishing on Monday. If that doesn't work, they will repaint the surface on another date. Either way, the corporation has agreed to fixing the problem.

It's just that I would hate to drive out to the bodyshop the second time for a repaint if wetsanding doesn't work.

I hope wetsanding works, and it looks like it would.

[Mike Pennington]

Re: Can Wetsanding Remove This???

If they are a pretty good shop, they should be able to repair or greatly minimize the defect by sanding / polishing.

The question you should be prepared to answer is....If the defect can't be removed 100%, is it worth living with and NOT repainting?

When you get into repainting you can possibly get into other issues like, color matching, texture matching , and durability issues.

In some cases, a defect correction that is almost perfect is better than a poor quality repaint...

Food for thought...

[the_invisible]

Re: Can Wetsanding Remove This???

So yeah, I brought it to the bodyshop today to have the window adhesive/urethane removed.

Let's just say, they successfully removed the urethane. There were around 20 spots that needed to be removed, but they only did 17 or so, missing a dot here and there. It's okay, I can live with that.

Bowever, as I noted, because the adhesive was applied at near boiling temperature, the adhesive etched into the clear coat. Although wetsanding did remove the spots completely, I can now see etching spots in where the urethane used to be. That's fine with me. Tiny etching spots (nearly microscopic) look much better than the glue that used to be there.

Also, I would like to mention that the bodyshop only went so far as to removing the urethane. They did spend some time in polishing to remove the sanding marks, and stopped there. When I picked up the car, I saw many hazy spots. The sanded area was worked on by a very powerful compound, which created some micro scratches and haziness. I laughed and asked the bodyshop clerk why they didn't bother removing the hazy marks. The clerk was basically telling me that his painter stopped polishing the sanded areas to reduce clear coat wear. That was simply an excuse for not going the extra mile to make the sanded area look perfect.

When I got home, I immediately washed the car and applied some Ultimate Compound by hand over the hazy areas. After a couple of passes with medium pressure, the haziness in different areas is 80% gone. Coincidentally, I sold my 7424 today for a wicked deal. I will be ordering a 7424XP (or Flex depending on my mood) tonight. I will UC the entire car with orange Adam's pad and finish it off with either 205 or SwirlX with a White Adam's pad when the unit arrives some time next week.


Moral of the story: Oversee the windshield replacement process; ensure the area is taped off to prevent urethane from dripping on the car surface.
Most body shops will only go so far in removing defects.

[the_invisible]

Some Pictures of the Sanding Marks

Hey,

here are some sanding marks left over. They are hard to catch using the camera because the scratches are simply too fine. There are more, but that's basically what they are like. They are NOT deep and do not catch the finger nail at all. The marks are on the surface of the clear coat.








i already ordered the 7424XP and some meg's products (gotta take advantage of the flat-rate shipping). I hope to remove those marks with my aggresive yellow cutting pad and some M105.

What do you guys think?

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Can Wetsanding Remove This???

Glad you are happy with the results. When you get the new machine you will probably be able to remove the rest.
Enjoy the new machine.