Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

[kna4977]

I'm working on a car that has had a couple of areas touched up but there are a few tape lines that remain that I would like to minimize or eliminate if possible. The paint is single stage lacquer. What is the best way to do this? The areas are the sides of the hood and the door jams.

[davey g-force]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

Can you feel the tape lines with your hands / fingernails?

[kna4977]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

Yes I can feel the lines

[davey g-force]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

Hmm.. I'd say you probably have to wet sand them but I doubt you will ever make them completely invisible...

[kna4977]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

That's what I was going to do. I'm most interested in specifics as to what to use to do it properly. What products, grit of sand paper, how to prevent damaging the paint around the line etc?

[Detailing by M]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

I think your asking alot. You can't learn about wetsanding from one post.
I can say start with 2000 or even 3000 grit sandpaper.
And find a friend who knows about wetsanding.
you can sand the paint right off the car before you know it so be very carfull

[kna4977]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

I think your asking alot. You can't learn about wetsanding from one post.
I can say start with 2000 or even 3000 grit sandpaper.
And find a friend who knows about wetsanding.
you can sand the paint right off the car before you know it so be very carfull

I'm not asking to learn about wet sanding from one post. I want to know what may be the best approach to eliminate tape lines where an original finish was painted over but taped around leaving some hard tape line edges. I was looking for opinions on what products to use and what methods work best. Mostly looking for new ideas and insight that I may not have. From the responses received so far, it doesn't appear that I have come to the right place for that advice.

[Detailing by M]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

hu. don't know why I refered to wetsanding. Maybe I got another post in my head when I wrote you.
M105 by hand on a terry towle is very agressive and can act like sand paper. I would try 105 on a microfiber first and do a little spot rubbing and see how that works. And just be patient you'ff find the answers here.

[Shootist]

Just do it...

Not sure why all the paranoia re wet sanding. There are plenty of great tutorials on YouTube. Just take it nice and easy until you're comfortable.
Use plenty of water and inspect frequently. I would start with 1500 or 2000 grit. Nuff said.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

How close are these tape lines to the edge of a body panel? That alone can cause real issues when trying to level them down when sanding, not only because the paint tends to be much thinner on a panel edge, but also because the subsequent buffing to remove the sanding marks becomes a bit trickier.

Since you can feel these it's doubtful that 3000 grit is going to be aggressive enough to level the lines, but starting with 2000 grit and a good backing pad should be a more than safe approach. Sand at a 45 degree angle to the tape line so that you take the high areas down without impacting the lower area too much, using only light pressure at first. Judge your progress and step up to a more aggressive paper if need be, but always finish down as fine as you can to make final buffing faster, easier and less invasive to the paint. Things will go a lot easier, too, if you stick with high quality sand paper and keep the surface properly wet to avoid building up any debris in the paper. Work clean!

[kna4977]

Re: Auto Paint Tape Line Elimination

How close are these tape lines to the edge of a body panel? That alone can cause real issues when trying to level them down when sanding, not only because the paint tends to be much thinner on a panel edge, but also because the subsequent buffing to remove the sanding marks becomes a bit trickier.

Since you can feel these it's doubtful that 3000 grit is going to be aggressive enough to level the lines, but starting with 2000 grit and a good backing pad should be a more than safe approach. Sand at a 45 degree angle to the tape line so that you take the high areas down without impacting the lower area too much, using only light pressure at first. Judge your progress and step up to a more aggressive paper if need be, but always finish down as fine as you can to make final buffing faster, easier and less invasive to the paint. Things will go a lot easier, too, if you stick with high quality sand paper and keep the surface properly wet to avoid building up any debris in the paper. Work clean!

It's close. The tape lines are on the sides and front of the hood (vertical surface) ~ 1/8" to 1/4" down from the top (horizontal surface) where it curves down at a 90 degree angle from the top surface.