You could use the PC for buffing out the sanding marks, though. Definitely not for the actual sanding

Even during the sanding, I'd recommend you mask the plastic of the taillight with some painter's tape - get it wrapped around inside the light a bit, if possible, to protect it well... Or remove the light altogether if it'd make it easier to work that spot.

I think that sounds like a plan, what you've got there. It'll take good bit of effort, but slow and steady, checking your work often, I think you'll end up pretty happy with the result. Good luck.

 

Hey Anime,

First of all, i want to thank you for your help with all this.

I just placed the order for the 3 m Perfect it for light colored cars.

That will give the touch paint enough time to cure, until the product arrives.

I dont have a PC polisher, all I have is a cheapy random orbital buffer from walmart. Never had the need for the PC until now.

I think I can take care of it by hand. I am just worried that the paint match on the bumper, right away I can see its going to be a different shade, but at least its better than being black plastic exposed.

I have not dealt with wet sanding in a while, so I am going to take it slow. From what I recall in my past experiences, I should soak the sandpaper over night in water. And make sure the area is well lubricated when i start to sand.

I am pretty excited now, hopefully it will come out great.

You said it best, slow and steady.

 

Good luck with that! It helps to have a sanding block to make sure your pressure (while very light) is even. Take it slow and I'd say don't even dip into the 1500, go for the 2000... I need to find some 3000 myself

 

I made my own sanding block already, using a square eraser and some super glue. I might hit it with one or two passes of 1500, then go to the 2000 grit.

Well now its just wait until the 3 m arrives before i can take the next step.

 

Well, it started out right, and went all wrong.

I guess the paint application was not the best, since you can tell there are different layers.

I started with the 1500 grit and then finished with the 2000 grit, everything looked great, until i finally buffed everything.

There is a cloudy area around the repaired location, that is not buffing out, I dont know what it is.

Of course the pictures are not working now!!! What's wrong with the site.

How much does a respray normally cost for the rear bumper?

 

You can post the pix up on imageshack.us and link them here, if you like... I'm curious as to what the hazing/cloudy bits are... If all you have is the 3M, it may be that you can't work it well enough by hand (it takes some time, even with PC) to clear up the sanding marks or that the 3M itself needs to be buffed out with a lighter polish. Don't give up yet.

I'm anxious to see these photos.

edit: are you using the 3M Swirl Mark Remover for light colored cars? If so, that's a relatively light polish and may take many applications by hand to remove sanding marks. On a scale of 1-10, it's listed as a 3 (10 being most aggressive) and I'd probably work something around a 6 multiple times via PC to remove sanding marks...

 

The cloudy marks look more as if the gloss coat was burned.

I will link the pictures when I get home from work.

The fine cut cleaner got rid of most of the sanding marks.

The cloudiness is not from the sanding, like i said its as if the gloss coat was burned.

It was like that from the start before I started the repair.

Maybe I should sand down that whole area and retry the repairs. THe area that was painted and sanded came out great, it is just the cloudy halo around the repaired area that is the problem.

 

sorry

disregard the picture of the exhaust here are the correct pictures