New Paint Cut and Buff
 

Just got my car back from paint and the color is great, but there are dust nibs and some orange peel in the clear. I know this is typical and I need a cut and buff. Do I need to contact a paint and body shop for this, or should I be contacting a detailer?

Was polishing included in the paint job? If so, have the painter finish it to your satisfaction. Only he knows how much paint is on the car, if some else rubs through or damages it, who pays to fix it?

I'm not happy with the outcome here, so I'm not going back to this guy. Cutting my losses.

I've been watching a ton of cut and buff videos on you tube, plenty of professional contributors on there. If it were me, I'd make sure I have the correct info on base and clear before cutting ties just in case you need more product. Then I'd let a paint guy give an opinion on best way to fix it. If it's not too bad maybe cut and buff can fix. If not it might need sanding and adding extra clear. Good luck.

Well, I've been painting, cutting and buffing (as an amatuer) since I was 17 and I'm now just days away from turning 64. Before you even get started on this, you have to figure out what level of quality you are going for and what your paint job is actually capable of. If it has urethane wave in it (from pouring on too much clear too quickly), you can still cut the paint and buff it out, but whatever waves you have in it are there to stay. It's not the end of the world, but if you are looking for a perfect paint job, you won't achieve it. The only fix is to have it sanded it out and then re-cleared before cutting and buffing. If the surface had waves or other issues in the primer / sealer before paint, things could be more drastic. If everything was done properly and it's just some dust or bug remnants, you stand a very good chance of having a nice final outcome. Often there will still be some imperfections after cutting and buffing and a knowledgeable person can correct those issues through paint correction (meaning touching up the paint and blending it with some skill).

The bottom line is you get what you pay for. If you took it to a reputable shop with a history of paint jobs that you have seen and like, ask them to give you an opinion of how they would fix it and tell them what your expectations are. Before you do that, take it to an independent quality shop and have them also tell you what they think. That way you have some ammo.

BTW, when I was young, I had no money so I had to do things myself. Now I'm old and could pay someone else to do it, but I TRUST NO-ONE!

Old Joe

Most shops would not let a paint job leave the shop without some de nibbling and polishing. Bad workmanship travels fast.....so most try to avoid that. I always include hours in my estimation for cut and buff.

A detailed would not be my first choice.

And most shops don’t want to cut and buff someone else’s work....because of the unknown ( how much clear is on the car).

But I have bailed out a few bad paint jobs....And tell the customer ...I’ll try a panel...( pass side rear 1/4 ) be nib booger’s with a little 1 inch square block with some 800 grit paper...then sand the panel with 1000 grit...but not all the way smooth...then 2000 then 3000...Then the buffing routine. And if I get no buff throughs....I proceed. Hours invested depends on size of car..hardtop or convertible. It’s a lot of work..but the finish will be dazzling.

Most shops would not let a paint job leave the shop without some de nibbling and polishing. Bad workmanship travels fast.....so most try to avoid that. I always include hours in my estimation for cut and buff.

A detailed would not be my first choice.

And most shops don’t want to cut and buff someone else’s work....because of the unknown ( how much clear is on the car).

But I have bailed out a few bad paint jobs....And tell the customer ...I’ll try a panel...( pass side rear 1/4 ) be nib booger’s with a little 1 inch square block with some 800 grit paper...then sand the panel with 1000 grit...but not all the way smooth...then 2000 then 3000...Then the buffing routine. And if I get no buff throughs....I proceed. Hours invested depends on size of car..hardtop or convertible. It’s a lot of work..but the finish will be dazzling.

Well at least you are smart cutting (no pun intended) your losses when you realize the guy you hired has failed you.

But a true experienced professional detailer can cut and buff your paint. No need for you or them to worry about how much paint is on the car -- there are xlnt paint depth gauges professionals who do paint correction use every day even on new cars before touching the paint. So your paint job can be done.

Does that gauge you speak of ...measure just the clearcoat depth ?

Hope MUSLCAH doesn't mind if I comment here.

I have never personally used one, but there are high end ultrasonic units on the market that can tell the difference in the layers of coatings. So, the answer is yes, it is completely possibly to tell the depth of just the clear coating if the shop has the right type of paint depth sensing equipment. In fact, the best units will even hook up to a pc and allow the user to record the depth in muliple locations on a vehicle and then store that information. Very useful in case some areas have less clear coating on them.

Regards,
OJ

Guess I can now charge a “ Mapping Fee” before and aftah I sand the clear coat. Then a third “ Mapping Fee” aftah buffing . And put that info in the glove box ...for the next guy. How many hours for that exercise yah figure.

400 4 speed....you got one of these ? I know your old school too...

i will comment on my amateur cut & buff experience & advice for something like this. looks like the worst case scenarios have been covered but here is a more positive view on this situation:

if the body shop is reputable & does good work using quality products, its safe to assume that theres at least the standard 2-3 coats of clear so a light scuff & buff to fix light orange peel or dirt nibs should not be an issue. can also try to call the shop to ask how many coats of clear they used?

dust nibs are usually easy to deal with & see how far they are into the clear, body shops have a little tool that shaves them flush to the surface but is not always needed as the sanding will knock them down.

the orange peel should also not be too much of a problem if its not too bad since youre just knocking down the high spots to get level with the low spots, you dont go much if at all further than getting it smooth & there should still be plenty of clear once smoothed out. always a good idea to test on an inconspicuous area.

paying a pro is of course the best way to do this, a pro will be able to tell whats happening as he does the initial sanding and avoid rubbing through. but, if you have or can learn basic sanding/buffing experience this can be done yourself with some care, there are all kinds of videos on youtube or tutorials to read showing how to scuff & buff, can also practice on some scrap metal if you have any paint left over you could pay a shop a small fee to spray a small piece of metal.

i had some basic experience as a teenager buffing cars while working in a auto detail shop & at a big used car lot as the lot attendant/detail guy, didnt do any cutting then but learned the basics of buffing. then later in life i have a friend that owns a classic car & hot rod body shop that lets me do all the prep work on my cars & he does any major metal body work and sprays the paint, then i do the cutting & buffing & reassembly, saves me a ton of money. once you see/learn whats involved with the cutting its pretty easy to tell when the orange peel is smoothed out & nibs are gone. my cars may not be 10/10 concourse restorations but the paint looks very good to excellent, as good as most cars i see at car shows that were done professionally by owners that just write checks for the work as opposed to doing most or all of it themselves.

i think if you have decent mechanical skills & watch some videos, read up on it & practice some you can do this yourself, or if thats not an option you can pay a pro to do it. check with an actual body shop first before a detailer, unless the detailer knows how to do paint correction, usually a reputable body shop will have guys with more experience that do this on a daily basis & may be able to get you in for a decent price or do it on the side.

just trying to help & provide a little more positive angle on doing a basic scuff & buff.

Lots of really good advice here. A paint depth meter is your best friend - along with an experienced set of eyes to provide some degree of assessment as far as the depth of dust nibs, etc. Advice on this thread regarding realistic expectation for the paint-job and legit anticipated use of the car is pure gold. What to expect from Final Cut and buff is different for a solid driver car than for a trailer queen. And folks who demand trailer queen paint for a car that they know that they will be driving season after season to events even within a 90 - 120 mile radius may need to re-assess the long-term feasibility of their expressed standards.

Is your car currently at the wet-sand stage or the compound/polish stage? If the imperfections you have identified are within even ‘heavy-cut’ compound range you are in a different position than if the paint still needs a super-fine wet-sand or pass with a Trizac pad.

By agreement, I accepted my car after wet-sand and initial compound, as I really enjoy the final polish stages. It was a ton of work, but worth every minute, as you really get to ‘know’ the car if you are in a position to do the final 2-3 stages of light compound to fine polish yourself.