Touch up... any experiences on how to do it...
The inevitable happened: a sharp piece of road gravel gets tossed up and I ran into it... I have scored two on the bottom lip of the hood / bonnet access flap. One was sharp enough to penetrate down to the plastic panel. On the solid yellow it looked like an exploded pimple because the clear top coat had been pushed up. The coating is quite thick and very smooth and glossy, so the ding was annoyingly obvious, once I'd noticed it, it haunted me for a while.
So far, my attempts to repair the topcoat have been:
* sand down the puckered top coat and discover that it is almost impossible to restore the glaze, even after hours with a Dremel cloth wheel and swirl glaze polish
* buy a bottle of general purpose automotive clear touch up paint. It is like glue and does not work at all well. It will not smooth down and will not polish to match the factory top coat.
* buy a spray can of acrylic clear coat. It was easy to gloss after rubbing with 2000 grit paper and swirl polish but did not bond to the factory coat, even where it had been sanded to remove the puckering. Attempts to feather it at the edges failed because it was not bonding well.
* M-B Australia do not appear to have smart touch up paint for sale. The local dealer has a spare parts dept that cover Holden, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, M-B and smart... after getting that "can't help you without a part number response" I located the numbers on Evilution (http://www.evilution.co.uk/index.php?page=modpage&id=511&me...) and went back. He did a search and found the clear coat, but apparently M-B have not imported it.... That may be a dead end.
I have abandoned paints for the moment and have covered the front lip of the panel with clear Contact film.
The problem with small clear coat touchups is matching the surounding area... has anyone had success? Can anyone post a detailed guide to successful touch ups that does not require expensive equipment?
The inevitable happened: a sharp piece of road gravel gets tossed up and I ran into it... I have scored two on the bottom lip of the hood / bonnet access flap. One was sharp enough to penetrate down to the plastic panel. On the solid yellow it looked like an exploded pimple because the clear top coat had been pushed up. The coating is quite thick and very smooth and glossy, so the ding was annoyingly obvious, once I'd noticed it, it haunted me for a while.
So far, my attempts to repair the topcoat have been:
* sand down the puckered top coat and discover that it is almost impossible to restore the glaze, even after hours with a Dremel cloth wheel and swirl glaze polish
* buy a bottle of general purpose automotive clear touch up paint. It is like glue and does not work at all well. It will not smooth down and will not polish to match the factory top coat.
* buy a spray can of acrylic clear coat. It was easy to gloss after rubbing with 2000 grit paper and swirl polish but did not bond to the factory coat, even where it had been sanded to remove the puckering. Attempts to feather it at the edges failed because it was not bonding well.
* M-B Australia do not appear to have smart touch up paint for sale. The local dealer has a spare parts dept that cover Holden, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, M-B and smart... after getting that "can't help you without a part number response" I located the numbers on Evilution (http://www.evilution.co.uk/index.php?page=modpage&id=511&me...) and went back. He did a search and found the clear coat, but apparently M-B have not imported it.... That may be a dead end.
I have abandoned paints for the moment and have covered the front lip of the panel with clear Contact film.
The problem with small clear coat touchups is matching the surounding area... has anyone had success? Can anyone post a detailed guide to successful touch ups that does not require expensive equipment?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by mr bad example on -
i had some small kids scratch my hood, leaning/sitting on my "hood" (assuming they had blue jeans with rivets on the back pockets), my smart is black, after about 20 minutes of buffing with a rubbing compound (by hand with a smooth cloth) i got it to where i could only see it, cuz i knew where to look. i'm not sure if my smart has a "clear coat", i didn't pay extra for the car, just alarm and AC. clear coat on a 95% plastic car is silly IMHO. clear coat is usually a dealer applied option in the states.
i am just waiting for a "bra" to cover the front fenders and hood area.
-
I was wondering how your kids scatches polished out.
Agreed, clear top coating of the through colour plastic panels does detract from the advantages of a plastic body. The clear coat gives a very smooth and glossy finish, but when damaged is hard to repair. It can be seen quite clearly on the inside of the panel where the edges overspray meet the native plastic which is dull in comparison. Perhaps no clear coat is a US pure standard? Pulse and passion get top coats? Dunno... My yellow pulse has a thick clear top coat that gives a deep and lustrous finish (until damaged!)
The first new cars I bought in the States had dealer applied "protective top coats"... all had heavy swirls as if the car had been buffed with a rotary brush. Later when buying cars I looked aghast when a salesbod asked if I wanted the dealer body protection option... what... pay to have the finish scuffed? No thanks.
-
Permalink Reply by mr bad example on
-
"clear coat" is usually an "option" on US orphans, so the dealer can get a profit from selling them, beyond the "smart/penske" agreement. the only thing i don't like is the 24/24,000 warranty, this is MB's profit maker for the US smart.
Mitsubishi warranties their powertrains for 10 years/100,000 miles, would Mitsu skimp on smart engines? would MB skimp on their cars?
-
..mr be..I believe all smart cars are clear coated with the exception of the white car, I think they are color impregnated in the plastic...I may be wrong...but I will find out.
Clear coat is part of the 2 or 3 part process of a paint job....color/clear or base color/color/clear..
...Ian...try some clear nail polish to build up the nick and then sand with 6000 sand paper, also known as micro mesh, available for plastic polishing...hope this helps
flea
-
Permalink Reply by mr bad example on
-
why would a manufacturer "clear coat" a plastic car? clear coat is for painted metal surfaces. this is a dealer "add on" for profit.
-
Nail polish is probably cheaper and more easily spread than the goo that I bought from the Auto place... I hadn't thought of it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Mothers Plastics Polish and Meguiar's ScratchX don't seem to cut the smart factory coat
Somewhere in the smart literature I had read that smart use environmentally friendly "solventless" paints. The tridion cell uses a powder coat. I was surmising that the clear top coat is something a bit different to the usual acrylics because it does not seem to be chemically affected by the auto products I have tried so far; hence no bonding; which made them easy to remove with a strip of adhesive tape... mmm!
-
Ian..try the nail polish in a place that it is not too visible first...maybe the acetone in the product will dissolve the plastic...I have used MEK and Toluene and don't seem to have an effect on the coat...
...just in case...
..Mr B...do you have proof to back up your statement?
..I said, I think and I may be wrong ...but I will find out...
lea
-
Yep... the plastic could be easily attacked by some solvents. I have a tin of acetone so I'll try that on a small dot inside the panel before buying nail polish.
One thing I suspect is that the plastic panels are prone to damage from power buffers if the friction causes heat to melt the plastic... I was very, very cautious using the Dremel with cloth wheel at its lowest speed setting. It polished the auto touchup clearcoats and hardly affected the smart clearcoat but when I touched the very edge of the panel where the top coat had been chipped off, the plastic seemed to melt a little... backed off that instantly!
In the owners manual, under vehicle care, it lists "Highly polished plastic parts (body panels)" as being "Body panels with base coat and clearcoat or clearcoat only." Is there a non "Highly polished" / non clearcoated panel sold on the pure?
-
I do not know that one ..sorry....
google micro mesh..it goes all the way down to 16000 grit. it will sand and polish to a glass finish...and thanks for clearing up the clear coat base coat issue...now..that's a statement that can be backed by manufacturers data....
flea
-
Thanks for the Micro-Mesh tip. I found it readily on the web and some Aussie outlets. I chased the local stores; auto and Bunnings (Aussie for Home Depot); no luck; so web mail ordered from Brisbane. Soft Touch Pad 2" x 2" kit... will have many craft uses.
At the auto place I asked if they had any clearcoat touchup products. Only spray cans... then he remembered some industrial enamel they stock; including a clear gloss. Inexpensive; turpentine based. Bought a can to experiment with on "coasters" (dud CD / DVD discs). Easily brushable and controllable; but it has me wondering if a water based (aka smart "solventless") clear gloss is available from paint outlets. Without being able to readily buy any smart clearcoat I'm guessing what it really is.
-
Permalink Reply by mr bad example on
-
some people have reported "clear coat" as an option on their orphans. clear coat is a "paint protector", smart body panels are 100% the same color top through bottom (proof? take off your hood, the back side is the same as the front, the color of all smart panels are the same top to bottom). the only paint on a smart is the tridion cell.
lessor scratches will buff out, i have buffed a few out on my smart. if i would have had an orbital sander, it would have taken 30 seconds (guesstimate) but i used an old t-shirt with rubbing compound.
Ian is in australia, a totally different beast (his smart, not Ian). he gets a turbo, and maybe smart clear coats their cars there. (clear coat is a scam, i have purchased 7 new cars, "clear coat" has always been a "dealer installed option", which i have declined, it's wax for the lazy man)
i worked at a dealership 13 years ago (parts department), i know cars inside out, and buying 7 new cars, have had every option possible pushed on me at time of purchase. i spent over an hour with the smart "financial manager" while he tried to sell me "dealer installed options". i had the $$$, i just wanted the car and "out". (i wanted to put 50% down, he nixed that, so i put $3K down and paid it off in 3 months).
-
From the Technical Specifications Manual
Depending on the color variant, the bodypanels are
supplied either as colored plastic or with 2 coat
metallic paintwork. The bodypanels are overcoated
with a clearcoat to protect against UV radiation.
The plastic parts of the Customized Bodypanel System
(CBS) are dyed through and/or painted. A two coat
system of base coat and clearcoat is applied.
Paintwork repairs are possible only if the paint coat
has not been worn down to the polypropylene (PP)
base material. A new paintwork structure can then be
built up. Otherwise proper adhesion of the paint on
the component cannot be guaranteed.
Welcome to
451 smart fortwo
Latest Activity on 451s
Hi there... This is Rob from Australia and I would like to ask ...Is there a way to reset the service spanner and where could I get an exhaust for my 451 smart fitted with a turbo. If you can help please email me at redsmartcar@gmail.com thanks to…
Hey...tanx, David...I am off for din din with friends but have copied/pasted and will check this out. Check out my profile here...As an elderly single lady I need all the help I can get. You be nice man...:-D Ciao...JMD
I cannot believe that any Smart owner does not know about this one but just in case this website will tell you in detail how to do just about anything to your Smart.
http://www.evilution.co.uk/
Check it out.
THANKS David...I will get something to clean SASSY'S "shoes" with next week. I've had all kinds of nice replies and really appreciate the input. Here's some news of upcoming developments re SmartCars.
http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/
copy paste enj…
Your use of the Smart is just about the same as mine. Short trips around town with the A/C on. The only difference might be that I "shift" the sound of the engine lugging at low RPMs when the automatic shifts makes me sick. I can almost feel the wea…
smartCar on Facebook/Twitter
