Fixing scratch on bedside. Blend clear?

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CK-2

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So I have a 2019 ford pickup I’m fixing a scratch on. It was a long deep scratch almost to metal. So I fixed the scratch and now am pondering whether to clear the whole bedside (long wheelbase) or blend in the clear.
I’m looking for advice. I can spot in the base no problem it’s white and I have a good paint match. In the attached picture I have drawn where I fixed the scratch in purple ink and the body line where I’m considering a clear blend in red. I have a good body line everywhere except at the end over the wheel well and right at the back of wheel well where I put a green mark.
 

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I would put the last coat of clear right up to a taped line right on the curve
(where you show a red line) and you can buff it smooth afterwards.
It's a great place to make a transition without blending, the outside of a curve.
You will still have to blend the little section right over the wheel.
 
Personally I would never spot in clear on a panel. Only in very rare instances and this IMO is not one of those. Especially on a 2019! Open blends of clear are never a good idea and do not last more than a few years at best before they start showing and peeling. I'll share the only way (IMO) any quality shop would repair it. It's standard collision repair type stuff. First do your spot repair. Block out your primer finishing with 600 wet. Make sure you have a solid area of primer (no sand throughs to metal or filler) Then using 800 wet "block" the entire panel. Basically you are just sanding out the texture in the clear. You can use a hand block. I personally like the "roller" block from Motoguard for this. Don't have to get it all just the majority of the texture. If you don't, the clear going over it will look worse than OEM no matter how slick you actually spray it. Get the edges and crevices as well. Best way is after you have sanded the texture get a gray scotch-brite (no red, only gray or finer) and some sanding paste. Scuff Stuff by Presta is what I use but there are others and scuff the entire panel with it. It will scuff it and clean it as well.

Mask, W&G, then you are ready to base. No need to seal it if your primer is solid. Spot in your color then clear the entire panel. SPI Euro would be the ideal clear for this. If flows out nicely and is very user friendly. If you have it looking slick after 2 coats and don't need to color sand then 2 coats is enough. Equivalent to OEM. If you think you need to color sand then shoot a third coat. Will last as long as the rest of the paint on the truck.
More work but not really. Especially considering the potential for complications from taping trying to spot in clear.

Like I said every Shop I ever worked at does it this way. Not trying to be a jerk but spotting in the clear on a 2019 vehicle would be a half ass repair.

Edit: As for masking I would have no issue masking off the plastic top cover as opposed to taking it off. They are not really designed to come off once on, and doing so often damages them enough to where they don't fit right when you do put it back on. Pretape it scuff the paint very good right up to it, work underneath the edge, and you will have no issue. Did dozens of them that way never had a comeback. Ideally you would take off the rear bumper though. If there is a clear plastic chipguard I have masked those in the past but usually removed them and re-applied the guard. You can get it from Ford. It is not a high riced item. The plastic on the bottom of panel behind the wheel comes off fairly easily so I would remove that. Re-apply with 2 sided tape and it's screws. All I can think of right now.:)
 
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Sorry but that is a lot of open edge. Its a flat panel and honestly prepping the rest of the panel will probably be less work that prepping for all the blend edges.
 
Oh and if you decide to do it the way I describe, mask off the entire wheel opening. Seal it completely. Don't just cover the wheel and tire. The wheel opening is the biggest source of potential trash no matter how clean you think it is. Seal it up to the floor and any other crevices like the tail-light opening. Will make a huge difference in the amount of trash that you will get. Backtape the edge of the bed (to the cab) as well. That is another source of trash. Little bit more work but makes a big difference.

Oh and when sanding you can go back and forth. Back and forth parallel to the length of the truck. Don't crosshatch. You want all your scratches going in one direction.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Personally I would never spot in clear on a panel. Only in very rare instances and this IMO is not one of those. Especially on a 2019! Open blends of clear are never a good idea and do not last more than a few years at best before they start showing and peeling. I'll share the only way (IMO) any quality shop would repair it. It's standard collision repair type stuff. First do your spot repair. Block out your primer finishing with 600 wet. Make sure you have a solid area of primer (no sand throughs to metal or filler) Then using 800 wet "block" the entire panel. Basically you are just sanding out the texture in the clear. You can use a hand block. I personally like the "roller" block from Motoguard for this. Don't have to get it all just the majority of the texture. If you don't, the clear going over it will look worse than OEM no matter how slick you actually spray it. Get the edges and crevices as well. Best way is after you have sanded the texture get a gray scotch-brite (no red, only gray or finer) and some sanding paste. Scuff Stuff by Presta is what I use but there are others and scuff the entire panel with it. It will scuff it and clean it as well.

Mask, W&G, then you are ready to base. No need to seal it if your primer is solid. Spot in your color then clear the entire panel. SPI Euro would be the ideal clear for this. If flows out nicely and is very user friendly. If you have it looking slick after 2 coats and don't need to color sand then 2 coats is enough. Equivalent to OEM. If you think you need to color sand then shoot a third coat. Will last as long as the rest of the paint on the truck.
More work but not really. Especially considering the potential for complications from taping trying to spot in clear.

Like I said every Shop I ever worked at does it this way. Not trying to be a jerk but spotting in the clear on a 2019 vehicle would be a half ass repair.

Edit: As for masking I would have no issue masking off the plastic top cover as opposed to taking it off. They are not really designed to come off once on, and doing so often damages them enough to where they don't fit right when you do put it back on. Pretape it scuff the paint very good right up to it, work underneath the edge, and you will have no issue. Did dozens of them that way never had a comeback. Ideally you would take off the rear bumper though. If there is a clear plastic chipguard I have masked those in the past but usually removed them and re-applied the guard. You can get it from Ford. It is not a high riced item. The plastic on the bottom of panel behind the wheel comes off fairly easily so I would remove that. Re-apply with 2 sided tape and it's screws. All I can think of right now.:)
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I asked for opinions and you gave me a good one. This is what I figured I’d be told. I knew when I asked what I was probably going to be told. The ONLY reason I was thinking about the blend is because of the guy who owns the truck. He’s an older guy and it’s the second time I’ve fixed it in two months. He’s kinda going down hill and doesn’t even need to be driving. The first time he tore the front end off in a parking lot. Now it’s the bedside. This is going to be an ongoing thing until he quits driving. Kinda hard to go the extra mile on fixing something that you know is going to be destroyed again. But it’s the proper way to do it.
I was struggling with the idea of half assing it anyway. It’s not my style.
 
Sorry if I came across speaking to you like a noob. Wasn't sure of your experience level so I detailed everything.
 
Being I no longer work at a Collision Repair Shop I can't give you exact numbers. TK or Crash who have access to estimating software could give you exact figures but it would break down something like this if I was writing it.

R&I bumper (2-2.5 hrs)
R&I Taillight (.5-.6 hrs
R&I plastic cover on the bed (.8-1.0 hrs)
R&I lower plastic trim (.3 hrs)
R&R Decal (.8-1.0 hrs)
R&R rocker guard (clear vinyl in front of the rear wheel) (.6-.8 hrs)
Repair scratch/dent (1.5 hrs)
Paint time (this is more of a guess hard to remember exact numbers)
Base blend (2-3 hours)
Clear Panel (4-5 hours)

So Labor 12.5-15.7 @ 48/hr (my local rate year or so ago)
Labor $600-$753.60
Paint Materials 6-8 hours @36/hr ( local rate was a year or so ago.)
Materials $216-$288
Plus the cost of the decal and rocker vinyl (roughly $80 (???)

Remember that's just a guess but probably not too far off.
 
Not a good idea. What will happen is soon the clear will start to lift around the edges of the decal. Sometimes de-laminate off the decal itself. But usually you start to see the clear lift at the edges.
 
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