how do they do it?

D

DATEC

Member
I've seen this on factory paint jobs countless times and came across it again today and figured I would ask. I've seen it with all colors including black, before sanding you can not tell anything but sand for a blend with sand paper or scotch pad a POW there it is a blend in the center of a panel. If you think you could clear over it and get away with it forget it it will show, you will have to put color over it to hide it. The darker color is only because of my phone's camera there is no color shift and angles all the way up the the hood.

I can't figure out how they do it blending in a smaller area such as a windshield post and rubbing a blend out is one thing but areas like this? I would never do or be able to do nearly as cleanly as the factory does it. Any ideas how they do it? I can only guess they are privy to material only they can get to get it to blend in so good you can't see or feel it.
 
What's it off of? Honestly cannot recall ever seeing anything like what you are describing at least on newer stuff.
 
I remember when calling on a Ford and Saturen plant both had two separate repair lines, one for minor spot repair and then the major line repair, the major repair they might shoot the whole side and a lot of times the whole car and fresh paint no sanding needed.
The one plant had 18 spot repair guys and if you spot things in all day long you do get good.

My favorite car was a Taurus station wagon that came off the line, it was silver and the robot stuck, put about a 1/4 inch of base, than clear applied and after baking it looked like dried cracked mud.
 
Are you sanding the base? Never do that.
Maybe I don't understand, I blend all the time and clear the entire panel when possible.
If the color is real close, and it has to be, and you feather it out to nothingness over a large
enough area it should never be a problem once you clear it all..
If you're talking about blending the clear, that's a whole differentthing.
 
I saw that on a new Camry a while back. They obviously have a blend solvent that they have found works well with their fresh paint, and the guys that do it, do it all day long. I don't think there is any magic to it.
 
Chris_Hamilton;n83131 said:
What's it off of? Honestly cannot recall ever seeing anything like what you are describing at least on newer stuff.
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It is a 2015 Hyundai Sonata with this being it's first repair less then 8k miles.
 
jcclark;n83140 said:
Are you sanding the base? Never do that.
Maybe I don't understand, I blend all the time and clear the entire panel when possible.
If the color is real close, and it has to be, and you feather it out to nothingness over a large
enough area it should never be a problem once you clear it all..
If you're talking about blending the clear, that's a whole differentthing.
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Not me this is a factory finnish that was being prepped for primer when I discovered it, blended clear. I seen it many times before on many differant makes and thought I would finally ask. Really the blend jobs are extremely well done you can't see them until you scuff and then there they are. I wouldn't attempt to do some of the blends I've come across. Some are dark colors and dead smack in the middle of a quarter panel and before I scuffed the area they never showed.
 
I think both Barry and Crash are correct, that is what I had thought for awhile but just never asked. When scuffed it is apparent they did not sand the area because the cut back edge is always shiny even when a scuff pad is used a small shiny line is always there.

Even though it would be fresh paint at the factory wouldn't sanding be nessary? I never do anything like that without sanding even if a touch up has to be done the next day, am I missing something?
 
DATEC;n83169 said:
Not me this is a factory finnish that was being prepped for primer when I discovered it, blended clear.QUOTE]

OK, now I understand what you're saying.
I haven't experienced that but I do know that when I blend a area over
one I just painted it always blends much easier and better,
For some reason when the clear is less than 24 hrs old the new blend lays on like glass,
being more like a "flow coat" and no, it doesn't have to be sanded first if
the existing clear is still that fresh.
I never have a problem going back and blending something I just painted that's still fresh.
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I work at the Kentucky Truck Plant, home of the Super Duty F series truck. The repair guys have the same bake booth clear that runs through the ovens. I am a union rep and have spent countless hours with these guys talking Paint. They sand the area that needs base, solvent wipe (thinner, yes thinner) and barely mask anything at all. They use a mini Iwata to spray base then they hammer on clear.. al.ost back to back coats, spray a blending solvent over all of it then take a shop towel cover in solvent wiping off the overspray and turn on an IR light that bakes between 225-250 degrees..
When its finished baking. light sand with some 2000 and hit it with one step polish and compound with wool pad. Flip up the wiper blade to signal to a driver its complete and ready for another one.
They do blend onto clear without any prep other than solvent wiping but its freshly oven baked clear..
Every plant will vary in process but what i laid out is done daily. These guys turn 20-40 repairs a piece a day depending on severity of the repair. This is all done in an open shop setting. No booth. No curtains. Nothing keeping out dirt. Its just like painting in your home garage lol
 
Bondoking;n83185 said:
I work at the Kentucky Truck Plant, home of the Super Duty F series truck. The repair guys have the same bake booth clear that runs through the ovens. I am a union rep and have spent countless hours with these guys talking Paint. They sand the area that needs base, solvent wipe (thinner, yes thinner) and barely mask anything at all. They use a mini Iwata to spray base then they hammer on clear.. al.ost back to back coats, spray a blending solvent over all of it then take a shop towel cover in solvent wiping off the overspray and turn on an IR light that bakes between 225-250 degrees..
When its finished baking. light sand with some 2000 and hit it with one step polish and compound with wool pad. Flip up the wiper blade to signal to a driver its complete and ready for another one.
They do blend onto clear without any prep other than solvent wiping but its freshly oven baked clear..
Every plant will vary in process but what i laid out is done daily. These guys turn 20-40 repairs a piece a day depending on severity of the repair. This is all done in an open shop setting. No booth. No curtains. Nothing keeping out dirt. Its just like painting in your home garage lol
Click to expand...

How are they getting away with this with the new EPA Rule 6H or Rule 40? When I took my certification for it 3 oz is the most you can spray at any one time outside a booth environment.
 
Bondoking;n83185 said:
I work at the Kentucky Truck Plant, home of the Super Duty F series truck. The repair guys have the same bake booth clear that runs through the ovens. I am a union rep and have spent countless hours with these guys talking Paint. They sand the area that needs base, solvent wipe (thinner, yes thinner) and barely mask anything at all. They use a mini Iwata to spray base then they hammer on clear.. al.ost back to back coats, spray a blending solvent over all of it then take a shop towel cover in solvent wiping off the overspray and turn on an IR light that bakes between 225-250 degrees..
When its finished baking. light sand with some 2000 and hit it with one step polish and compound with wool pad. Flip up the wiper blade to signal to a driver its complete and ready for another one.
They do blend onto clear without any prep other than solvent wiping but its freshly oven baked clear..
Every plant will vary in process but what i laid out is done daily. These guys turn 20-40 repairs a piece a day depending on severity of the repair. This is all done in an open shop setting. No booth. No curtains. Nothing keeping out dirt. Its just like painting in your home garage lol
Click to expand...


WOW thanks for the explanation. I always wondered how they did that.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Bondoking;n83185 said:
I work at the Kentucky Truck Plant, home of the Super Duty F series truck. The repair guys have the same bake booth clear that runs through the ovens. I am a union rep and have spent countless hours with these guys talking Paint. They sand the area that needs base, solvent wipe (thinner, yes thinner) and barely mask anything at all. They use a mini Iwata to spray base then they hammer on clear.. al.ost back to back coats, spray a blending solvent over all of it then take a shop towel cover in solvent wiping off the overspray and turn on an IR light that bakes between 225-250 degrees..
When its finished baking. light sand with some 2000 and hit it with one step polish and compound with wool pad. Flip up the wiper blade to signal to a driver its complete and ready for another one.
They do blend onto clear without any prep other than solvent wiping but its freshly oven baked clear..
Every plant will vary in process but what i laid out is done daily. These guys turn 20-40 repairs a piece a day depending on severity of the repair. This is all done in an open shop setting. No booth. No curtains. Nothing keeping out dirt. Its just like painting in your home garage lol
Click to expand...

How are they getting away with this with the new EPA Rule 6H or Rule 40? When I took my certification for it 3 oz is the most you can spray at any one time outside a booth environment.
Click to expand...
You can file for an exemption from 6h. Then you can use any sized cup.
 
Chris_Hamilton;n83200 said:
How are they getting away with this with the new EPA Rule 6H or Rule 40? When I took my certification for it 3 oz is the most you can spray at any one time outside a booth environment.
Click to expand...

Manufacturing and military usually play by different rules with most VOC local laws and EPA laws.
 
Barry would know about the EPA .. I do know however they dont mind at all to pay fines. Often times its cheaper than what it costs to do things by law.. Big business fellas. they dont play by any of the rules we do!!!
 
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It was not uncommon to see a ford in the 90's that was reshot completely 4 times when built. These things would come in for repairs at the dealership I worked at-sometimes delivery damage. I would feather the paint back at the repair area and count four layers of base and clear LOL and it was thick!
 
i see that all the time with factory harley parts and some sportbike parts. probably 80% of harley tins have gone through the paint process more than once but the problem is they prep nothing. its painted right over gloss which is why harley paint chips like a sob. some tins i have been able to rip the paint off between layers by sticking tape to it and just pulling.
 
Here is a 1967 Barracuda, it was painted many years back, it's not the original. Customer dented the rear pillar. There's no seam for me to stop, and he didn't want to venture into the quarter panel, he has paint flaking. He was also on a budget. So, I had to spot the quarter panel, I hate doing so, and I had to go big. Fortunately, it came out very good.
 
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