Hi guys, sorry I am posting this in the wrong section, i've been a long time lurker. And finally posting as I need some help asap. I have a 2004 g35. I recently de badged the car and after i did, i noticed there was ghost emblems remaining were the emblems were. I had no idea how to remove it. My friend decided to go ahead and try to sand them out, he used the wrong grit and now the spots have scratches and swirls and it looks horrible. Am I totally screwed? Do I need a paint job on the trunk? Can a buff take it out? Please help me. I can post pics if you guys need. Thanks anyone for any help.

 

First of all, go up to your friend, and punch him right in the mouth.

Now that that is out of the way, post up some pics and lets see what you have.

Chances are good that a good wet sand with a very high grit sandpaper, compound, polish, and wax/sealant will get you back into an acceptable appearance.

But pics would be good. Don't forget the punch.

 

What grit did he use? There is a decent chance he went through clearcoat if he used anything less than 600.

But best way to remove sandpaper scratches, is with more sandpaper. Get some 1500 and 2500 grit, soak it in a bucket with small amount of soap for 10-12 hours. Using the 1500 and sanding block, sand in a single direction for a couple minutes with medium pressure. Then follow with the 2500 in same direction, for a couple minutes. Finish with a polish (Mezera Final Polish and a grey finishing pad).

Make sure to tape off edges of body panels (buffer can quickly eat the clear off edges), stay between 1200-1500rpm to start, keep the pad as flat as possible, don't sweep the buffer back and forth; move it slowly but don't dwell on a given area for any length of time. At first you'll want to very regularly check surface temp by placing your bare hand on the paint where you just buffed. If it's warm to the touch and you don't yank your hand back suddenly, you're doing fine. If the heat is such that you reflexively jerk away, move on to another area.

 

Get 3M wet sandpaper (various grits) using the highest first. Then buff it out using meguiar's scratch remover.

If not, try the middle grit and repeat.

 

WOW! you call him your friend? Can we see the damages your friend did?

 

Hey guys, thank you for the replies. Here are the pictures of the damages. And I will most definitely punch him. He ruined the car. There is also a huge swirl near the light, but you can't really tell. It's just as bad as the one under the emblem.

 

Looks as though he removed some paint as well.


I would punch him twice.

 

Sadly, looks like you need to repaint your trunk. He went through the clear coat and maybe all the way through the paint down to the primer. Wetsanding and polish can probably address the swirls / hazy area, but that 2" wide patch to the lower right of the emblem is too deep.

 

Thank you everyone for the replies. I wish I would of just left the emblems alone. This is so depressing.

 

A little paint will fix that right up, no worries. Will look better than ever. It'll be fine.

 

honestly, I'd love to say you should knock your friend out, but it's usually the best of friends that do stuff like this haha, gonna need to be repainted and you'll be good as new

 

Cover it in carbon fiber looking vinyl and tell people you love Vin Diesel.

 

holy fk i loled pretty hard.