DIY Clear Coat Repair
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- Опубліковано 13 вер 2024
- My 2005 Honda Element had some clear coat issues and some small rust spots on the tailgate. In this video I show how I repaired these with tools most DIYers have. I also show how I ‘blacked out’ my emblems without damaging the vehicle finish.
I’m not a paint or body repair technician, I’m a mechanic, I’m sure I could have done better, but I’m very happy with the results of my efforts, especially the blacked out emblems. No matter what, I hope you find the information useful.
In addition to the clear coat repair, I also try and realign the hatch as well as upgrade my tail lights to LEDs.
Thanks for watching!
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For that orange peel, keeping your rattle can warm may have helped. Also, a minor compound and polish would probably knock that down enough that it’s not noticeable.
My suggestion for older washer hoses and plastic tube removal. This works for me. I use a heat gun to heat up at the connection I am trying to separate. Being plastic, most of them turn soft with just a bit of heat and greatly reduces the risk of breaking or damage to brittle parts.
Great suggestion. Thanks!
I remember doing bodywork on cars in the 70s and all of those lovely metal emblems that were installed with either barrel clips or speed nuts. There were holes in the body panels for the pins to pass through and the barrel clips would cause rust to start around each of the pins. The speed nuts were especially annoying because they were very difficult to access. Sheet metal stampings had lots of sharp edges back in those days and I left lots of DNA samples behind. Japanese cars were among the first to start using glue on emblems which was fine by me. They weren't really expensive to replace at the time so it made my job much easier.
"original ones are stupid expensive" says the guy that spent 120 on a emblem 😂
Honda should support and make it cheaper, it's for Honda itself. More company logo will be out there.
if 120 is not stupid expensive, then how much is stupid? ... lol
the element oem spoilers go for like $700 used now its crazy. the side steps are also super valuable
@@lafave2555 I bought an aftermarket one painted nighthawk black same as my Element for around $250 fit perfect. Easy install as Honda was nice enough to add the areas where you need to drill.
@@lafave2555 side steps come in two withs the widest being 5 inches I think. I didn’t know that and bought the smaller one I think it’s 3-4 inches wide which is pretty useless for passengers getting off and on. I would like to get a wider one.
I did my clearcoat touchup using Duplicolor from Pepboys. I can't tell ANY difference from factory. But yes, Prep, sand, prime - paint- then polish. Results were worth it.
Why didn't you used 2k clear from a rattle can? It's more durable and will look shinier. Just a tip for future paint repairs
Also more hazardous to your health with out proper protective gear lol. I would stay away from that stuff and leave it up to a professional painter. The chemicals in the 2k clearcoat seem extremely toxic with out a mask and suit.
Nonsense. For no more than he's painting, a 3m cartridge mask and an open bay door or exhaust fan would be fine.
@@mccoma11 might want to do a little research but hey it’s your health not mine. Do as you please.
@@Speed04GT I know all about it. I use cartridge masks (half-face and full-face) daily, as well as scba while working with extremely dangerous chemicals. I also, as a hobby, use 2k coatings/epoxy primers often. I have a complete set-up with compressors, sanders, several pneumatic guns, and even a turbine unit for spraying everything under the sun. A correct-fitting 3m style mask with the right cartridges would be plenty for a job that small, as long as there is good ventilation.
But you are correct that it can be dangerous. It's pretty bad stuff and you don't want to be breathing it.
Congrats, that came out better than 95% of body shops would have done.
lol no. maybe most shady shops that dont even have a compressor. I can do a better job outside in my yard
@@v8consumption Not so, I have paid for body/paint work that was really crappy.
@@peterfernandezjr5914 That is straight up false. Speaking from 15 years of experience in the field, any self respecting professional wouldn't even present an end result like that to a customer. Eric did a great job with the tools and supplies he had and he is happy with the end result but please don't ever say 95% of the body shops do a worse job than that.
@@KoMDraegast I guess where you live the body shops are better than where I live. I have experienced lousy repair work on my own cars. Including misaligned hoods, trunk lids and paint that did not last very long in the hot Fla sun. And since insurance companies don't inspect the work, they only care about saving money, these body shops could care less.
@@peterfernandezjr5914 Saving money is part of the profession but allowing obvious mistakes like that to slip would never happen here. I'd probably get fired if I maintained a standard like that.
Yeah, I noticed those dents and figured out how they got there. Couldn't decide whether to comment on those but then you 'fessed up at the end of the video. Anyway, your work turned out nicer than mine usually does. And you're absolutely right about insurance and bodywork involving emblems/badges/etc. In my experience, they even mask around decals - which ends up looking like complete crap.
Great video and very similar to my outlook with bodywork. I never try to get it perfect, I just want it better than it was. Just one important comment for your viewers. It's not a great idea to sand between coats of clear. It is better to put all the clear on and then sand. First it has to be good and dry to sand, and second you need to have a decent amount to sand or you burn through. The last stage is always "cut and buff", which means sand with high grit sandpaper until flat then buff with polishing/rubbing compounds. I almost always skip this because I don't care, and it drives my brother crazy. Keep up the great videos.
It's raw and just shows that not everyone has the expertise at everything. Even the great ones make mistakes. I liked the video. 🤙🤙
Paint/body work is hard
Eric is like me, we are mechanics not body/paint guys. There is a reason why their are just mechanics and just body/paint guys. Body/paint guys are artists.
Whenever i put my emblems back, i just measure with a pair of calipers to find the corners of the emblem from two pieces of tape with dots that i place outside the work area. So like on the lights, or the window.
Works really nice and cannot fail nor does it get in my way. If you leave the tape large enough, you can write on the tape the two top corner measurements. Generally, i just write one, and leave the calipers set on the other.
"Did all that work and I never washed it well that's just kinda how I am"
Feel you
I have owned one of my vehicles for 8 years now, and have never washed it. However, it's a Saturn with the plastic body panels so getting off salt and such is not so much of an issue.
Ya, I am more of a "runs pretty" then "looks pretty" kind of guy!
After watching your videos. I want to get out and work on our Civic. Great videos.
Eric, they MAKE LED turn signal bulbs u dont need resistors. Precision or Lasfit brand? U live in rust belt like me & I WANT ppl to SEE me in bad weather! (plus they look neat!) I installed on my prius & I LOVE it. I LOVE ur personalizing ur element! I shows a sign of loving/caring for vehicles. I've always loved Elements! Hondas & Toyotas rock to me. Ur such a down to earth guy! Love the video as usual!
Meh, I'm not really worried about people seeing the turn signals. Thanks for the heads up and the comment.
Love how you always experiment with different supplies and materials just to see what works best. Awesome video good work without having to pay body shop price.
"I noticed that somebody had... not been too kind to this-"
I loled. This is what real automotive work looks like: fixing other people's mistakes, then making your own.
It's so relieving seeing that even Eric does mistakes (like hitting to hard with the hammer) and he's ok with it. I'm such a perfectionist but most of the times i make mistakes and it's so hard to accept them. I would have sanded down that tailgate trying to make it look just as good as the rest of the paint for hours and hours....😌
I don't have the time for that. Or, it might be better to say, I don't feel like spending my time that way, Especially on my winter car. However I'll spend $120 on a stupid emblem and paint it. Even I don't understand it. Thanks for the comment.
Had my element is 2006, 328,000 miles later still love it
😭😭 my element is in the shop with a blown head gasket. I miss her. Your doing an amazing job.
I'm an appraiser for an insurance company. We always pay to remove emblems for panel refinishing along with handles, belt mouldings, etc.
You sir, are an exception in my experience.
I use a little denatured alcohol on a rag to remove adhesive residue. It works great!
Changing my reverse lights to LED on my vehicles has been a tremendous help for my horrible night vision
LED headlights are causing horrible night driving problems, though ...
As a body guy, I have to tell you this was painful, but this is mild compared to the butchery seen elsewhere.
Such as the botched repair I inherited where acrylic clear coat was sprayed onto my Ford's enamel clear coat as a 'blend' at the right rear. It's only a mil thick but nothing detaches it. Arrrgh
love the guy an his channel, but man I hate seeing this. I feel like people know nothing about our trade an don't appreciate the skill an hard work involved in actually doing a good job. everybody just sees videos like these an assume its that easy.
@@awildtravis588 I suppose it could be both - people like Eric (and I) can be OK with this DIY compromise and also appreciate the perfect work that body professionals do. It just may not be the priority for every repair to be perfect on personal vehicles
@@FliesLikeABrick
Yeah I agree, Eric is not going to dump 5 figures into doing a total body repair. A perfect example would be concours-level Porsche that Larry Kosilla (Ammo NYC) owns.
@@awildtravis588
A concours level restoration would be well into 4/5 figures.
And another great video Eric! I am currently battling tailgate rust on my 2010 Ford Escape. I'm doing almost exactly what your doing and I found that hitting it with 1000 grit between coats is working great. I went with the body lines for transition from grey to factory "silver ingot" and achieved a cool "tu tone" look. Found that cool effect by accident since the factory colors are delayed in shipping! Lol! Stay dirty my friend and thanks as always for the great videos!
I could never do body/paint work like that. You make everything look super easy. Great video as always.
Try 3M adhesive remover for that left over gunk after you use the eraser wheel. Usually remove badges with an application of heat gun, fishing line (same idea as your twine), and finish off with the 3M stuff. Works wonders.
I've used goo be gone or goof off. Way easier than using either of those eraser discs.
Love the blacked out emblems on that paint looks very nice @EricTheCarGuy
120USD FOR THE EMBLEM?!? that's like 1 month worth of groceries for where I'm from.
Crazy right? Someone is making a serious markup on those few grams of material...
Definitely a rip off.
Thats just the life of direct ordered OEM parts. Rear suspension bolt for an Accord I worked on was $17 and $6 for the nut. Comeplete rip off. Much better to go get the part from the manufacturer if possible Aisin, Denso etc
Speaking of Honda…
My wife’s brand new N-Van will be here in 2 weeks!!!
Have you heard of those? Retro looking and very practical!
Unfortunately only JDM. Luckily that’s where I am 🇯🇵!
😉
No, but they sound really cool. The JDM Honda market gets all the cool stuff it seems. Good luck with the new van.
One thing we often did to correct orange peel, was to lay down at least 3-5 coats of clear coat, then wet sand it and polish it up. Works really good most of the times!
Anyways, nice job Eric!
Great job with the body work and detailed tutorial which was very helpful. Not my specialty but nice to see how it is done
Thanks again Eric, you have done a fantastic project only few DIYers attempt. 😃
My favorite and most effective way to remove decals and adhesive from paint on vehicles is to use a steam cleaner to melt and gently wash away the residue. It works! Not only is it relatively quick, it also doesn't harm the surface underneath as the steam doesn't get too hot.
Replaced the old incandescent tail light bulbs with LED counterparts on my wheels, Choosing a red LED will make it so it will glow a vibrant red color, slightly dimmer than if you choose the regular white LED, the lights will indeed be brighter but at a less "red" color.
Also scuffing the chrome on the element badging was a good move, I tried painting my chrome trim on the doors but the paint just peeled right off even though i gave it sufficient time to somewhat cure. learned something new, :Thumbs up.
A few tips for you related to this video.
Your initial sanding grid was a 120, usually that's fine for an initial sand but it will leave scuffmarks in the finished product so always go from 120 grit to 220 and then 320 and use a sanding block so you dont create low spots where you sanded out the rust spots. This grid is fine enough that when you put a primer on top of that, the paint sticks to the panel but the viscosity of the paint removes any trace from the sanding. Once that is done you can sand the primer down with a 600 grid and you can sand down the rest of the panel where you didnt have to use body filler or remove surface rust with a scotch brite pad and some scotch brite cutting compound and some water, this works faster than using a regular wet sanding 600 or 1000 grit but the end result is the same and you will have an even finish when you are done with painting.
Where you ended your tape masking, use some plastic floor covering (when repainting walls or whatever) or any plastic or news papers you have laying around, this helps limiting overspray to the sides and top of the roof and any other unwanted areas.
As for the orange peel you have now, once the paint has hardened out after a few days you can go over that with wet sanding 1500 grit or higher until you get through the roughest bit and then you can use a polish pad machine and 3 steps of cutting compound to get that finish shiny again.
On camera at least, that color looks literally the exact same. Congrats!
Nice job Eric . For small parts I use an old toaster oven . Sand blast paint and bake at 150 to 200 F works well .
Nicely fixed paintjob :)
This is probably the job I've done most often to my cars in the past, removing rust spots and touch-up painting them with spraycans :) After the final clear coat, I used to polish it with rubbing compound for more glossy finish & to feather it in to the original, surrounding paint. Finally wax it with new car wax.
When everything came together perfect, it looked pretty good for amateur painter like me, even if I say it myself :D Quite satisfying work :)
Nice color match job Eric! Those black emblems look much better than the chrome! As for LED turn signals, they seem more of a pain getting them to work.
Beautiful job
My third brake light cover did the same thing! It still worked so i drilled a hole in the broken tab and zip tied it.
does it look better than when you started? mission accomplished
Glad to see you back as your regular chipper self, Eric. Please enjoy a couple of digital cupcakes made especially for you...🧁🧁
Just some tips: cover the adhesive with gel hand sanitizer then put plastic wrap over it. Let sit for 10 minutes and the adhesive will wipe right off clean with no elbow grease needed. You would be shocked how good this works! Isopropyl alcohol is the best prep spray to get it clean for paint. Spray and wipe it off! Make a paper template with the emblem's locations so then you can remove them before painting and paint everything without them in the way for a cleaner look. Also, put your spray paint and clearcoat in hot water to warm them up and it helps to avoid orange peel.
Yay! My hood coat looks like trash. Perfect timing 😜
Really like how the tint ("smoke" ?) in the rear glass accents the black emblems :-)
Just what I was waiting for. The clear coat peel is much more noticeable on an orange element. Doesn't seem to be such a big job like I hopped. Now its just the motivation to do paint work....
Must have gotten over spay on the other car parked near you car if you would of wet sanded the paint there would of been less orange peel.
FYI, that lower section of the tail gate has been painted previously. I imagine the gate and gate opening got a bit tweaked in the collision and the body guys said oh well good enough.
Rubbing alcohol works wonders on adhesive I worked at Honda and even on brand new vehicles rubbing alcohol was a life saver
I have an o 04 and added a 06 grill and painted the grill and emblem black. I also added ld reverse bulb. Plus an aftermarket rear spoiler that I installed. I added an led for the 3rd brake light. However after seeing your 3rd brake I fell in love with it! Going to get it. Now if you would just add a supercharger or turbo that would really be great so I can follow in your foot steps 👍
My wife had an Element, I loved that car! If I ever find a decent used one I'll buy it.
Eric great improvement love what you did thank you for sharing your wonderful videos I am from South Africa
Good results for non-bodyshop DIY stuff. Way better than it looked when you started, and that was the whole goal.
I'm anal enough and crazy enough that I would've removed the emblems, then block sanded and painted the entire tailgate. 120 grit, primer, 240 grit, more primer, 400 grit, color, 800-grit, color, 1000-grit, clear, 1500-grit, clear, then a cutting polish. And I would've been there for three whole days doing it, too. Would've been completely unnecessary overkill on a vehicle like that. LOL. Your way is 90% as good and takes far less time. :-)
It's really great when someone 'gets it'. It is my winter car after all. Thanks for the comment.
Why didn't you remove the H emblem b4 painting, like you did with the Element one?
It would be difficult to locate in the proper position otherwise.
Sanding down the final clear as flat as you can without removing too much it works too, you'll have to compound and polish it afterwards and it'll come out pretty well.
Nice 50-50 paint job. Looks great from 50ft at 50mph.
For a winter car, that's perfect.
Looks good enough 😁👍🏽
I’m looking at the lift gate lines looks like it’s actually pushed upwards in certain areas the way certain body lines are but it lines up where it shouldn’t if it’s pushed up in others since you couldn’t get it adjusted at the hinges I’m definitely going to say the lift gate itself is what’s bent probably at the top near the glass where it naturally bends. looks like it was pushed in during whatever collision and someone pulled it out rather than replacing the whole thing.
I did a similar setup with LED brake/running lights and reverse lights on my TSX I just didn’t wanna do that whole resistor thing like I did with my truck 🤷♂️. I really like that flash 3X 3rd brake light LED I think I’m going to swap my LED 3rd with one of those too 👍🏽
Your paint match is better than the body shop.
I have used that brand of red flashing bulbs. They are nice while they work. Over time, something in the connector breaks and you can sometimes wiggle the bulb or flip it in the socket and it will work again for a while.
I've replaced them once now, and kept the old ones, one day I might see if I can open it up and figure out where the connection breaks.
Here we call those things show lights, because that is all you can use them for. In Europe in general and especially in Germany using light bulbs on the exterior that do not have a KBA or ECE number (That would be sort of the German or European Agency comparable to the DOT) you would void the vehicles operating permit and it would be no longer street legal and could be shut down. After which you have to bring everything into a street legal configuration again and get it inspected (which costs quite a bit on top of a hefty fine).
I guess that might be true for some states in the US as well (kind of).
Not only that there are no legal LED alternatives for most lights available here (There are a few options for either H4 or H7 headlights that can be legally used with certain vehiclesfrom currently exactly one brand as it seems), and I am not sure if the manufacturers never tried to get those certified or if they just never passed. Which is kind of weird to be honest. The blinking part is a no go as well.
@@alexanderkupke920 they are legal here as long as the housing brightness and color is correct. Blinking is permitted as well, for an initial number or length of time. The biggest issue I've had with this brand is the contact trends to break on the bulb causing it not to light.
If you have a headlight restore buffer wheel laying around you could get a quick polish to help reduce the orange peel
Eric has a da polisher
Or use trizact 3000
I think you should look into Cerakoting the black trim. Its easy and would make that trim pop nicely with those accents.
@ericthecarguy masking job is top rate old chum!🤣 Love your videos bruh!
For the turn signals, some cars have turn signal RELAYS, that can be replaced with DIODE LED Relays. Great work Eric!
They are not relays, they are bimetallic switches. ua-cam.com/video/DWmt6gorzUg/v-deo.html
Great video Eric thanks
Great job brother
Eric I added a rear spoiler aftermarket from Carid. Painted was around $250, easy install
Back in the day I use to use easy off oven cleaner to remove chrome on when it was on plastic. I used the harsher one the one your supposed to heat the oven , but did not have to heat the item.
Lacquer thinner is great for over spray (shout out to Sweet Project Cars)
Love the repair, Eric. I gotta get those LED taillight bulbs for my E. I especially like the third brake light flashing then solid on. Wayyy cool and like you said, more modern. I swapped out my dome light and map lights a while back when the passenger map light switch went bad. I like them a lot, too. Looking great, Eric. Enjoy!
For removing emblems i usually hit them lightly with a heat gun and then use fishing line to pop them off, also makes removing the adhesive off easier to where goof off or something simple makes quick work
Not a paint & panel guy?
Here’s the challenge - design, fabricate, paint & mount you own spoiler.
And yes you are permitted to get outside advice, 😂😂😂
👏👏👏 👋👋👋
Great video and great job.
Thanks for another great video, ETCG!
I believe your hinges are over extended. They might be bent past their original geometry. Someone may have over extended the rear liftgate out of frustration after they smacked their head off it......But that's what happened to mine. Luckily you can compare it to your other one.
Great job! The issue with the alignment of the tailgate appears either bent hinges or where they mount.
Wow man exactly the video I needed again.
Instead of wet sanding the orange peel away, you can do a compound cut + polish pretty quickly. That's what i usually do for quick rattle can repair jobs on bicycles.
I just ordered the 3rd brake light for my 2006 element. Thanks. For the videos Eric.
Be careful installing it. Mine seemed a bit too wide and cracked the connector.
Great job Muh Lord
You should have scuffed the whole thing before painting. That is why the paint separated around the badge. Also, before sticking the badge you could have hit the lid with some 1500 wet sand paper and the use a bit of polish for extra shine. The colour match is amazing for something done at home.
vegetable oil on a rag removes adhesive, then wash with soap and water.
It does yeah. I use 3m adhesive remover though. Its like magic.
They have non hyper flash led turn signal out there. I have them on my V and they work great. Don't have to worry about installing those resisters.
Depends a lot on the switch used. not all of them hyperflash. But I think Eric has some experience in that regard knowing elements quite well and knows how they will behave.
On some vehicles it may also be electronically controlled together with an indication in the dashboard that a bulb is broken or missing. in this case you might need a resistor anyways to convince the computer that there is a bulb installed after all. Oh, most likely in this case you may not find a flasher to replace anyways.
3 coats of clear, let dry overnight, wet sand next day with 600 grit. Clean and apply two coats of clear
I was taught to use the prep (PrepSol back then), before any sanding. Otherwise, the wax and other things that would be removed by the prep get sanded in.
Good job Erik
Happy Days!
the panel need to be sanded to 600-800 on every place where new base and clear paint will be. if it's shinny it wont hold. For the clear use 2k clear with punch calatys in the bottom it's the easier for can paint with a perfect result you clear is like the duplicolor one and it's bad with a lot of orange peel but there base color is close. check paint society here on YT it's a great channel about paint, he has diy can paint tutorials. Also you should mask more of the car overspray can go far before it dry flying. I dont blame you i have been throught that before, now I paint in gun primer and clear but use can for the base
you could just use a piece of masking paper cut to fit around emblem taped to window then pull it up and tape out of way then flap it back down to locate new emblem. also dental floss might work well for taking off emblems
I really like the blacked out badges. A huge improvement!
As far as the final finish is concerned if all you need is a 10 foot finish then go for it. It's your car.
The only thing that can not be scrimped on is the preparation work.
The look of your finish and how long the paint stays on is all in the prep-work.
looks great. buff it next month and is done.
Rattle can clear coat has to be sprayed on thick... and then it's hard to stop runs on vertical surfaces.
Best I have done is (on a warm day)... spray then wait 30 seconds, then repeat around 3 times and you will see when the coat is thick enough.
If you get a run... best is to let them dry, then sand them away and try again.
A cut and polish a few weeks after the clear coat has well and truly dried will also help the look.
Looks way better! I never really was into elements, but ive lately been looking for one... damn you Eric! 😂
As ive heard some say, shes a good ten footer--lol Better than I could have done and it does in fact look better overall, rust gone, clear coat peel gone, lights improved emblems looking clean and sharp, they kinda go with the dark parts of the lower body work.
Good video Eric Looks better then it did defenitly can see the orange peel new paint don't have a Mirror Finish like the rest of the vehicle paint but wow that color match is dang neat spot on wow so close 👌 👏👍@EricTheCarGuy
I like it, you should think about trying to get that gray part painted gloss black to match everything.
I actually prefer it grey.
Now all the plastic trim needs some ceramic or back to black to really finish things off!
Actually, I like that its grey. Probably could use a good cleaning though. Thanks for the comment.
8:01 add a piece of slightly stouter foam between the clip and the body, that way it won't ever break, because you can't stress it past the point of opening, which is why these break eventually.
looks great
Late model cars DO NOT flash the third brake lights. It’s a dealership margin booster, like pin-striping, done to vehicles on the lot prior to sale and pushed to customers on the grounds of “safety”. The blinking light is actually more distracting to other drivers, leading to unnecessary panic stops, and is actually borderline illegal in many states.
@EricTheCarGuy: I can also see that the tailgate and the hatch are mounted too high. The bottom edge of the rear glass should be level with the bottom of the side glass and the gap at the bottom of the gate should be smaller . I'd be willing to bet that rear end collision totalled the hatch and/or tailgate and you have salvage replacements. The collison caused the two side top moldings along the side of roof to be pushed forward or damaged. They do not overhang the side glass at the rear as much as those of my Element. Pop off the top outside access panels in those moldings loosen the screwcs and pull them rearward.