1984 - 1985 Corvette: Service Bulletin: Paint Repair Without Repainting

Subject:   Paint Repair Without Repainting
Model and Year:   1984 - 1985 Corvette and 1985 Astro Van
Source:  Chevrolet Dealer Service Bulletin
Bulletin No:   85-47
Section:   10(I)
Date:    Mar., 1985

TO:  ALL CHEVROLET DEALERS

May minor paint imperfections such as scratches, dirt, chemical spotting, sags, and orange peel can be repaired without repainting (see Figure 1.)  If an imperfection can be sanded out before reaching the colorcoat on vehicles having a clearcoat, there is no need to repaint.

The basic repair procedure involves sanding, compounding and polishing.  The possibility of scratches in the finished repair can be avoided by sanding with a 1200 to 1500 micro fine paper such as 3M 02022, 02023 or equivalent and using a medium to find compound.

Notice:  European "P 1200" is much coarser and, therefore, not equivalent to US 1200.

In many instances repairs can be made by compounding and polishing, and should be attempted prior to any sanding.

Compounding and Polishing

1. Thoroughly wash repair area with a mild detergent.
2. Apply a small amount of medium to fine machine rubbing compound to repair area and smear evenly with compounding pad.
3. With polisher running at approximately 2700 RPM, compound repair area.  Keep pad flat against panel while applying light pressure.  Feature lines and panel edges should be hand rubbed to avoid burn-through.  Check repair area frequently and, if necessary, add more compound.
4. If sanding is required, proceed to step 6 if not, apply polish to repair area and evenly smear with polishing pad.
5. Keep pad flat to panel and allow weight of polisher to do the work.  Use polish sparingly to achieve original shine.  Machine or hand polish repair area first, then blend in with rest of panel.
   
6. If repair is near adjacent panels, mask adjacent panel to protect against sand scratches.
7. Saturate a piece of micro fine sand paper in a container of water and attach to a sanding pad.  The addition of a small amount of liquid detergent or alcohol to the water will improve wet-out and sanding performance.
8. Keep repair area wet while sanding.  Sand lightly and evenly in one direction using straight strokes.  CAUTION:  Frequently wipe or squeegee repair to determine when defect has been removed.  Sand only enough top coat to remove defect.  Sanding beyond top coat requires repainting.
9. Using a clean cloth, wipe repair area clean of water and top coat residue.
10. Compound and polish as necessary.  Often only hand compounding and polishing of a small repair area is all that is necessary to restore appearance.

When making repairs, the following materials or equivalent are recommended.

NOTICE: 3M micro fine paper is currently in limited supply and may not be readily available until approximately April 1, 1985.

"We believe this source and their material to be reliable.  There may be additional manufacturers of such material.  General Motors does not endorse, indicate any preference for or assume any responsibility for the products or equipment from these firms or for any such items which may be available from other sources."