Hi all,

I own a 2014 Tiguan and have decided to take up the challenge of fixing some scratches myself. Most of the lighter scratches came off with light sanding and buffing, but there are some scratches that will need a respray.

On the Tiguan, the A frame/rear quarter panel is also attached to the roof panel (see image below), so I'm a bit confused how I'm supposed to tape off that panel to isolate it. The scratches are only on the quarter panel, so the A frame and roof panel don't need to be painted, but the car is silver and I'm worried I won't be able to blend the paint in. Do I:

1. Only paint the quarter panel and try and blend it
2. Tape somewhere at the top of the panel. In the below diagram, there's a faint line above the top roof rack which is a shallow trench, looks almost like a weld line (it might be). I could maybe tape it here so the line is less visible, but I'm still worried about having a hard line on 10-year old paint. I'm away from my car right now, but can provide pics later if it would help
3. Something else



Thanks in advance!

i can't tell on that picture BUT your probably going to have to blend into the rear door. then clear the complete door and quarter, bringing the clear up the A frame panel to the top just where it rolls over to the very top. sand this with 800-1000 and back tape it right on the middle of the roll. shoot your clear and let dry for about a week then lightly sand and buff. the reson to let it dry for a week is so it cures good. if you try and buff and its not fully cured the buffing wheel is going to want to pull the clear away from the edge insted of buffing clean. your still going to see a line there but not much, with silver it hard to see. this is not a professional way but it will work for you with minimal cost and efort.
Jay D.

Unsworn4749 wrote: there's a faint line above the top roof rack which is a shallow trench, looks almost like a weld line (it might be). I could maybe tape it here so the line is less visible, but I'm still worried about having a hard line on 10-year old paint. I'm away from my car right now, but can provide pics later if it would help

This sounds like the best course but would need pictures to confirm. I'm thinking fly masking along that ridge giving you an edge that is invisible and won't suffer the same issues as a clear coat blend.

I have been painting cars for a while now and I still wont attempt a Blend with Clear coat.
Base coat sure no problem BUT I will Scuff the whole car and re-shoot all the clear if their isnt a clear break in the panel body lines.

Just me But as a Hobbyist their are just some things best left to a Pro. I am not saying it cant be done, Its just been my experience when I have tried it it always looks better with a whole new fresh coat of Clear. Blending Clear just isnt for me.

Soft edge tape?

Folded edge or foam

"Fix" blend area with a buffer later?

acro wrote:Soft edge tape?

No

acro wrote:Folded edge or foam

Folded edge

acro wrote:"Fix" blend area with a buffer later?

No.

You could search, but I've done the hard yakka for you:
https://www.autobody101.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=24999