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After a thorough Prep Wash we moved the Skylark inside. The prep wash included,
- Machine scrub vinyl top
- Machine scrub tires
- Mechanical decontamination
- Wash entire vehicle with pressure washer
Now let's take a look at what we have to work with?
She looks pretty good from 10 feet away!
But let's take a closer look...
All the horizontal surfaces have,
- Surface staining - there's some form of film over all the horizontal surfaces including the chrome and glass.
- Oxidation - Light oxidation to the horizontal surfaces.
- Holograms - there are visible holograms over every square inch of paint on this car - pictures/videos will show.
- Die-back - likely from Substrate Shrinkage - which is seen as a grainy appearance, almost like the surface of sandpaper in the paint - more info at the bottom of this post + close-up pics.
- Repair Edge Mapping Caused by Coating Shrinkage - or simply Repair Mapping – A repaint defect where the underlying body repair, primer, featheredge, or filler begins to show through the finished paint due to shrinkage or movement of the repair materials.
Unremoved Sanding Scratches
Sad to say, but this is the norm for a lot of repaints that are also sanded. The technician will tend do do a fairly good job to all the larger, flatter, easier-to-buff sections of paint, but anywhere there's an edge, a raised body line or in and around any emblems, door handles, side mirrorst, etc., they don't chase after the sanding marks in these areas and leave them for the next guy to deal with. I dealt with them. LOL
In the picture below, there are straight line sanding scratches from whoever wet sanded this paint by hand. I'll fix this later via machine dry sanding. And this wasn't the only place, it was just an easy place to capture with my iPhone camera. I do have video footage showing sanding marks under and around the door handles.
Repair Edge Mapping Caused by Coating Shrinkage
Because I'm not a painter or a body shop guy, I don't always know the correct or proper term for paint defects created in the prep work before painting a car. so I went to
ChatGPT and typed the below question and received the below answer.
When I can see bondo or other prep work showing through a basecoat/clearcoat paint system after a repaint - what is this type of defect called? I can upload a picture if that will help?
ChatGPT: These photos are very helpful. Looking at them, I don't think this is classic repair mapping alone. It appears to be repair edge mapping with evidence of coating shrinkage that has created both visible read-through and surface texture.
Instead, I think you're looking at repair line shrinkage or repair edge mapping, and in a couple of the photos .there's evidence of post-refinish coating shrinkage as well..
Here's what stands out:
- There is a very defined linear repair edge running diagonally through the panel.
- Along that line, the surface has developed a raised, wrinkled, or puckered texture, not just a visible outline.
- The surrounding paint appears relatively smooth, while the defect is concentrated right on the repair line.
- In the wider shots, you can see the feather-edged repair area telegraphing through the finish.
If I were inspecting this in person, I'd suspect one of these scenarios:
- A skim coat of polyester filler or glazing putty over a welded seam or dent repair.
- Insufficient cure time before primer or topcoat was applied.
- Excessive film build over the repair.
- The repair edge wasn't completely stabilized before paint, allowing the coatings to continue shrinking after the repaint.
Repair Edge Mapping Caused by Coating Shrinkage
What I would call it If I were writing an inspection report, I'd probably describe it as: Repair edge mapping caused by coating shrinkage. Among collision repair professionals, you might also hear:
- Repair mapping
- Featheredge mapping
- Repair edge telegraphing
- Filler shrinkage
- Primer shrinkage
- Repair print-through
One thing that's different here, traditional mapping is usually just visible—you see the outline of the repair, but the surface remains smooth. Your photos show texture. The wrinkled appearance along the repair line suggests the paint film itself has moved as the underlying repair shrank. That pushes it more toward repair shrinkage than simple mapping.
If this were my diagnosis I'd describe it as:
Repair edge mapping caused by continued shrinkage of the underlying repair materials and coating system after refinishing. The repair line has telegraphed through the basecoat/clearcoat, producing both a visible outline and surface texture.
Since I know your background in detailing and paint correction, one thing immediately comes to mind. This would make an excellent teaching point in a video because many enthusiasts assume this can be corrected by compounding.
Your photos are a perfect example of a defect that cannot be polished away. The defect originates below the clear coat, so no amount of compounding or polishing will eliminate it. The proper repair is to sand the affected area back, address the unstable repair materials or featheredge, re-prime if necessary, and repaint.
Many enthusiasts mistake this defect for orange peel or sanding marks. It isn't. What you're seeing is the underlying repair literally telegraphing through the paint film as it continues to shrink over time.
Here's the pictures I took to show repair edge mapping caused by post-paint shrinkage of the underlying repair materials and also shared with ChatGTP
Machine Dry Sanding
I did LIGHTLY sand over these raised imperfections and this did flatten them out but not completely. I aimed to simply IMPROVE them - not 100% REMOVE them. That's in my article here,
The difference between a hack and a professional is a professional knows when to stop
Mike
