The last thing you want to see in your new paint or clearcoat is a drip or sag, but it’s bound to happen. We actually have a couple in our ’71 Oldsmobile 442 project car. We thought it would be a good idea to show you how to remove drips and sags in clearcoat. This could also be knows as denibbing. While there are several ways to go about this, we like the razor blade method.

How To Remove Drips in Clearcoat

First, we have to let the pain and/or clearcoat dry and harden. The longer you can wait for it to dry and shrink, the better. Ours had been sitting a couple of weeks, so it was good and hard. Ensure the drip or sag and the panel around it is very clean. Take a brand new razor blade and you want to the use the cutting edge standing straight up on the paint or clearcoat. Gently and slowly work the blade in a single motion across the drip. You’re just trying to scuff the surface. As you get the hang of it and have control, you can work at it in back and forth motions. Stop after every few passes and clean off the are.

Once you’ve knocked down the high spots and no more low spots are showing, you’re ready for sanding. Start with 600-grit and a spray bottle with soap and water. Keep the surface wet as you wet-sand. Then step up to 800 to remove the 600 scratches, then 1,200, then 1,500, and finally 3,000. Now that you’re down to 3,000 grit, the rest will be with a polisher. You can do this by hand, but it’s nice to have a random orbital polisher like the Maxshine M15 Pro to do the work for you. And that’s how to remove drips or sags in clearcoat and paint. See the video for more details.