Hey all, well to cut the long story short (long story below), I've some paintwork which I've attempted to patch up using a colour-matched aerosol. Now the deal is, the paint on my car has a reflective shine, whilst the *ahem attempted patchwork* doesn't. So what do I do, should I spray on clear (if so, how do I spray it on) or is there a really good wax that makes the patchwork blend in with original?

As I'm a uni student on the tightest budget in the world, I don't really want to take it to anyone and pay money..guess you'd understand.



LONG STORY here:

Ok, there were these major scratches, so I masked up the area, sand papered it a lil, then sprayed on paint, then clear. Now the problem was, the clear was thicker than the original clear, and the boundary of the spray on clear was really oustanding, so I peeled off and sanded(big mistake) off the clear, leaving alot and alot of hair line scratches and oxidised paint:redface: (when the car body goes white in the scratched areas), so I sprayed on the colour again, and left with that I have.:confused: :redface: :cry:

dude you could try and use some type of polish, i would try that before attempting to spray on a clear coat over the area!!!

suggestion on a really good brand of wax/polish that makes things shiny?

I'd cut and polish it, go to supercheap to the wax and polish part and get one, it's just called Cut and polish, it gets out scratches in the clearcoat.

Good job at butchering your paint.
I bet cut and polish (I hate that term) will do jack.
At the very least you'll need a levelling compound. Good luck.

Poor Magna.

Good job at butchering your paint.
I bet cut and polish (I hate that term) will do jack.
At the very least you'll need a levelling compound. Good luck.

Poor Magna.

Ja you summed it up pretty nicely, before touching anything on your car it pays to do a little research to do it right.
if your gonna spray, dont mask it so the paint blends in

']Ja you summed it up pretty nicely, before touching anything on your car it pays to do a little research to do it right.
if your gonna spray, dont mask it so the paint blends in


Grah the instructions LIEEEDDDD:rant:

It sounds like you made a pretty mess of it. Firstly, unless you had dents etc that you had to fill, I would have just suggested brush touching for a beginner.

To fix the mess - you need to sand it out again, with a good quality wet and dry - don't attempt to use poilsh on oxidised paint, you will shoot yourself in the foot. Don't attempt to get back to bare metal etc. Just get the rough areas smooth.

Clean up with water, then prepsol (wax and grease remover)

Mask off your area you want to spray, and now spray a light coat of spray putty - its grey. Its task is to fill in all of the crappy little scratches etc. that you have made, and makes the repair area far less obvious.

Remove your masking. Now use wet and dry again over this, working it till you get to 1200, you CANNOT see any scratches/marks. You must also sand the edges where you have masked or you will get a 'step'. If you can feel this, you have a problem - you need to keep sanding :)

Once you are completely satisfied - you need to clean the area with prepsol again. This will remove any residual wax/silicon buildup/fingerprints/tar/birdcrap/etc.

Mask off an area far larger than you plan to spray. Pick your day or do this in a garage. If outside, do not spray with the panel in direct sunlight - not too windy or humid either. Preferably about 20 degrees.

Spray left to right, with nice even strokes. Multiple coats, allow to dry between coats. Don't hold the can too close, it will overcoat and run. Don't hold too far, it will dry before it hits the body and look 'sandy'.

You will spray over all of the spray putty - and some of the paintwork you will have sanded over - feather this rather than ending abruptly. The masking is to protect the glass/rubber and is NOT a line to spray over if it can be avoided. You will have to compound or you will have steps - very ugly.

Once you have applied the paint and are satisfied (allowing to dry between coats or depending on the label on the can) - It is time to apply the clearcoat. Check the preparation for this on the can, most apply directly to the colour coat.

Apply the clear in much the same way as the colour coat - it must cover both the colour coat and the existing paintwork. Same rules apply here as to the colour coat with masking.

When finished, allow to dry. You will need to polish off the overspray, feathering outwards from the repair. Don't use anything too abrasive though. The paint will need to harden over time so avoid excessive pressure etc.

Cheers
Heath Young

Panel & paint is damned labour intensive. :doubt:



Only thing Heath left out was...

If painting with spraycans, warm the can under the hot tap before painting.
Warm paint sprays finer & at higher pressure - don't use the paint cold.
Doesn't need to be hot, just like skin temp will do.

Ok I've sanded down to remove my extra clear coat from my previous paintjob (No, I have not done Heath's intructions..yet..as I might be able to get away with it and I dare not touch an aerosol can again..but thanks Heath, cause I might do it if I'm still unhappy), so now I'm back to the original paint.

There are many minor scratches, but they seem almost normal (for the age of the car), but it's just missing its glossiness. Would a good quality wax do the trick, and if so, what brand?

And also, how do you avoid the sandiness texture that forms from using an aerosol. Seems almost inevitable.
Cheers