So I'm finally looking into fixing the horrible, disgusting clear coat on my TR that makes me ashamed to drive it.

I'm not 100% sure what to do, so I was wondering if I could get some advice on what option would be better?

1. wet/dry sand off the entire layer of clear coat on the affected panels (roof, boot, bonnet), trying hard not to damage the exposed paint, respray clear coat.

2. wet/dry only the affected areas of clear coat, just the 'blistering', so it's smooth, trying hard not to damage the exposed paint, respray clear coat.

3. wet/dry the panels to, I guess 'scuff' is the right word, the clear coat and exposed paint. Buy color-matched aerosol vehicle paint, respray the paint of all three panels over the old paint/clear, respray the clear.

Respraying just the clear would leave the exposed patches of paint looking strange. But my car is like 20 years old, so the paint is probably faded. If I respray with paint then the three panels may not match the rest of the car.

Which one would look the least ridiculous?
Which one would be done the quickest?

Rub back with wet and dry to good surface. Paint with iso-free two pack isolator primer, paint over with Acrylic Colour, finish in iso-free clear if doing the job at home light cut with 2000 wet n dry polish and it is fixed....... lots of masking required............. rare re-appearance by Ernysp76..... POOF he's gone again.

$360 of materials went into this car and painted straight out of the gun no polish. Don't muck around with Acrylic other than to lay down the colour, iso-free two pac for isolator coat and clear is best for a new sprayer. Have painted heaps of cars in the garage at home and had no problems, I'm not a spray painter just careful and wait for a day of about 24 degrees to paint.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g122/ernysp76/Excelresprayoutofthegun.jpg

Rub back with wet and dry to good surface. Paint with iso-free two pack isolator primer, paint over with Acrylic Colour, finish in iso-free clear if doing the job at home light cut with 2000 wet n dry polish and it is fixed....... lots of masking required............. rare re-appearance by Ernysp76..... POOF he's gone again.

I was foolishly hoping to be able to do it with purely aerosol. Do any of those products have a solution or will I need a spray gun?

I wouldn't recommend aerosol for anything but the kids billy cart, sorry but it's just not quite up to the task unless there have been serious advances in technology/quality in the last 10 years.
Trying to save the original colour is unlikely to work either and definitely not if it's a metallic. As ernysp76 says, cut it back, prime/seal, paint and clear.

I wouldn't recommend aerosol for anything but the kids billy cart, sorry but it's just not quite up to the task unless there have been serious advances in technology/quality in the last 10 years.
Trying to save the original colour is unlikely to work either and definitely not if it's a metallic. As ernysp76 says, cut it back, prime/seal, paint and clear.

Got to agree. New clear on old paint will look patchy - where the colour was exposed to the weather will look darker - and there is every chance the fresh clear will just lift patches of the old paint as it hardens.
Do some more research, then invest in proper spray gear and paint, and be prepared to spend a lot of time on it. You will then find resprayed areas will stand out a lot compared to the old areas in tems of shine and colour, and then you will think about redoing the rest of the car too. lol Alternatively get some quotes from the pros, but be prepared for a shock due to the amount of labour involved.

I've had some success ripping the whole car back to factory primer, then respaying in acrylic primer and acrylic solid colour with no clearcoat. Acrylic doesn't last though, 5 years down the track it will look very second hand. Still, comparatively cheap, $500 for paint materials and about $300 for compressor and spray equipment, but about 1 to 2 weeks of full time work.

I've done 5 cars like this now, well over it, no more! Bought a TL with pristine paint a week ago. (hint, hint)

if the paint is that old even if its a perfect color match it wont match because of the new and old paint. your better off getting a panel shop to respray the whole car

if the paint is that old even if its a perfect color match it wont match because of the new and old paint. your better off getting a panel shop to respray the whole car

Unfortunately most people don't want to spend that much money, usually the paint job will cost 5 to 10 times the value of the car. I see a lot of second genners at the wreckers with dead paint but little other damage.

For fun and giggels, the OP should research $50 paint job on the net, thinned paint and a roller, lots of layers. lol

examle: from http://www.rickwrench.com/index79master.htm?http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html

http://www.rickwrench.com/images-sounds/rustweb/polished4.jpg

I wouldn't recommend aerosol for anything but the kids billy cart, sorry but it's just not quite up to the task unless there have been serious advances in technology/quality in the last 10 years.

Auto paint places put the exact same quality of paint in a 1 litre tin as a spraypack nowadays (acrylic). They mix it while you wait and just add thinners to the correct ratio........
You can even get 2 pack in aerosol. The can is split into two parts and you have a device to push to mix them when ready to use. One shot wonder though as will go hard over a certain time period if you donot use the lot............ Vee

Auto paint places put the exact same quality of paint in a 1 litre tin as a spraypack nowadays (acrylic). They mix it while you wait and just add thinners to the correct ratio........
You can even get 2 pack in aerosol. The can is split into two parts and you have a device to push to mix them when ready to use. One shot wonder though as will go hard over a certain time period if you donot use the lot............ Vee

Maybe. But a good spray gun will give much smoother coverage than a wimpy nozzle on a spray can. A spray gun used properly will give you a smooth finish, rattle can won't.
A pro will colour match.
A small paint mix made up to fill a rattle can won't be accurate in colour, unlike a 4L tin of the pre thinned paint.