Paint questions

[kingrob]

OK, here's what I did:

Bought a new beater Buick minus a front pass. side fender. Picked up a decent one at the junkyard, took it down to bare metal. Primered it and wet sanded the primer down smooth.

I picked up the correct Dupli-color aerosol spray can at AZ. The only thing is I've never spray-painted such a large section of car before, and I'm trying to get it to look half-way decent. The rest of the car is immaculate on the exterior so I'm trying to determine the best way to get this to blend good and not look like it came out of a spray can. TIA for tips and experience.

 

[punisher]

Honestly, it will look like it came out of a can no matter what you do. All colors fade, and anything out of a can that isn't mixed to match that aged paint will be noticable. Modern finishes are a basecoat-clearcoat. If you had some way of laying a clearcoat over the spraycan finish it might not stick out too badly. If it is a metallic color, give up trying to match it.

 

[kingrob]

It's not a metallic finish, and the paint I have matches it somewhat from the areas I've tested. It's just a bit too bright compared to the rest of the vehicle. I was going to follow it up with a couple of coats of clearcoat.

 

[demarpaint]

Punisher is correct in saying it won't match no matter what. But if you do a few light coats of paint, let it dry as per directions, then lightly sand with 600 wet or dry, clean the surface, and apply a clear coat you might get it to look fairly good.

This time of the year is a little tricky depending where you live. A warm shop is ideal. Another thing I would do is heat the spray paint cans up with hot water. Note, HOT, not boiling. The paint will flow a lot better.

HTH,
Frank D

 

[kingrob]

Thanks Frank. Should I polish after sanding or just wash and clearcoat?

 

[mcrn]

just repaint the rest of the car to match the fender! haha j/k but there used to be a guy that painted cars in my neighborhood when I was a kid that painted cars with spray cans and it looked really good actually. But he did pain the entire car so he was not trying to match it up but it is possible to look decent.

 

[punisher]

Originally Posted By: mcrn
just repaint the rest of the car to match the fender! haha j/k but there used to be a guy that painted cars in my neighborhood when I was a kid that painted cars with spray cans and it looked really good actually. But he did pain the entire car so he was not trying to match it up but it is possible to look decent.


The following is true:

Across the border in Mexico, there were literally "tent" paint shops on the side of the road. You would take your car down there, a kid would "prep" (wash and sand and mask) while another would do quickie Bondo work, and another would run to the paint store to get any color you wanted. Once the paint (dirt cheap lacquer)arrived, someone would spray paint with an old fashioned pump type bug sprayer. After the paint dried, it would be wet sanded and buffed by hand. Behold a ready to sell used car.

 

[mechtech2]

I would not have wet sanded the primer. That was a mistake.
You want it to have more 'bite'.
Shoot another light coat on before spraying the top coat.
You then wet sand the color coat, adfter you apply a sufficient thickness.
It will look good for 2-3 weeks, then any imperfections will show as the paint fully dries. And they will show unless you are a pro.

 

[kingrob]

I'll re-prime the surface. After applying the clearcoat, should I wet sand again or leave it be?

 

[TooManyWheels]

You can wet sand the clear coat. Chances are you will want to due to debris inclusions.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: kingrob
I'll re-prime the surface. After applying the clearcoat, should I wet sand again or leave it be?


As mechtech2 mentioned you wet sand the clear coat after you have the desired thickness. The key is not to sand through the clear coat, which quite often happens. I've seen some DYI repairs rival some of the hack body shops around here, just take your time.

One last suggestion: try and do the balance of the job when the humidity is at its lowest, in a heated garage. Have the car in the garage and at the same temperature of the garage. Put another way, leave the car in the garage a few hours or over night with the heat running. The small oil filled electric radiators work well this time of the year. Good luck!

Frank D

 

[kingrob]

Yeah, I've been kind of waiting for the right weather as I don't have an indoor garage. The next few days would be perfect, low humidity and consistent 60 degree weather, except it's supposed to rain for the next two days

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll post the results when I'm done. I'm not trying to get it perfect, but I would like it to be kind of unnoticeable till you get right next to it.

 

[mechtech2]

Once again, you don't want a shiny surface for the clearcoat to adhere to.
So don't go crazy with wet sanding the color. You are trying to smooth it for imperfections - you don't want a gloss at this point.
You can fine wet sand the clear if needed and get it as smooth as you like before polishing it.
Hopefully, a final coat of clear will not need much sanding.

And one more thing - soak your wet sanding paper in water for 1/2 day before using it. It will help, not hurt it. It will cut better and not load up as much.

 

[ted s]

there was no reason to sand off the original paint.