Bfenty

confab

Yeah, there's about 1K in paint and supplies in mine.. I assume an overall for yours would be similar. And yeah, the metallic will mess you up on a panel to panel job, because the flake won't match and even little things like air pressure differences and technique will make big, big differences in the way they match.

Another option people used to do here, when they were in that situation, was to do the body work themselves and all the prep, get it totally ready.. Then take it to a Maaco (or similar outfit) and have them hit it with their top of the line Basecoat paint.. Because the materials they use (Or used to use?) are actually pretty good.. It's just their bodywork and prep that sucks.

Perhaps that is an option for you? You might even get a discount if your car is prepped to a point where they can just tape it, wipe it down and spray it with no other effort expended on their part?

Good luck!!

Bfenty

I got a quote from a local shop I trust for just fixing the two panels and it's about $500 if I do the prep work myself. Still pretty pricey...

cv67

Recleared my 02 silverado (black) about 7 yrs ago started peeling about a yr ago. Red scotchbrite pad scuffed it up pretty good, clean and shoot.
Looked every part of fresh paint for a few yrs now looks like a meth mobile.
Prep a section, try it out see how it goes before you go too deep, you can rent a spray gun.
Sometimes auto paint supply houses know someone who will hook you up, lots that work at those places do it on the side.

Bfenty

Bfenty

Bfenty

The way I see it, If it lasts for a couple years and looks ok, I spent $20 and a couple hours on it and can always have the pros repaint it later (at some point, I fully expect to have this car 100% repainted-just might be when I get a nice bonus). I've learned something and made my car look better in the meantime. If it fails tomorrow, well...I'm not really out anything I don't think. It looked pretty bad before, hopefully this will help.

I sanded with 1000 grit to smooth out the edges, then with 2000 grit to scuff it up nicely. I actually went through the color coat slightly on the mirror, but only in a small spot (I started on the mirror because I figured that's the easiest part to have painted someplace).

After laying on a few coats of clear, I sanded with 3000 grit to smooth it out a little more, then laid another few coats, then finally finished it off with 5000 grit. Once it has had time to harden up more, I will take a DA polisher to it and get the final shine on it. I'll post pics at that point, but wanted to share progress.

I'm using the 2k SprayMax stuff, I've used other clear coats before that were garbage, this stuff seems to be the real deal. Obviously time will tell, but I'm impressed so far. If you use it, WEAR A RESPIRATOR. I was wearing one but took it off too quickly and caught a good wiff of the stuff-it made me nauseous all night. Hopefully didn't give me cancer...

mic575

That looks good, nice work! Keep us updated on the progress and how it holds up over time. There are a lot of C4's that could use a technique like this.

Bfenty

It's hard to see in photos (and hard to see in person), but there is a bit of discoloration where the clearcoat had peeled before. It's darker than the rest of the paint, but like I said it's barely noticeable even in person and very difficult to photograph. I'm hoping the overall shininess will keep it from being noticeable.

It's not a 10/10 repair job for sure-more like 7 or 8/10. A full repaint would be better. That said, it's definitely an improvement so far. I'm hoping when I do the final polish it will come out nice.

VikingTrad3r

Bfenty

End of the day, I drive this car on a pretty regular basis. Keeping it in show car shape isn't practical, but I want it to still look decent at least.

drcook

you know of you mask a bit larger than the area you intend to paint, then work at feathering and blending it out, when you come back and sand with 1500 grit paper and buff it, it will show less, have a less definitive line where you cleared it at

Bfenty

mic575

I'll take a strong 7 or 8/10 every day of the week.

Bfenty

Turns out you were absolutely right. I sanded it down again but there was a BAD line where the tape came off. Then I sprayed the SprayMax back on, but I'm at the 48 hour timeframe...apparently they're not kidding, it didn't quite go on like it did before.

About 2 hours later and it's hardening up and looks a lot better than it did at first. Still, there's some running that I'm going to have to deal with. I could always just sand it down and start over but then I have to buy another can of SprayMax, which is expensive stuff...

Both the mirror and the B pillar came out looking GREAT-I'll buff them out in a day or two once it's had a good chance to set up, and I'm sure they're going to come out just fine.

All in all, I would highly recommend this process. It's easy and appears to be coming along very well.




After about 2 hours of setting, it looks a lot better. There are still clearly runs in it, but some careful sanding ought to make short work of those.



This is what it looked like after I sprayed it...ugh

drcook

the man that sprayed the stripes on my car uses paint sticks to wrap the paper around. it is easy to control and makes a solid backer. (of course he has other blocks he uses also. he taught me some tricks for repairing the clearcoat.

there were a couple fisheyes. after sanding, I dabbed clear in and used the paint stick trick as well as other little blocks I purchased at API. you can also wrap paper around a dowel to get some control

the point is that you want to smooth the run and edges down, taking off the high point without dishing out the clear next to it.

https://garage.eastwood.com/eastwood...rcoat-defects/

ddahlgren

It will be interesting to see buffed out and no masking in pic. I am faced with worn out clear on top of bumpers and thinking about clear coat to belt line. Mine is a driver as well and has its fair share of nicks and scratches. The joy is in driving though not hiding it in a garage.

Bfenty

Bfenty

TheMongoose

For me the problem has been getting to a good section of clear that won't peel off when I'm wet sanding OR peel off later. The problem is that the clear coat is not adhered to the base coat. Applying new clear over the old (happens at the edges at a minimum) puts more stress on the existing clear and helps to pull it off also. The problem has plagued our '98 Firebird. I've even gone over it with a plastic scraper to try and get anything loose or weak off the car to no avail.
So my advice would be if you do this to be careful when feathering the edges of the existing clear coat to try and not make them any bigger. Then minimize the overlap of the new clear and the old clear. If you go to a local paint supply shop you can get a can of 2 part clear. It has a red **** on the can that will add the hardener to the clear spray inside the can when you are ready. That's as close to a body shop repair as you can get as the paint will harden and be really durable.