Paint Restoration Questions
 

I looked around this section of the forum and online but I have a few specific questions.

This started out with a botched rust repair job, I didn't know too much about automotive painting but have slowly gotten the hang of it.

So I went back through and repainted parts and topped them off with spray can clear coat. I'm trying to get them finished to look like the rest of the car. My question is what products should I use to get the shine like the rest of the car?

The rubbing compound works well on the surfaces that I havent touched. I've gone through the car and sanded it with 2000 grit sandpaper, 1500 or 1000 in parts with scratches.

I tried the areas with the clear coat sprayed on and they look good but not mirror finish. I sanded them down with 1500 then 2000 and then washed and buffed rubbing compound on then off. How do I get a mirror finish on there?


What I currently have is

6" Buffer
Synthetic Wool bonnets
cotton bonnets
microfiber clothes
Meguiars Ultimate Rubbing Compound
1000, 1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper.

Im thinking about meguiars ultimate polish after that.

You'll not likely ever going to achieve a comparable finish using a rattle can. It just simply doesn't work. If it did, a lot of body shops would be out of business. Your best bet would be in the future, use a single stage paint instead of trying to add a clear coat afterwards. One thing you'll want to think about is, most automotive finishes these days are measured in Thousandth's of an inch. You won't be able to achieve that using a basic can. Most body shops can't even seem to get that part right these days, hence seeing many cars with slightly different colors where repairs have been done.

Also, some guys are decent at blending. However, in my experience, blending may look good for up to a couple years, but it always shows in the future. You'll find that any area with replacement paint that wasn't done in the correct method will wear down faster and become dull.

Now, some may disagree with me on this topic. However I ran a very large automotive care center for better than 13 years, and went through all kinds of detail certifications (which I found basically uselss.....you learn more by immersion or trial and error than anyone can ever teach you) I've seen just about everything you can imagine over those 13 years.

Yeah, working with my car im starting to see that. I've been learning a lot. Clear coat is a bit more complicated than I thought. But I've been able to work with it. I got some tips from a guy at a body shop who was really encouraging. He said I didn't have to clear coat the entire hood to get a good finish.

The original paint I ordered came with a great clear coat that I didnt realized worked so well until I bought clear coat at the store. At the body shop I bought my cars paint it it looks like a single stage. The gloss finish goes on with the paint.

But despite the different tactics I've found that I can strip the crappy duplicolor clear coat with acetone and just blend the patches I need fixed then buff the entire thing out. Ill post pics so you guys can see what I'm working with. I don't need it perfect, just fixed up on a budget.

Another question I have is- I bought turtle wax rubbing compound for something more aggressive after claying (then applied the meguiars compound, then polish). Do I use a wool or foam bonnet? I'm not sure which cuts more aggressively. And does swirlx do a good job at getting the swirl marks out? Or am I better off with patience using what I have?

I'd have to see to fully understand what you're getting at. As for compounding, you'll use a wool pad to do the bulk of the actual "cutting," followed by a foam pad to take care of the swirls created in the process. So use your compound first with wool pads. Make sure you keep the wool pad free and clear of chunks and matting. Contrary to the belief of many, you need not run the rotary at 10 million rpm. I typically try to stay in the 1750 rpm range, but this varies based on what you're working with obviously. Once you've achieved the desired repair, you can then go to the foam. Over the years, I developing a liking to use a Dewalt DA sander with foam pads. It really does a fine job fixing the swirls created. However you can also use the rotary. The key is simply slow and steady.

Ok. I will try that out since I have the problem of swirls in some places.

Thanks for your help. I will upload pics soon to show what I'm talking about.