Painting by numbers

[Telegram Sam]

I have just finished a repair of the rust spots + holes on my wheel arches. DIY standard (ISOPON 38 + 40 + Hy Vin #5), not brill but enough to keep me going till the panels get replaced. Several coats of Halfords Glacier White aerosol yesterday. >>> What is now the best way to finish off the surface before polishing? Very fine wet & dry (?? grit) or T-Cut / Safe-Cut, or both, or doesn't it really matter? Tks for any advice.

[Cavalier342]

lacquer?

[dave955]

Use some 2000 grit wet and dry , leave it soaking in water overnight to soften then mix shampoo in with the water. Keep the paper will lubricated until the areas are nice and smooth , then do the same with 3000 grit then hit it with some compound/polish and a shit load of elbow grease

[Telegram Sam]

Thanks for the quick reply. I think the finest w + d I've got is 1200 so I'm hoping that if I follow your guidelines that the result will be acceptable. As I said there's no point in aiming for showroom condition since the standard of my filling underneath is nothing to be proud of and the panels will have to be replaced in due course anyway.

If I lacquered it I'd be afraid that the contrast with the surrounding areas would be noticeable - I'd be into mission creep to do the lot.

PS In spite of loads of elbow grease over the past few days there are still some little gaps and imperfections in the ISOPON that no amount of filler primer could fill / even out, so if I come up with a mirror finish then these will be all the more obvious. It's a hard life.

[Telegram Sam]

Do you use / recommend using sanding blocks, curved or flat? I've got one but don't use it since it doesn't follow the contours like your hand does. But my results have not been perfect. If at all then I suppose you would use it on the filler and primer but not on the final surface?

[planetc]

Best idea is usually to use a shaped block, same profile you wish to follow. But given you are finishing and will only knock the top off it I'd go very lightly with well soaked and lubed paper in your hand. Of course, one of the body guys might say different, but from what you say it won't make an awful lot of difference.

[Gaz]

small flat block

[Telegram Sam]

Tks, I'll follow both approaches (but not simultaneously!). + Try to get some ultra fine grit from Halfords on the way back this evening.

[TurboDan]

First of all dont go near it with your 1200 grit paper, chances are it isnt nice expensive 3m stuff and so a cheap 1200 grit paper is equal to 800 grit and so you really dont want to use that.

You either need some good quality 3m 1500 wet and dry paper or some 2000 cheap paper.

Both will do the job. Get some warm water with abit of washing up liquid or some wash and wax, just something soapy. Sand it by hand unless your feally confident then use a small flat rubber block, whoch from your replys are not feeling confident so just use your hand.

Dont go mad with it, you just want to smooth out the imperfections abit and flat down the bits of crap in it(i'm sure theres plenty).

Once done, dry it off. Spray abit of water back on it and polish it up with a good cutting compound, not T cut as it will take all week, not autoglym either as it will never work, Halfords sell a cutting compound or g3.

Do this till its shiney and your happy then wipe off and job done.

BUT.......... I honestly wouldn't bother as i imagine it will end in tears and so i would leave it as it is.

[Telegram Sam]

Just read your reply tks after returning with a pack of Halfords 2500 grit which is currently soaking as per instructions. Other than T-Cut to follow I've got a bottle of "Safe Cut" which I had always assumed to be one stage more idiot proof than T-Cut. I've used both in the past when there's been scratches on the other paintwork.
I think I'll need to do something since certainly parts of the repainted surface feel and look rough and if I take it softly softly ... it's not going in a RR showroom in the end. Just to the next Cavmk3OC North East club meet!

I thought I would finally patch up the bits where the surface is not even (despite my elbow grease earlier) with Halfords "Stone Chip and Scratch Repair System" in my colour.

Couldn't find a small sanding block so will have to rely on fingers

[Telegram Sam]

Couple of places where it turns out that I've been too heavy with the paint and there's an obvious lip that won't go away with 2500 grit or T-Cut Color Fast / White. If I use anything too aggressive it will be back to square one (I'm now about to apply the polish). Would this be a case for your Halfords cutting compound / G3??

Someone ought to market a release agent for masking tape adhesive residue on glass, more effective than cellulose thinners. Make a fortune ...

[TurboDan]

A good masking tape wont leave any residue, unless its been wet and then left to dry and then youve peeled it off then it might.

When you painted it did you literally mask off a square on the quarter panel or did you spray the whole quarter?

Put some pics up.

[Telegram Sam]

The masking tape was left on from last night. You learn the hard way.

In the end I did the whole panels since what starts off as being a rusty spot spreads steadily outwards as each treatment is applied (in my case). What were the rotten spots are now better but I must have put too much ISOPON on because the surface is uneven. At a pinch I can live with that for now. But I would like if possible to get rid of the paint lips elsewhere since they show that whoever did the respray was a mite ham-fisted in going about it!

[TurboDan]

When you say paint "lips" Do you mean paint runs?

[Telegram Sam]

Most likely that's the better expression: Where over a small area only there's one layer on top of another. In this case the overlap line is horizontal but it could equally have been a vertical "run". Either way it would be nice to be rid of it!

[TurboDan]

You wont be able to get rid of it. You will end up flatting through the paint and then haveing to paint it all again.

[btcctroy]

As dan says really. Never sand without some kind of block even if its a credit card. This tends to flat the paint nicely. Your better of with light coats of paint rather than heavy coats.
Don't use Halfords wet and dry its garbage as the paper disintergates leaving the grit all over the surface.
I'm an amateur diy panel beater and painter lol have had hundreds of faults/errors but in the end get good results. I've done all the body work on mine, it isn't perfect like Dave's paint work, but good enough in my humble opinion.

[btcctroy]

The masking tape was left on from last night. You learn the hard way.

In the end I did the whole panels since what starts off as being a rusty spot spreads steadily outwards as each treatment is applied (in my case). What were the rotten spots are now better but I must have put too much ISOPON on because the surface is uneven. At a pinch I can live with that for now. But I would like if possible to get rid of the paint lips elsewhere since they show that whoever did the respray was a mite ham-fisted in going about it!

If your filler looks like its been applied by a Shovel then I suggest you start here, no matter wat you do with the paint it will always look shite. You need to use long flat instruments as blocks to sculpt the bog. Once it look the correct shape spray it black then at this point I tend to use 240 wet and dry to find the low spots. Then fill sand and repeat this process till its bang on. Then wet and dry with 400 just cutting in to the edge of the original paint. At this point the panel should look very nice so give it 2 coats of filler primer just feather it over the original paint. leave it 24 hours. Flat the filler primer with 1200 wet and dry from a paint supplier. Once flattened the panel should have a slight sheen, ready for top coat. Now this might not be the proper way to do it but it works for me.
I do suggest you find a paint supplier in your area that will supply very good quality aerosols and also mix the correct colour for aerosols. Halfords paint is Crap really wasting your time and money

[Telegram Sam]

I am sure that that is the "proper" way to do it and I will keep for future ref.
In these circs however it was a matter of compromise: I don't for a start have a garage so am at the mercy of the day to day weather during the evenings and weekends. Secondly I am planning to replace the panels anyway as soon as "my" welder gets over his hospital op. So it was a case of what I could DIY as a stop-gap in the interim without achieving your standards. If I want a proper job doing I'll just have to pay a professional in the end.
I do however have some Halfords aerosol paint left so am tempted to have a go at removing the paint runs. Would the Halfords rubbing compound (G3??) be the best "amateur" way to do this?

[Telegram Sam]

> Gary / Envoy CDX: Who would you go to in our area for paint + accessories as btcctroy recommends rather than Halfords TVTE?

[btcctroy]

Its nice to have a go at it yourself but I'm not being funny but what is the point doing all this to make it look like a dog's dinner. Paint and all the shit to go with it costs a fair bit to be fair, I have to do all my repairs out doors which isn't easy as it always rains in oldham
I can almost imagine what it looks like from what you have described

[Telegram Sam]

Easy answer: The previous state with gaping holes where the bodge had been removed (by Rustbuster .. another thread) looked so bad that I was ashamed to be seen in the car, above or below the speed limit. Compared with then the present appearance is a masterpiece, so if you value my time at 10 p per hour + materials it was time well spent. Until I get the panels replaced.
I used to live in Bolton. Same as Oldham but not so dry.
Still need advice on removing paint runs.

[TurboDan]

To remove the runs you will need a rubbing block (flat one), and some of the wet and dry paper and just keep sanding away at them with soapy water until you can barely see them. Its very rare that you will be able to get rid of them all together.

Depending on how bad they are a sharp stanly blade will also work to get the majority of the run off first then flat the rest.

But getting runs out is very hard to do nicely and like i said chances are you will flat through the paint and you'll end up doing it again.

PS. I'm talking from years of proffesional experience!

[Telegram Sam]

I might have a go at rubbing down the paint runs. They are not so bad and not into Stanley knife territory thankfully.

For repair of a non-critical non-stressed area where appearance is less important than durability (rust at the far end of the underbonnet cross member that locates horizontally full width above the radiator) I was thinking of using "Chemical Metal" (after treating the rust). As a mid way house between cutting and welding every bit of rust in sight - not practical - and simply filling. Any thoughts / recommendations? Again we are talking DIY not RR showroom.

[btcctroy]

Yes that would work, killing the rust is the difficult bit as I have found it always comes back. The only system I have known to work is por 15. You paint it on the rust which halts the spread. Other than that its sand blast and coat with a cold galv compoind not paint.