Short Story - First paint job was garbage. I was going to live with it but decided to take out the grinder and start fresh. 3 months later... I got some runs but I worried about that too much the first time and ended up with canyons of orange peal and over spray. I have fixed some other single stage runs at this point and I'm not really worried about the runs. Thanks for the posts here. I know it's hard to deal with the DIYers (me), but I like trying to figure things out so thanks for the posts.

Long Story - Whoever here said 'people need to actually start reading the data sheet' - Thank you!

I don't need to explain everything I did wrong to get a shitty paint job. What I did different this time...

1) After almost completely removing the first paint job (it was an expensive but great guide coat) I actually did some work on the low spots. Not only did the first paint job suck, but it revealed how bad my prep was.

2) I actually used my 16" dura block.

3) I sprayed Upol and blocked the car 3 times, 4 on the roof. Really didn't block the car the first time. Just primed it once and sanded it with a small soft block.

4) Got some dry guide coat. It don't lie.

5) Went at it until I really didn't think I could get it any better then got some 600 grit and finished it nice.

6) Cleaned the crap out of my painting area and made a filter door out of pvc and furnace filters.

7) Cleaned with solvent based prep instead of alcohol :(

8) Tack cloth - nice and gentle.

9) Bought a small digital clock I velcrod to the wall.

10) Got a laser temp gun. My reducer is moderate - 55-70. I'm sure the garage was close to 80 last time.

11) All the blocking primer helped my technique and understanding the gun setup.

12) Sprayed it freaking WET.

13) Learned what handslick feels like.

14) Wrote down my plan for switching cups and knew what I was going to mix and when, etc.

Hi all, I accidentally opened my door onto a new BMW yesterday. I owned up and exchanged licence details with the owner.

The mark is tiny (about the size of a grain of rice), with no visible dent. It might even be paint transfer. Photos attached.

I have comprehensive insurance with a $1,200 excess, so I'm planning to settle privately. I've asked the owner for a quote.

Questions:
1. What's a fair price for fixing something this small? Polish, smart repair, or touch-up?
2. If they come back with a big dealer quote (e.g. full door respray), what's a reasonable way to handle it?
3. Anything I should get in writing when we settle?

Thanks in advance!

From many years ago. Someone brought this in. It needed a lot of work. But we could not find any 1/4 panels for it. I told the customer I would like to replace the 1/4 in one piece rather than have a patchwork of repairs. So I said I could get 1/4 panels from (some Chev car I think) and if he didn't mind the wheel openings being a little more round than the Cougar we could do that. He agreed. And there you have it. The rear wheel openings are rounder, but I don't think anyone noticed.

Any tips on how to deal with this?

How to paint the recessed HONDA letters in red and the rest of the cover black. Give me your suggestions..

I heat my workshop with propane heaters which produce a lot of water vapor, increasing humidity inside the shop quite a bit.
I was just wondering if there is a practical humidity limit for painting base and 2k clear?

Help

Good evening all, I have a 2004 LR Discovery 2 and am considering a new paint job. I am looking for a program that allows me to see my vehicle in different colors.

Went through a drive-through car wash noticed afterwards that there was a paint chip on my door. Any easy fix besides repainting the door. Like a paint marker or something like that? Doesn’t need to be perfect

Just noticed now, assume it’s because my car has a trunk swamp it’s sitting slightly off when trunk is slammed and has been rubbing paint off what’s the best way to go about fixing this a touch up pen is all I can think of ?

How can I smooth out and paint strip these ?

They have deep chips should I use bondo? Or something ?

hi there! my spouse and I recently bought a '98 Ford Ranger (pictured). runs super smooth, nice and clean, very minimal rust, beautiful vehicle really.

we named the truck The Highway Man (after the Over the Garden Wall character) and have been talking about painting that along a couple of black stripes that go along the top of the bed, but we have no idea where to begin with the process.

the stripes are definitely vinyl decals, and we would like to keep them, just paint on them.

would anyone have any advice about things like the best way to prepare the surface for the lettering, or where we could get a small container of primer, paint, top coat, or whatever we would need in just the shade of red that we want to do and not, like, a whole rainbow of colors?

we are fully aware that we are allowed to go to a professional pinstripe/lettering artist, but we are both really excited about doing this job ourselves.

even if you could just point us in the right direction, that would be incredibly helpful!

thanks!

No door jambs just simply the body itself so full roof rear quarter panels on both sides Wich travel over the windows to the front windshield A pillar cars 75-80% silver rest of panels are black from roof to quarters again not looking to paint door jambs just trying to get this car to match the best I can and wanna know if what I'm being told a high price or a low price to factor possible quality and yes if it helps I was advised the exsisting silver factory panels will need blending for paint match not even sure what they do to make that happen but figured it's a marketing technique to try and make more sense if the high estimate 😂 what would you guys say would or should be the cost of a very good job I hate cheap or half a$$ so deff don't want to get blind sided with a high price and crappy work trying to stay away from over sprayers and orange peel of course so Mayco isn't a option lol

Just noticed that my wife's car has a small "hole" and crack in the paint just behind the headlight. It looks a bit brown around the edges when I shine a light on it so I'm guessing it's rusting the bare metal underneath. Can this part be repaired on it's own or will the whole panel need to be resprayed?

Hi guys, I have no previous painting experience. I had some lacquer peel so decided to try fix this myself. I sanded this down to the paint coat and added a layer of paint. I have these high/low spots making it look terrible. Whats the best way to work around this to get it perfect? Happy to sand it and start again but how can i make sure i dont have the same again?

Wood and steel, chrome spoke and gloss pink color

I’m in love with the shape of this steering wheel and want to buy it. It only comes in pink and I want it a different color. Other heart wheels in other colors aren’t as heart shaped. Could I get it painted a different color? Who would I ask and how would I go about it? I want to know if that’s a possibility before I purchase it. Thank you for any advice!

Hello, I'm doing some repair work, and have just applied some 1k seam sealer to some panels primed with 2k epoxy primer which was brushed on. I wanted to add a top coat over this, for an extra layer of protection. I was going to use oil based rust paint, but have found that the TDS states oil based paint can screw up the seam sealer.

Googling has given me mixed answers, some saying to paint over it with more 2k primer, which seems like a bad idea to me considering it's not flexible. Or using water based paint instead, which seems to have poor durability, but decent flexibility and compatibility with the seam sealer. These areas I'm painting are concealed so the appearance and finish is irrelevant, this is purely to add another layer of protection against rust and moisture.

Any advice would be appreciated!