Just to show you guys you can get results from cans. This is by no means the ' definitive' way to paint, more just my personal process that works for me. I've learnt by doing.. getting it wrong.. doing it again.. and getting it wrong some more! but persistence pays off! Be confident and get stuck in. 1. Prep is key -I get rid of any rust with a grinder, treat and fill as necessary, then I generally go through a few grades of wet and dry until the panel is flat and keyed finishing at around 1500 grit. then wipe the panel I usually use white spirit on a cloth. 2. Next is hot cans and hot panels (use a heat gun) - I leave the cans in hot water, say about 15 mins before I plan on painting, the paint seems to cover and bond better with hot cans and hot panels. 3. I tend to paint with thick coats not thin coats as most people advise. You want to build up thick coats because you need some material to flatback once the last coat is applied. One tip is to paint in long steady strokes and paint past the end of the panel, this will mean you can avoid patchy spots and get even coats. 4. You might want to use some zinc primer on bare metal or head straight for normal primer. Once I start painting I flat back each couple of coats. - 2 coats of thin primer, then flat this back with 2000 grit wet and dry, do this dry as primer is porous. - 2-4 coats of colour, again flat this back after every couple of coats. I flat this stage back wet with warm water with a drop of car shampoo to stop the paper clogging. - finally 2-3 coats of lacquer flatting back after each coat, wet with 2500/3000 grit. you can now polish the paint to a shine. alternatively get the panel really hot again and the can and do one final coat of lacquer after flatting. In this instance this would be your final coat. (I prefer flatting and polishing) 5. Now the panel is painted and flat you need to polish the panel, best done by machine but elbow grease also works.. I used 3m Super Fina on a blue soft pad for this. 6. Once youre happy with the finish let the panel breath overnight if you can then use a good quality wax to protect it and keep topping it up as much as you can. You will find the panel may loose its initial gloss after 6 months or so, just give it a quick polish or if you keep on top of waxing you will have no worries. I use Swissvax Sheild and try get a couple of coats on every 3-6 months. the money shots... Ready for primer this is after all the various coats of paint, flatting and final coat of lacquer ready to be flatted and polished flatted back 50/50 Final result Now the only trouble Ive had is getting the paint thick enough from the cans to be able to flat it back. Sometimes ive had to repaint panels because ive gone through to primer.. you may think just add more coats to built the paint up, but I've found the more coats you apply with cans the deeper the orange peel so its like a never ending circle another tip.. blending this is possible with cans, mask a smaller area off so you can 'feather' the primer when flatting. This will mean you wont have a solid line which shows where you masked. so here you can see where I have masked (previous job) then this is feathered to create one flat smooth surface ready for colour. anyway thats just my process.. hopefully it will be of some help to someone
You've been doing it for years with top results I've always liked reading your diy work. It's the wet polishing I need to learn . Nice one
thanks! thats the easiest part! if you have a sanding block, thats always best as you flat the panel keep giving it a wipe to dry the surface, you'll see how much peel you're getting out
That's excellent!! Thanks very much for posting I must have a go on my tailgate. Do you always use the same brand of paint?
I like the wheel refurb too My Audi'so 18's need a bit of tlc could do a wheel painting guide as well please What should I use for a couple of deep stuffs ? Body filler or metal paste ???
I used just general halfords paint. But i've recently used 2pac lacquer in a can (you can get it from eBay) which goes on soon much better and has more gloss. But its a bugger to flat back as little shards tent to flake off.. this might be another learning curve, maybe you can only flat back 2pac lacquer with G3 compound rather than wet and dry, anybody know?
wheels are the same process, make sure the surface is clean and keyed, but this time no flatting involved I used body filler for the deep marks, and I've never had a problem you'd have thought the centrifugal force would make the filler want to escape but after 2 years I can't even see where I filled mine
I am very impressed at how much of a fine art you've got this down to! You've done that MKII superb justice.
Very good. You will get a better prep result if you used an alcohol based panel wipe. White spirit is oil based and will leave a slight film residue that could react with the primer.
I have a little bit of bubbling on the bonnet of the Anni... What do you recommend to sand it back? I don't have a grinder... Could I use a sanding disc on a drill or a flap wheel?
Just repaired a rust hole in my bonnet. I think I've followed your steps but now I'm trying to polish I still have some 'misty' spots. Any advice?
As per my other thread, I flat it back again with 2000 grit Then with a few compounds I've polished it up. Not the best but will do for now
doesnt look bad at all! I think its very difficult on such a big open panel to paint small patches. you might actually be better off, flatting it again and lacquering the whole bonnet, then polishing as you have done above, looking good mate!
How safety precautions did you take with using the 2pac lacquer? Is it the same as the liquid mix where you need an air-fed mask?
