Paint Question

[Darkwhite]

Hey been awhile

over the winter I have noticed 3 small spots of rust form where the pain was bubbling is there any easy way to touch this up without having to repaint the car like sanding down and touching it up?

I don't think its possible I thought I would just ask anyways :)

Thanks

Adam

[351tt]

A good subject for the home mechanic/do it yourselfer/hot rodder.
Even if you do not use this info Darkwhite, someone else may down the road.

Just to make clear.. I am not a pro painter, but do have some experience with paint and body work.

Places like UAP sell touch up paint in an aerosol can, you have to give them your paint code , they then mix it up to original paint spec.

It is very important to sand [ or grind if needed] the rust out "completely",also if there is any metal removed from grinding/rust , you have to spot putty it back in and blend back to the body line.
Tape off about 2 or 3 inches wider than the area that needs work also including papering a much larger area to protect everything else from over spray, feather [blend smooth] the edges of the surrounding paint to the open metal,[ this has to be done somewhere along the line, depending on if you are using spot putty or not ] give it a solid coat of primer [ that is compatible with the paint you are using ], give it a "light sand" when fully dried with fine grit paper [ like 400+] so as to not leave sand lines/scratches.
I would also only prime where metal is as to not build up primer over the original paint , meaning feather it out at the original paint, but not all the way to the tape so it blends in rather than piles up leaving a heavy primer edge at your tape line .

Once that is done, give it two or three light coats of the paint covering the whole area ,it sprays on fairly dull [ as two stage paints do ],blending the old colour under the new colour.
Remove the tape/paper and with fine paper [ like 800 grit ] very carefully sand all around the tape edge to do more blending , but only enough to take the edge out, meaning about a 1/4 inch strip all the way around.
Tape off a much larger area around the patch [ like another 10 inches out in all directions ] .

**
Just a note here.. taping "areas" will very in size, if you are only doing a rust spot that is the size of a dime, all taped areas can be much smaller , as those little spots can be blended in fairly easy on final polish.
**
Then you spray at least 3 clear coats on the whole new area to bring the shine/colour back.
LET IT DRY COMPLETELY..
Then polish/blend the clear coats [ old and new ] together using whatever you normally would use to do a polish on your car.
It would probably be good to do a polish on the whole car while you are at it.
Just something to remember, when prepping the body, if you can "feel it" when running your fingers over the body line , as in the transition point from paint to primer etc.. then you "will" see it once it is done.
The one area you that I know of that you can cheat a bit on is the final clear over top of everything, if you have enough coats , it can be polished [ wet sand with super fine grit paper , like 800 , then buffed ]smooth to blend the old clear with the new.
Like I said, I am not a pro painter, this is just what I do, and have seen others do .
The paint is about 25-30.00 Cnd per can, you should be able to do quite a few touch ups , but it does go fast, make sure you use a primer to help with the base colour under it so you do not have to over use the paint itself to get a solid colour.
The store will suggest the colour of primer to go with the paint you are using.
Also use compatible clear coats from the same store to have the best chance at success.
And lastly, try to do all this in a low humidity, and fairly warm [ like 70F/21C ] dust free place.
It all sounds alot harder than it is, patience is more important than anything.
Take your time, good luck.
I hope I have made it as clear as possible, if there is anyone who wants to add to or refute any of this, feel free.

Dave.





Hey been awhile

over the winter I have noticed 3 small spots of rust form where the pain was bubbling is there any easy way to touch this up without having to repaint the car like sanding down and touching it up?

I don't think its possible I thought I would just ask anyways :)

Thanks

Adam

[ve3lt]

My two cents:

Well done Dave but I disagree with the masking off of an small area. Featheredging should be done a couple of inches beyond the repair area as you mentioned but leaving a line is not recommended.(unless you feather it out with 400 wet)
Another thing to clarify is whether the paint finish is acyrlic enamel or basecoat clearcoat. Yes you can get spray bombs from UAP as you mentioned, and they are actually very good.(Much better than Crappy Tire!) I personally always prefer a good spray gun over a spray bomb, after all it is your baby your applying paint to. Spray bombs are for your winter beater to clean it up for a safety check and make it look good. Another thing is if a lamen is not familiar with what type of paint is on his car, this may present a problem. A strong basecoat might wrinkle an old enamel or acrylic enamel base possibly? If its base I would blend the base and use clear over the entire panel and blend at the smallest area possible if necessary. Acrylic enamel might be blended with "blend solvents" from RM, DuPont or Sikkens, but this takes a bit of talent and not for the beginner...A home garage would need a compressor, a good spray gun and also the use of "Spray mask" (stuff has a trade name called "Slime") to stop the overspray from sticking to the rest of the car. This can be washed off with soap and water the next day.
I do not wish to discourage anyone from trying a home repair, but paint technology today is very complex as are primers. Undercoats and topcoat application should be left to professionals, and if you can, call a buddy who is in the trade over to do it for you and buy him a pizza or something. I have been in the trade for over thirty years and have seen many changes and we are talking about fifteen or eighteen year old cars here.
Good luck on your endevour, and Dave gave a good account of what should be done.

[351tt]

Thanks for the input ve3lt .
I thought I did say to feather all edges , but maybe it came out wrong?.
Good point on the paint type, I was assuming that all SCs will have base/clear .
I have a devilbiss gun myself [should get a new one though], but most don't want to invest that much into doing spot work, but ya, it is of course the best way to go .
Unfortunatly the shop I worked in when I was a kid was a hacker shop [ and still is ] so I really did not learn anywhere near [ or anything really] what I could have for the short time I was there, the guy was and still is a scumbag in the industry, makes his money from not paying the companies he gets his supplies from.
I "may" [ like I may.. be finishing my twin turbo car.. for that last 4 years.. ] be doing a few paint jobs on my cars this year, so I may be asking for more suggestions when/if that time comes.
That slim stuff sounds cool.. brush on?.
Thanks ve3lt.
Dave.





My two cents:

Well done Dave but I disagree with the masking off of an small area. Featheredging should be done a couple of inches beyond the repair area as you mentioned but leaving a line is not recommended.(unless you feather it out with 400 wet)
Another thing to clarify is whether the paint finish is acyrlic enamel or basecoat clearcoat. Yes you can get spray bombs from UAP as you mentioned, and they are actually very good.(Much better than Crappy Tire!) I personally always prefer a good spray gun over a spray bomb, after all it is your baby your applying paint to. Spray bombs are for your winter beater to clean it up for a safety check and make it look good. Another thing is if a lamen is not familiar with what type of paint is on his car, this may present a problem. A strong basecoat might wrinkle an old enamel or acrylic enamel base possibly? If its base I would blend the base and use clear over the entire panel and blend at the smallest area possible if necessary. Acrylic enamel might be blended with "blend solvents" from RM, DuPont or Sikkens, but this takes a bit of talent and not for the beginner...A home garage would need a compressor, a good spray gun and also the use of "Spray mask" (stuff has a trade name called "Slime") to stop the overspray from sticking to the rest of the car. This can be washed off with soap and water the next day.
I do not wish to discourage anyone from trying a home repair, but paint technology today is very complex as are primers. Undercoats and topcoat application should be left to professionals, and if you can, call a buddy who is in the trade over to do it for you and buy him a pizza or something. I have been in the trade for over thirty years and have seen many changes and we are talking about fifteen or eighteen year old cars here.
Good luck on your endevour, and Dave gave a good account of what should be done.

[ve3lt]

Hi Dave. Sorry to hear about your old boss! I was so lucky to be taught by a very accentric old guy who was extremely fussy! I learned great things even though I was a punk when that happened. Now that I am older I understand why he did the things the way he did. I try to pass that on to my students as well, present day...
As for the "Slime" it is a water based product that is sprayed on right out of the jug. It costs about 25-30 dollars a gallon and can cover about six or eight completes if used correctly. It sprays on wet and dries to a clear film. If you take a piece of masking tape and touch/lift after it dries it looks just like you wrapped your car in saran wrap! The stuff peels off like clear plastic sheeting!!! You still have to mask edges as normal with 3M tape and paper like any normal job, but the "Slime" stops wasted paper and tape to cover the entire vehicle for spot repair.
The best part is that it is water soluable so after you paint the area to be refinished, you just unmask the edges and wash the car like normal the next day and it comes right off.
I use it when I detail engine compartments or on grilles etc to protect the painted areas from any overspray.

If you need any other tech tips feel free to ask as I am a self proclaimed afficianado :D and have over thirty years experience with numerous brands and products.
ttyl...

[Darkwhite]

I am actually trying to find a good body shop in the area that will do touch ups cause I don't trust myself with this haha, anyone know of any around the GTA?

[351tt]

Thanks ve3lt, I just may take you up on that.
Dave.

Hi Dave. Sorry to hear about your old boss! I was so..

*Huge snippage*

If you need any other tech tips feel free to ask as I am a self proclaimed afficianado :D and have over thirty years experience with numerous brands and products.
ttyl...