Hi all

With time on my hands I thought I would have a go at repairing a rusty wheel arch. Took time to research and buy correct parts needed, ordered correct paint (I think)

Sanded all the rust away, filled, primed, painted and clear coated. Left for a few days used at/dry sandpaper 1500 then 2000, then 3000. Buffed and ended up with the end product below.

What did I do wrong?

Is the Paint the correct colour, gave Halfords the correct code, but did they supply correct paint?

Please help. How can I rectify this?

 

That should have read ‘Wet/dry Sandpaper’

 

Just a guess; Don't know what you did; you can not sand the color metal flake, that will give it a dull appearance. To correct you will have to sand the whole thing and start again with the color coat.

 

Hi Zip439 thanks for your reply

Are you saying I shouldn’t have sanded after painting?

 

What type of paint did you use ? It is difficult to blend metallic paint which is why some times the whole panel requires painting . In this case , it looks like you sanded too far into or thru the new paint .
The only way I've had acceptable luck blending into a small area is w/ a single stage urethane paint or w/ lacquer.which is hard to get nowdays & must be applied in very light coats . You may be able to rectify what you have by airbrushing on another coat of base & clear , sand LIGHTLY , then buff or hand rub w/ a medium rubbing compound . I've recently used paint & primer to do small jobs from Microfinish ,New Orleans , which they supplied in aerosol cans to match my wife's Camry & was surprised at the match & quality ! For about $60 I got a can of good quality primer , paint (I think urethane) , & a can of topcoat for less than the price of a pint of urethane at a paint shop .
Their ph is 888 710 5192 .
Good luck !

 

Again, you are not specific enough in your quote; Yes, you can not sand the color metallic coat. The metal flake is damaged and the color metal flake will dull. Put your clear coat over the top of the color coat and only sand the clear coat. Then buff it out. You will have to start over basically and lightly sand what you have in order for the new color to adhere to the car.
I concur with twanger.

 

Thanks for your replies.

I only sanded lightly after putting on the clear coat. I didn’t sand the paint itself.

 

You can put on more than one coat of color and as well the clear .

 

I applied 3 coats of colour and 2 of clear coat, left it for 2 days then lightly sanded with 1500, then 2000 and 3000 wet/dry sandpaper

 

Sounds like the correct process ?? Was the paint mixed well & w/ clear added look OK before sanding ?

 

Yes paint was mixed well and looked better before sanding. There was a slight white haze around the repair that I had done. Thought that would come out with the sanding/buffing processes etc

 

The only other solution I can think of that would cause a bleed thru like that is too little or the wrong primer . If u do it again I'd suggest initially using a good light color primer w/ light sanding before color .
I mentioned airbrush as that's what I always use for a small area . U can shield from overspray cutting a pc of cardboard the shape of the upper edge & hold it away about an inch & vertically just above the surface . Good to practice this before hand to get distances on another surface .

 

Thanks Twanger, I will try again

I will post a picture of the other arch if I can

 

 

This is the other arch that I did, thought it turned out ok. Not yet sanded and buffed it