Cutting In Paint on Bumper/Fender

I've scraped both nearside and offside corners of the front fender on my new SL 300 and have sprayed the bits affected.

I now have 2 areas of slightly different shade to the original which are also slightly raised at the edges where they were masked, (I know I should have done the panels to the edges but I didnt).

I have sprayed one coat of laquer over 3 coats of the base colour.

Any ideas as to the best way to smooth off the edges and cut the colour into the original?

I will get the whole fender sprayed professionally in the future but I dont want to do it yet as i am likely to scrape the corners again on the walls of my garage.

[Lee Scheeler]

Richard,
About anything you are going to do will look less than showroom in one way or another. In any case it will probably involve much buffing. Some 3M or Meguiar's Mirror Glaze (#'ed lineup in tan bottles) heavy cut, followed by fine/medium cut, followed by swirl remover, followed by polishing glaze, followed by a good wax. An orbital buffer will be almost essential for best results. You might also try wet-sanding with 2000-grit, then doing the steps I've outlined above. Don't expect it to be like new, but you should get some improvement until it can be professionally re-done.

Hope this helps....Lee

[MikeM]

What you are referring to is called feather edging. Lacquer paint will feather edge ( in most cases) where as Enamel will not.

Best approach is to scuff the area effected first (Scotch-Brite (TM) pad, or 600 or higher paper), then paint, speading out the area further on each pass / coat. Still maintain the freshly painted area within the scuffed area. Also, only use the color coat to cover, the clear coat is what you want for protection.

When dry, then 1500 or 2000 grit paper, wet sand whole area, and then start your buffing.


The best way to eliminate the edge is to
1. use a blending agent (I think DuPont 221) 2. Spot in the color coat, 3. wet sand whole area again, and then 4. cover the whole panel/ bumper cover with clear.

DuPont has a book which goes into great detail on refinishing. Purchase it at your local paint supply house. I use their products and have excellent results.

Not sure if your using a gun or not, but it makes a big difference in quality of finish.


Also, if you are doing a plastic flexible pieces you need to use a flex agent in the paints. If not, the first time you deform the plastic, the paint will crack. The flex agent can be use with both Lacquer or Enamel.

In addition repairs using lacquer, there is no chip protection(Flex agent will help). It will chip/pit/pock like a Teenager that eats French fries.