i used a spray can paint to touch up a few rust spots on the trunk, but as i expected the colors don't match exactly. the biggest eyesore is the edges between the old and new paint.

i could repaint the whole trunk after sanding down the whole thing with a 320 grit sandpaper, but still then the trunk would clash with rest of the car.

is it possible to "blend" the edges between the old and new paint by spraying the edges with the spray can without any masking tape?? or will this make it look worse.. keep in mind I'm just looking for a decent DIY result, not a perfect pro-bodyshop job. thanks for help!

You'll most likely be chasing your own tail. Wet sanding w/ 600 grit will knock down the edges of your newly laid down paint, but it won't do much to hide the different shades unless you're talking about a small, small area. Like half-dollar sized spots. Then you'll have to run a buffer over your wet-sanded area.

As for "blending" w/o masking tape, don't bother. If your match is really that bad, you're just spreading out the eyesore. Plus when sun bakes on spray-paint can quality paint, it's gonna fade and look hellish after half a year.

Next time you attack a rust spot, knock out the rust w/ a small screwdriver. After the obvious cleaning, I've found that using a little paintbrush (like you used as a kid) and dabbing some primer followed by paint into the spot seems to stop the rust in most instances. Then if you want to hide your work, wet sand, buff, and then it should be fairly hard to spot your work from a couple feet away.

Next time find a quality paintshop who can better match your paint. They'll whip you up a custom can which really makes all the difference.

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'64 230SL

Paint is typically blended when repairing panels. But a paint gun gives you a whole lot more control than a spray bomb (aka rattle can).

If you want anything approaching a professional result, get a real spray gun, real primer and paint plus activator (if required) and reducer, and practice a lot.

As an old paint and body man once said.." Yer can't spray fade ."


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What you have described is not only possible but regularly done.. if you look in any auto paint book it will show using some paper with a larger hole than where you want the paint in the final stage...
But the trick is that you must fade the sanding edge in the first place...
then you put plenty of paint onto the area... trying not to allow any runs... ( the trick being the tack coat )... then after it dries you block sand it carefully taking it down to even with the original paint...
Try finding a Petersen Publishing company HP book on auto painting...