How to paint base paint and clear coat?

[maxye100]

I really need some suggestions on this....

My question is if I just want to repaint one little part (like one square inch) of the car body, how to make it smooth to the area around the repainted section? If I plan to use tape and news paper to block the paint but it will creat a edge line at the edge of the tape, how can I make it smooth? Shold I use tape to expose only the section (1 square inch) or should I repaint a larger area so no edge line for the new paint will be recognized? Which clear coat I shoud choose? can I just wet sand the original clear coat and then airbrush on the sanded surface of the old clear coat?

-Thanks!

[Jaguar]

I am not sure on this, as I am not a body/paint person, but perhaps you would get more repsonses if you did not put this post in the Poorboys forum. :dunno

[kimwallace]

I am not sure what you are trying to paint but todays base Coat Clearcoat finishes are almost impossible to blend without clearcoating an entire panel or stopping at a ridge or crease in the panel.
I have done a couple areas using an air brush and this is what I have done:
1. Wet sand the area and beyond where you will be painting with 2000 grit paper.
2. Mask off everything that you don`t want overspray on (the clear coat takes some time to harden and it sticks to everything)
3. Wipe down the area you will be painting with denatured alcohol
4. Mix the base coat and its reducer and pour into air brush paint container
5. Wipe off area to be painted with a tack cloth
6. Spray base coat in tha smallest possible area needed to cover the defect and still blend with the existing paint
7. DO NOT touch the base coat ... if you make a mistake, let dry and wet sand and then apply another coat
8. After the base coat flashes, mix the clear coat and hardener
9. Spray two thin coats of clear each on extending beyond the base and the first coat of clear.
10. If you have reducer for the clear, spray a coat of it over the entire area.
11. Let sit for a minimum of 24 hours
12. Lightly wetsand if needed (2000 grit) and buff to restore shine and blend.
After all this you will still notice where the repair was made ...
Keep in mind that to get the best match and quality you will need to buy paint from a local body shop supply store. There are many quality products but for single panel repairs with out curing with heat, I have had the best luck with DuPont`s base coat and clear. This will probably cost you between 50.00 and 100.00 for materials, because there a minimum quantities you have to purchase.
Hope this helps and good luck