Bumper paint repair, strange results (pic)

Here in Indy we use a guy that does several of the new car dealers. He does 2 things mostly. Regular paint touch up (brush touching), and minor scuff and scratch repair. Occasionally we'll have him paint a door handle or pillar but mostly it's bumper scrapes and scratches that can't be sanded and removed. He does the same thing a body shop does. Uses a DA to sand the area, then primes and paints. He is very good at blending so you would never guess the area has been fixed. He has a van with all of the equipment like paint guns, air compressor, generator, and also has his own PPG paints that he uses a PPG app on his phone to get the exact mix for, then weighs it on a scale on a drop to drop basis, exactly like a body shop paint room does. This is real base clear, not single stage, so you can still sand it afterwards to get it as smooth as you want but he is good enough that he lays it down very smooth already. He charges around $40 for a full vehicle touch up and between $100-150 for doing the sand/prime/color/clear jobs like OP is doing, and yes this often includes body filler. Makes no sense to try to do it yourself if you have never tried it and are expecting great results, not for those prices.

Far as where to find a person like that, nearly all dealerships that don't have a body shop have to use a person like this, so just go ask a few of them. Most often the same guy will do several dealers in the same area. Shouldn't be hard to find, just make sure they are legitimate. The dealership would probably show you some things he fixed for them.
 
Well, if I tried that in my area, I'd see quotes of many hundred dollars, if not a thousand. $300 for the bumper, $300 for the door panel...you get the idea. I don't mind paying good money for good work, but I'll save that money for something I don't want to try myself.

Thanks again, everyone, this thread has been extremely helpful!
 
One more small question: What grit sandpaper is best to make clear coat stick without leaving visible scratches? I'm reading everything fromm 600 to 2000.
 
I saw a East wood video where the guy used something like a scotch pad doing a touch up so you may go to their site. He said you can get them there.
Eastwood.com

Dave
 
D. Tail -
The higher the number, the finer the grit..
We used to scuff everything with 600 wet or dry paper, we used it wet. and then compounded everything out..

I have seen people use those scotch brite pads in the quickie paint shops like Maaco, etc..,
They are just doing as little as possible to get paint on the car and dont care if it lasts longer than a year or not..

You can use what you want, anything may require some compounding to remove any marks, or overspray, etc., anyway, but I would always get at least 600 or higher..
Good luck !
Dan F
 
Okay, thanks. When I'm doing back taping, should I apply primer, base coat, and clear coat all while the tape is on, or should I remove the tape before applying the clear coat? My understanding is that if clear coat hits an area that doesn't have fresh paint or is otherwise prepared, it would stick well but it won't do any harm. Is that correct?

Edit: Oh, and Dan, one other question. Above you said,

Just do all the Prep work first, then look at the panel, and plan on Back Taping far enough from the work so everything gets a nice, uniform, level, amount of paint.
Yes, some paint will land on good panel parts, but that's ok because you are going to lightly compound over the entire area when its all dried and cured, and that will remove any paint that landed where it didnt need to land..
Click to expand...
You mean I compound between base and clear coat, immediately after the base coat is done flashing? Otherwise, once the clear coat is on, the paint is sealed in and the compounding wouldn't affect anything at the paint level, would it?
 
You apply primer to fill the defect a little. do not get it flush. Wet sand primer so it is only filling. Apply color as near to level as the final clear will fill what is left. I would mask around where the primer is going as you will wet sand until only the defect is primered. Back tape where the color will go. Let the clear coat fill the rest. Back tape slightly past the color to do the clear. If you are using a gun (Large area) or an air brush (I usually use this because it is usually a small area you can mix the clear 10 parts reducer to 1 part clear and start dusting (it will be very wet so be careful) into the back taping. If using Lacquer ( my preference) it will dry quickly. Then you can wet sand and buff but remember to use a mild compound or you may buff right thru everything as touch ups are thinner mainly just he nature of the beast. Remember you only want the primer to give the color something to adhere to. If the defect only made it to the primer but not thru it you can skip the primer all together. Clean the area well with wax and grease remover and wipe with a tack rag before applying any paint (removes dust).

Dave
 
Just a side note. If you are going to play with paint and touch ups you need to get one of these. It is a invaluable tool and mine is 30+ years old with all the original parts. Plus it is made in U S A.
Amazon.com - Badger Air-Brush Co 150-7 Professional Airbrush Set - Hobby Modeling Painting Tools
It will make your life a lot easier than a rattle can and you can do more precise work. You can get a small oil less compressor for air supply. I have a 60 gallon 5 hp from the 80's when I was painting cars with full sized guns and pressure pots.

Dave
 
Thanks a lot, Dave! Unfortunately, the weather is terrible today: hot, humid, intermittent sunshine. Rare for the Pacific NW. So I'll just do some sanding today and maybe start filling some scratches once the sun is safely behind the trees.

That airbrush set looks sweet. If this is something I end up doing more often, I will consider getting some better tools. For now, I am using the Paintscratch kit and 50 bucks' worth of sandpaper, pads, rags, etc. ;)
 
Wow, wet sanding...it's pretty clear I won't get the paint lines out with it, but I love how smooth the finish gets.
 
make shore that you sanding with hard block on the edges that you created sand them carefully with 600 grit do not go far with that you will see the under scratches and you want to keep it small right so when you will flat your edges with 600 go and proceed with 800 grit on top of all the area that you want to paint and that go withh 1000 and gray scuffy pad around the blending area (its for the clear coating) then wipe it with some prepsol agent with two rags with one you wiping on wet and with second wiping dry do not let it dry than go and apply your basecoat if you have air brush then cover the spot repair area and try to bland out the edges carefully do not cover the all matt area that you made for good results you mast to cover the base coat with cleat totally your blanding area have to be covered only with clear if you will have some paint dust with your bland you will not be able to get rid from the clear coat edges
Hope it will help
 
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