**Need rattle-can spraying advice please!**

Akagi

Akagi

Akagi

Caporegime
Joined
29 Jul 2011
Posts
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In acme's chair.
Hi guys, my silver Polo currently has a white quarter panel and a very rough quality silver front bumper, both of which I will be looking to re-spray myself.

My Polo is a 2002 9N 1.2E in standard LA7W reflex silver, the paint quality is very questionable over the whole car, with subtly different shades of silver from past repairs, a few dents, scratches, thin paint on the bonnet, swirl marks all over, it is awful.

For this reason, I am not looking to spray the parts to be "factory perfect", I just want to spray them so that they look presentable, so that when you look at the car, you aren't instantly aware that a couple of bits have been hand sprayed, but if you inspect it closely, you will probably be able to tell.

Any tutorials I have found online involve cleaning, de-greasing, sanding down the panel with various grades of sandpaper, rubbing it with fine grade finishing paper, applying several layers of primer with intervals in-between, then doing the same with basecoat, then the same again - but with a slightly different spraying method - for the clear-coat/lacquer.

I don't have much time, I am lazy, I have two big cans of primer, two big cans of basecoat, and a big can of lacquer... What is the easiest method I can get away with?
 
So... What is the easiest method I can get away with? :p

For example...

- Cleaning
- De-greasing
- Sanding with 320
- Sanding with 600
- Clearing off dust
- First coat of primer
- Waiting 5 minutes
- Second coat of primer
- Waiting 5 minutes
- First coat of silver
- Waiting 5 minutes
- Second coat of silver
- (rinse and repeat until presentable and even)
- Waiting 20 minutes
- Clearcoat
 
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[TW]Fox;27274952 said:
Yea, this is going to end well.
Click to expand...

Remember that if it doesnt, it will still look better than having one wing that is the wrong colour, and I probably won't care that much anyway. :D

I know it isn't ideal, I'm essentially just looking for advice on the best way to do it, if it must be done. Please. I'm not paying spray-shop prices to get it done to my £1000 car. :)

I even promise to post pictures of the result. :p
 
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Rattle cans will never, ever give you a presentable finish on a silver car when dealing with an area any bigger than a wing mirror.

You would be far better keeping the unpainted wing on there whilst you source another silver wing from a car that's being broken. It won't match perfectly but will be a hell of a lot closer than you will ever get with cans.

You'll end up spending £50-80 on paint materials anyway and a wing for a polo will be pennies....plus you can sell the one that's on there
 
Plenty of videos on Youtube. Have a try looking at the Mighty Car Mods channel, seem to remember watching them do a silver spray job with cans?

It's as you say though, going to look better than what it is now and for a car worth the value it is now, well a craply sprayed panel isn't going to knock that much off the price right?

edit: Actually follow Rodenal's advice instead :)
 
I guess we'll see... I will keep an eye out for a silver panel in the mean time, but if one doesn't come up, I'm going to at least try it. If it looks really really awful, I will probably cover it in stickers or something... :p

I mean, I already have this white wing, I already have the paint as well.
 
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LOL.. Good luck with that. I retouched just the boot handle on my reflex silver 9N Polo. From what I can remember even on a hot summers day it recommended a minimum of 15-20min between thin coats of primer/base Then allowing primer to dry for 24 hours plus before clear coat. If you're doing it in the cold and damp you've not no chance, clear coat will probably bloom due to the moisture in the air. Even if you take your time, a blind man on a galloping horse will see the mismatch from a country mile. And don't rub down the base coat like it advises on the Halfrauds cans.
 
I don't particularly want to spend £30 on another panel, then £20 on fuel to go and get it, then be lumbered with a white body panel which I have to try and sell. Especially when I already have the paint and materials...

I dunno guys... I've seen spray can results before and it doesn't look that obscenely awful. Are you sure you aren't exaggerating a little simply because it isn't something you would even consider?
 
If your car was any other colour you'd get away with it.

Silver always looks terrible - half the time cans aren't even close to being the right colour, let alone the poor finish you'll get doing it outside with poor equipment and the wrong conditions for drying etc.

It's £30!? they'll probably post it to you for a tenner then you can sell the other wing for £30 too....£10-20 for a whole new wing!!!
 
I probably should have said, I will be spraying it inside, in a moisture free and warm environment, where it will be allowed to hang and dry.

I have sent the seller a message about that wing.

This still leaves the front bumper however. It is scuffed to buggery right through to the plastic in places, on both sides... (I didn't do it, it was the cheap replacement I bought to tide me over) Would it be better for me just to try and make those parts look more presentable instead of trying to do the whole thing?
 
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having worked in a body shop, i can tell you a rattle can will not come out well, the nozzles are crap, you can get good nozzles from a proper paint shop and will get a better result.

i honestly would just return the materials.

also 5 mins between coats will not be long enough, especial in this weather, unless your in a clean garage with heaters to try and create an oven effect.
acrylic clear is also pants and will not shine, it will just go orange peely.
 
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Is it damaged right at the bottom of the bumper? If you can tidy it up to a natural ridge in the bumper that might work, otherwise you'll have more luck with touch up pens and wet sanding (assuming there aren't all that many marks). Can't say I'd bother on a car like yours though
 
- Cleaning
- De-greasing
- Sanding with 320
- Sanding with 600
- Clearing off dust
- First coat of primer
- Waiting 20 minutes
- Second coat of primer
- Waiting 20 minutes
- Sand primer with 2000 grit
- First coat of silver
- Waiting 20 minutes
- Sand with 2000 grit
- Second coat of silver
- (rinse and repeat until presentable and even)
- Waiting 20 minutes
- Clearcoat

Spray in the warm, spraying in the cold is just awful
 
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