Painting my girlfriend's fender

TheCrimsonStar

New Member
Here's some more detailed pics. A couple of them look greenish since my flash decided to turn on lol.








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LoweredDC4

Jimmy
TheCrimsonStar said:
I appreciate that. :thumbs up

See I didn't buy any sealer lol. I thought I would just prime, base, clear. This is my first ever paintjob so from what I can see I did a decent job for a noob :p I do have a question for you though. I have rubbing compound. Should I use that once the surface is completely dry, or should I wetsand it then use the rubbing compound? The surface is still slightly rough and the clear coat bottle says rubbing compound is required to shine properly.




Lots of really light coats lol. The last one I did heavier than the rest. I'll put up some more detailed pics, and thanks!
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thats pretty good man! :thumbs up: Do you have a buffer? how are you gonna use the compound? what kind of compound do you have? and how many coats of clear did you put on it? if you are gonna sand the fender, dont sand too much, especially if you didnt put that many coats of clear on. If youre gonna sand it, i would say use 3000grit but that all depends on how many coats of clear is on it. You dont wanna sand through the clear.
 

TheCrimsonStar

New Member
LoweredDC4 said:
thats pretty good man! :thumbs up: Do you have a buffer? how are you gonna use the compound? what kind of compound do you have? and how many coats of clear did you put on it? if you are gonna sand the fender, dont sand too much, especially if you didnt put that many coats of clear on. If youre gonna sand it, i would say use 3000grit but that all depends on how many coats of clear is on it. You dont wanna sand through the clear.
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I'll answer your questions in order. Lol.

Not sure. I have access to all my dad's waxing/buffing stuff. Here's what he has:


Idk how to use the compound but my dad says he does. I'm gonna look online, or maybe you could tell me? ;)

This is the compound I bought:


I used two full 12oz cans of clear, in light coats up until the last few, did those much heavier.

I have 1000 and 2000 grit papers, and one 3000 grit disc that came with my headlight restoration kit. Lol.

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LoweredDC4

Jimmy
okay cool. well the point of sanding it is to get the dirt specs out of the clear/smoothing out the bumpy spots. I would only use the 2000/3000 grit paper, and do not sand more than needed. The more you sand the less clear you will have and the easier it will be for you to burn through the clear when you buff it. As for your buffer, it looks like one of those that works best on flat surfaces..which could be a big problem since you are buffing your fender which has a lot of curves on it. Curves are a problem when you buff cuz your buffer can catch an edge ( the pad rotating into the edge) and burn through the clear. Idk if it would be a good idea to buff the fender at all with that kind of buffer....make sure you use alot of compound too cuz you can also burn through if you get the panel too hot...just take it easy and if you have any questions let me know, ill try to help..
 


TheCrimsonStar

New Member
Alright, so should I use the cotton terry cloth thing he has on it right now with the rubbing compound or should I use the pad with the bigger fibers on it (directly above the waxer in the pic)? Also, sand first/ buff last w/ rubbing compound right? It's been drying for about 28 hours as of right now. How much longer till I should start wet sanding? The remnants of Hurricane Isaac are heading west of here and is supposed to pull A LOT of rain over me (I'm in East TN) so I'm drying it in my garage as much as possible before it starts to rain here. It's not very humid but that's gonna change within the next two days.
 

LoweredDC4

Jimmy
you can sand it now if it is dry and dont sand too much. after you sand it, then use the buffer with compound.. ( put compound on sanded area, then run buffer over that area).

what i would chose to use is this, thats because that is what i use :p put mine is a makita brand though...
http://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-variable-speed-polisher-sander-92623.html

you can better control the polisher speed..

im not too familiar with the types of pads you have for your buffer, but chose whichever works..i use a foam pad from 3M...

just take it slow and tell me how it goes...I would do a small spot first to test things out..

i am assuming that it wont shine up too much.. the shine depends on how good your clear is and what kind of clear it is. Using a 2k clear would of been a better idea.
 


TheCrimsonStar

New Member
I'll remember to use that next time. My girlfriend told me I could experiment with her car :p

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LoweredDC4

Jimmy
haha nice :) just take it easy when polishing. My advice is dont sand too much, dont keep the buffer in one spot too long/heat up the panel too much, and dont let it rotate into the edges (instead let it roll off edges).. let me know how it goes..
 

TheCrimsonStar

New Member
Will do! :thumbup:

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it! Moar pics to come soon!

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TheCrimsonStar

New Member
Update:

Well I kinda screwed it up. Lol. The clear coat never hardened all the way. It stayed tacky and then someone wrapped it in bubble wrap and put it away. Now I have bubbles all the way through the base coat on it. -_-

I said screw it, I'm taking it to a body shop because I want it done by Christmas for my girlfriend. They quoted me $250 for it. Ouch. Turns out that this lady my girlfriend works with, her husband has been doing body repair and antique car restoration for over 25 years and she told me that $250 was outrageous for that fender and told me to to take it to her husband. I took it to him last night and he looked at it and said he could have it done in a couple days and he would only charge me $45 + paint. He had some primer and clear laying around so I may only have to pay $30 for a pint of base coat. He only uses the paint he used when he worked at a dealership so I know it's good quality (RN Gold or something like that). I'll have pics up when it's done. Should have it by Sunday.

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LoweredDC4

Jimmy
TheCrimsonStar said:
Update:

Well I kinda screwed it up. Lol. The clear coat never hardened all the way. It stayed tacky and then someone wrapped it in bubble wrap and put it away. Now I have bubbles all the way through the base coat on it. -_-

I said screw it, I'm taking it to a body shop because I want it done by Christmas for my girlfriend. They quoted me $250 for it. Ouch. Turns out that this lady my girlfriend works with, her husband has been doing body repair and antique car restoration for over 25 years and she told me that $250 was outrageous for that fender and told me to to take it to her husband. I took it to him last night and he looked at it and said he could have it done in a couple days and he would only charge me $45 + paint. He had some primer and clear laying around so I may only have to pay $30 for a pint of base coat. He only uses the paint he used when he worked at a dealership so I know it's good quality (RN Gold or something like that). I'll have pics up when it's done. Should have it by Sunday.

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nice :thumbs up cant wait for the pics
 
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