DIY Car Paint Repair Adventure

[Jackal]

Hi Everyone,
I received as a gift from my Dad a 2000 Altima GXE. It has some scuff marks on the bumper and a few rust spots that I was going to bring to a professional body shop. But in the end I decided to do it myself. Please note that this is the first time I've tried this.


I decided to tackle the scuff marks on the bumper first.
- driver side

- passenger side (has some pen touch up paint)


- sanded down both sides (oops I burned through the clearcoat lol)


No turning back now - was getting nervous. Lol.
- taped closely around and applied primer and sanded to "feather" the primer

- other side


Before applying paint make sure you make the area for painting larger in order to blend it.
- applied the paint

- other side


After applying the clearcoat
- driver side

- passenger side


I still have to tackle several small rust spots but that's all for now.
Thanks for looking.

[Cab0oze]

Good job buddy... looks good - but I recommend you wetsand the clearcoat w/1000 grit (lightly just to level out the job and save your 2000 grit) and then 2000 grit (smooth it out, should be super smooth) then buff like a maniac with rubbing compound. This will get you a mirror finish (providing your base coat was decently done). I just finished painting my front lip, and these were the lessons I learned from that. Prior to all of those steps it was very hazy looking, no clean cut reflections (essentially like that second last picture) and then afterwards I had a mirror finish.
Before doing any wetsanding though, you should let the clearcoat harden for like ~3 days at least

[Jackal]

Good job buddy... looks good - but I recommend you wetsand the clearcoat w/1000 grit (lightly just to level out the job and save your 2000 grit) and then 2000 grit (smooth it out, should be super smooth) then buff like a maniac with rubbing compound. This will get you a mirror finish (providing your base coat was decently done). I just finished painting my front lip, and these were the lessons I learned from that. Prior to all of those steps it was very hazy looking, no clean cut reflections (essentially like that second last picture) and then afterwards I had a mirror finish.
Before doing any wetsanding though, you should let the clearcoat harden for like ~3 days at least

Yes, it's still hazy looking but the colour match is perfect. I am very happy so far with my DIY and learning more about what shops do. I'll wet sand the clearcoat and compound it after a few days. How many layers of clearcoat did you apply?

Here's my set of sand paper supplies I used. I wetsanded the primer with 800 grit then 2000 grit. After I applied the paint (waited 8 hours), then I wetsanded with 2000 grit and prepped. Last was about a total of 5 layers of clearcoat applied 15 minutes apart.

[stevenma188]

Good job man.

[izikk]

Where did you get the paint from? It's a great match.

[Jackal]

Good job man.

Thanks bro!

Where did you get the paint from? It's a great match.

Paint Circuit
473 McNicholl ave.
Mon. to Friday 9-5 pm
Victoria Park and McNicholl

There are also good ones in the west end.

[Cab0oze]

Yes, it's still hazy looking but the colour match is perfect. I am very happy so far with my DIY and learning more about what shops do. I'll wet sand the clearcoat and compound it after a few days. How many layers of clearcoat did you apply?

Here's my set of sand paper supplies I used. I wetsanded the primer with 800 grit then 2000 grit. After I applied the paint (waited 8 hours), then I wetsanded with 2000 grit and prepped. Last was about a total of 5 layers of clearcoat applied 15 minutes apart.

I did 4 layers if i remember correctly... you've got plenty on there. Wetsanded after painting? Good choice. I skipped that due to time constraints and I've got the mirror finish, but with a bit of orange peel =/ oh well, my front lip looks way better than my rock chipped bumper lol

[Lactose]

Looks great, probably going to do something like this for my dad's 2001 camry.

Let us know how the last phaze goes :]

[Jackal]

Looks great, probably going to do something like this for my dad's 2001 camry.

Let us know how the last phaze goes :]

Will do. Just waiting a couple of days then I'll compound polish and wax or seal that area.

It's fun trying it on older cars and getting good results.

[trulankan]

great paint job!

[Jackal]

So a year later I decided to continue this adventure. I wanted to get that mirror finish. So I wet-sanded the clearcoat and then I compounded and polished it.
Here's a shot of 1/2 of it wet-sanded and the other side compounded and polished.


Then I compounded and polished the rest of it on both sides and applied a sealant.
Here is what it looks like now.

Other side

Thanks for looking.

[Mitchell3]

I have a few spots on my car you could do . That turned out great.

[cwp_sedan]

HOLY CRAP! Awesome job!

[Cab0oze]

Well done dude! Now, you just have to hope you bought good quality clearcoat.... the first time I did this I bought my paint online and the clearcoat they sent me turned yellow just after a year in the sun. Same thing happened to one of my friends too. The last thing I painted I *think* i used clear coat from canadian tire and it has held up great.

[SonicBoy]

Body work is great when you build confidence on an older project.

Were you using paint and clear coat sprayed from a gun or was all of this from rattle cans?

Great work by the way.

Shows DIY can yield professional results.

What looks like a major repair and expensive trip to a body shop can be accomplished in your driveway with some time and effort.

[Jackal]

Hey thanks guys. Just to answer your questions and add a couple of comments...
Yes, it's a great way to practice your skills using an older car.
I used a rattle can from Paint Circuit on McNicholl and the clearcoat was purchased from there as well. The clearcoat seems pretty good quality.
As some of you know I have a professional grade dual action polisher but I decided to do this part with my drill and a pad from a $30 scratch repair kit (I just wash the pad and can reuse) to show you don't need expensive tools to do this. I used 2000 grit sand paper to wet-sand the area. This part took me about 45 minutes from wet-sand to sealant.


Just a side note. This would be an excellent and cheap way to paint aftermarket side skirts, front lips and such and achieve great results.

[r4BBiT]

Looks good, good job buddy. Next stage is to get air compressor and paint gun

[roachkillah]

wow
freaking incredible work right there, i swear it looks better than the work that was done on my wife's car at a body shop.

[derekl]

Looks great! How'd you blend your clear?

[SonicBoy]

Good question about the blending.

Usually you shoot some reducer over the area to be blended but ya, how did you do this Jackal given that you were using rattle cans.

I've never tried blending using polishing techniques.

[Jackal]

Thanks!
No need for an air compressor and paint gun as you can see. You'll still need to do these steps anyway.

I think the guy I bought the rattle can from actually said that some body shops just use the rattle can for small jobs such as these.

To clear coat it properly I had to clearcoat the whole panel. So I masked off the headlights and nearby panels. Waited 15-20 minutes between each coat. I did 4 coats. It will be hazy after this. The trick is to wet-sand then compound and polish then seal/wax.

[SonicBoy]

Thanks for the update. Thought that's what you would have done as it is near impossible to blend clear coat with spray cans.

[credential23]

This looks awesome!
I'm planning on doing this to my rear bumper.
Can you write down the steps or tell me what u did to achieve the mirror looking effect.
and what tools/products will be needed?

[Default User]

I didn't want to comment before because - well - the hazing looked shitty LOL

But after the wet sand and compound - it looks professionally done. Looks amazing bro!

I've done body work before and I'll tell you - patience and attention to detail is key. You nailed it perfectly

[Aro51]

That looks really good! I'd be interested in a step-by-step write up too!