Metalic spraying

Yep.

Go to bodyshop. Leave car. Pick it back up with invisible repair. Part with £100.

You'll not do it with rattle cans or a bog standard spray gun.

You'll not do it with a good spray gun without experience. Metallic needs to be all the same thickness or it comes out looking stripey. And do get that you need skill and experience. And a bloody clean place to spray because to do it right, you should hit it with the clear before the metallic's dry...

I'm not an expert, but when a rear wing on my car was repaired by a main dealer it stood out from the adjacent door, but not where it blended into the roof (dark green metallic). I got a refund and didn't do anything until subsequent damage to the door. When another shop repaired that I asked them to do the wing also and this time the match is perfect. But I reckon they blended it into the front door.

Most likely. I've had a couple of localised repairs done on metallic cars - one silver and the other a mid blue. The bodyshop I've used has managed to get a perfect match without doing the whole panel.

There seems to be only a few places that can do it properly.

My point was I don't think you can *only* do a complete panel. If it all needs doing you have to blend into adjacent ones.

BTW how big is the area requiring touch up? If it's a relatively fine scratch, you're likely to have more luck blending in a small touch up done with a fine brush than by spraying...

That what my first idea, but getting quotes from about 4 reputable places at between £250-£485.

So I thought I've got a copressor, decent IWATA airbrush, and a devilbliss spray gun in the garage. I used to do a fair amount of spraying for myself friends etc. Done quite a few bits and bobs good results some stuff ups but learned from them and did it right. Should've done a course on it first but learned the hard way with old panels and practiced.

At the kind of money it would cost me at a bodyshop I reckon its worth a go, if I balls it up I'll accept defeat and cough up for a pro to do a decent job. My outlay is just going to be for primer, top coat, laquer, masking tape wet and dry etc.

Although I could save myself to aggro and just pay now ....ponders.

Hi Doki,

It does sound like to could be tricky, might be worth doing a few practice runs on a scrap door and feel it out see how it goes or accept defeat and let the bodyshop do it. I'm a hobbyist airbrusher, have about 3 years experience with airbrush art, which I'd br brave enough to say I have some decent spray ability and technique, but most of that is not using automotive paints, mainly acrylic. Not sure ont he reuglations of automotive paint now if its moved to water base or as it was. I did not know you had to hit the top coat with clear before it dries. I read somewhere last night forget where as a bit late that you bake it or let it dry, flat top coat, clean area, make sure its dry, panel wipe it, then shoot the clear.

I'm very much tempted to do it as I haven't sprayed anything for a while and would like to use my quipment which has been sitting in the garage for a bit, but not make an utter mess of it and stumble into a body shop looking stupid.

As you've already got decent kit, I'd go for 2K base and clear, fill the scratch if it's deep, prime the filler, flat it, base coat the primed area and clear the lot. You're supposed to use fade out thinners somewhere in that lot too. That's the basics of a spot repair, and it'll probably give a better match than trying to spray the whole panel to match the rest of the car - you've got to fade in somewhere.

Its beyond a touch up in my experience. Basically the damaged it at the front bit of the OS wing which goes inwards towads them iddle of the panel about half the panels length. God knows WTF happened was like that when I bought it, managed to get a little money of because of it.

It's worth a go, and you can get 1k (ie, non two pack) base and clear if you're lucky, but generally it's all being run out as it won't be saleable next year. 2 pack is great stuff to work with, but you absolutely do need the correct breathing gear (fresh air overpressure full face mask). Water based really does seem to be beyond the home user to me due to the drying requirements.

Far too much but then again, depends where you live.

Just pay now. If you f*ck it up, it's a bare metal job if you're unlucky.

There seems to be a divide as to which is more suited, but I think people seem to go with 2k. I have used 2k most of the time previous (have a decent mask). I'm curious about the water based stuff, in terms of how good it is, how it lays down etc, having never used it before. What are the drying requirements ? I've got a couple of heat lamp aswell for baking somewhere. Got them on ebay a few years ago and only used them a few times. I really enjoyed spraying up stuff, but then I got busy with the kids etc. I built a bit of a tent setup in the garden to spray in or just sprayed in open space, but that didn't work to well with all the bugs landing right in my paintwork.

I have a dupont paint supplier near me which is most likely where I will go, their stuff is excellent prices aren't to bad.

I tend to agree - the chances of making a perfect job are remote.