# Spray paint accident help



## the_M_man (Jul 19, 2011)

I am spray painting my car hood and made a bad smudge .

I was wondering if anyone can give me advice on how to fix the problem. I would appreciate it, I am new at these things and as of right now I have lots of regret starting this project and do not want to be picked on or anything...

My car picture is in the links below

http://imageshack.us/f/824/img4342j.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/f/193/img4341v.jpg/

Your help is very appreciated


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> I have lots of regret starting this project and do not want to be picked on or anything...


Yow r-r-r-ight !

Let it dry.
Sand it down smooth.
Re-prime it.
Re-paint it.


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## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

Let if dry, wet sand and recoat

Mark


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## the_M_man (Jul 19, 2011)

alright im gonna hit up OSH and get some wet sanding stuff. Anything else i ought to know before i get sanding and recoating?


So as far as i know I should wet sand the turd mark and then recoat it with my gloss black paint, right? or do i spray primer at the part again and then spray the black


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

You are painting it with spray cans aren't you?


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## the_M_man (Jul 19, 2011)

Bud Cline said:


> You are painting it with spray cans aren't you?


Yes i am. :yes:


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

:wallbash:

How did I know that I wonder.


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

the_M_man said:


> alright im gonna hit up OSH and get some wet sanding stuff. Anything else i ought to know before i get sanding and recoating


Yeah don’t make the same mistake twice...:whistling2:


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## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

Painting a hood with a rattle can will always look just like that, a hood sprayed out with a rattle can. The trouble with rattle can paint is it sets up too quickly, the spray pattern is too tight. This will be very evident on a large flat surface such as what you are painting.

If you want even average results, take the hood to Earl Shives and have them paint it with the right kind of paint.

Mark


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

^ Agreed. Plus, if you are in any of the heat areas, it will only be worse. 

Black paint is actually one of the hardest to get right. So much depends on prep as the surface needs to be perfectly smooth or any variation will show up in the final coat. 

While many folks give Earl Schieb and MAACO, Peach bad marks, they actually can do a decent job. It will never be showroom quality, but acceptable. If you do take it somewhere, look at their work and you will get an idea of the quality of their prep/painting. In the end, that is what is most important.


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## Mr Chips (Mar 23, 2008)

Looking at your pictures I can't help but wonder why there is no paint on your newspapers? You should really start and end each "stroke" on the paper so you don't get the build-up marks. 

I rattle-canned a hood when i was a poor college student and it ended up looking better than the rest of the vehicle ( not saying too much since it was a beat-up Jeep CJ7), but most people were shocked to find out it was done with spray cans. 

The fact that you are already at this stage and now have to go buy some of " that wet sanding stuff " is a little worriesome. To have any chance at a decent looking finished product you need to do several coats of primer, and wetsend between each of them. If you skipped this step it will be nearly impossible to ever get a uniform finish, IMO


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## the_M_man (Jul 19, 2011)

Mr Chips said:


> Looking at your pictures I can't help but wonder why there is no paint on your newspapers?


The picture is of my car starting the second day of the project, thats why the newspaper is cool. I did make the smudge though because of build up. I will keep in mind spraying paper to paper strokes.

Should I reprime the whole project?

I was just going to get rid of the smudge and spray more paint. Or would it be better if I roll brush the hood?


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> I was just going to get rid of the smudge and spray more paint. Or would it be better if I roll brush the hood?


"THERE'S" a real good idea !!! Get out the rollers and brushes.:thumbsup:


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## tpolk (Nov 7, 2009)

the_M_man said:


> The picture is of my car starting the second day of the project, thats why the newspaper is cool. I did make the smudge though because of build up. I will keep in mind spraying paper to paper strokes.
> 
> Should I reprime the whole project?
> 
> I was just going to get rid of the smudge and spray more paint. Or would it be better if I roll brush the hood?


wow i've painted a few cars in my life and never thought of this as an outlet, silly me


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

the_M_man said:


> Should I reprime the whole project?
> 
> I was just going to get rid of the smudge and spray more paint. Or would it be better if I roll brush the hood?


I figured you were going to get some "comments" when you posted this. Seriously, in order to get the hood the way I think you probably want it to look, you are going to need to sand down that spot until is smooth. Feel around it with your hand (the opposite of the one you write with as it will be more sensitive) and feel for ridges. Even a small one will show in the paint.

Then prime the area. Let it dry, and wet sand it. 

After all this work, you aren't going to get a decent looking job with a spray can. As was said before, the area is too large for a can. The paint dries too fast and leaves what will feel like sand in the finish. 

You will need a paint gun and an air compressor (plus a dryer for the air), to shoot the paint evenly. There is a learning curve with this as well. That is why I thought the suggestion of taking it to Earl Schieb was a good option for you. They are fairly cheap and do a decent job for the money.


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## the_M_man (Jul 19, 2011)

Marty1Mc said:


> I figured you were going to get some "comments" when you posted this. Seriously, in order to get the hood the way I think you probably want it to look, you are going to need to sand down that spot until is smooth. Feel around it with your hand (the opposite of the one you write with as it will be more sensitive) and feel for ridges. Even a small one will show in the paint.
> 
> Then prime the area. Let it dry, and wet sand it.
> 
> After all this work, you aren't going to get a decent looking job with a spray can.


So this is what i got done so far
http://imageshack.us/f/4/img4360dw.jpg/

I did it for about 5 minutes. It looks like junk still but I am still working on it. Anyways I should sand that spot until it is completley smooth? Even that will still show up if I spray over it huh? Thanks for the directions and if I continue to fail, which I probably will, I will take it to Earl Shieb. and get an estimate.
At least it looks pretty cool at night 

http://imageshack.us/f/638/img4365k.jpg/


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## ratherbefishin' (Jun 16, 2007)

M, back in the day we painted hoods on race/rally cars FLAT black to reduce glare. Some thought it also helped dissipate heat, but I've never seen any convincing evidence of that. So, if that, as I suspect, is the look you're going for, scrap the gloss and get a couple cans of flat. It's much more forgiving and will give you a more authentic look.

Of course, now you'll also need a couple grand in tuning, some nice wheels and one of those bumble bee sounding exhausts if you're really gonna convince anybody.:laughing:


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

the_M_man said:


> So this is what i got done so far
> http://imageshack.us/f/4/img4360dw.jpg/
> 
> I did it for about 5 minutes. It looks like junk still but I am still working on it. Anyways I should sand that spot until it is completley smooth? Even that will still show up if I spray over it huh? Thanks for the directions and if I continue to fail, which I probably will, I will take it to Earl Shieb. and get an estimate.
> ...


It's your first attempt, so don't be too hard on yourself. You are also trying without the right tools, so that makes it extremely hard. Having a decent job depends on what your are willing to do, and if you are willing to invest in some tools and good paint. The hood from the pic you show doesn't look that bad either. If you decide to do more then I would suggest a few things...

Do you have an air compressor that can run an impact gun? If so, you could get a small (and cheap $30) gun. Get a gravity feed, HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) gun. Also, get a disposable filter for moisture. 

Commercial paints are far superior to rattle can for a few reasons. One, you can use different "reducers" that help thin the paint so it sprays. These are based on outside temperature and help the paint from drying too fast or slow. The primers come in different types as well. From epoxy, that can be used to seal old paint, bond to metal to high build primer that allows sanding for a very smooth finish. Base coats are designed to work with these primers and bond to them as well. So, you want to use an entire system (from one paint supplier, PPG, Sherwin Williams, Valspar, others). 

Here are the basic steps to achieve a good finish: (this assumes no body putty is needed, the surface is in good shape)
1). initial sanding - sand the entire area with 180 grit. This is to break the surface and give the new paint something to adhere. 
2). Spot prime where needed. If you have bare metal in areas, prime it before you spot fix dents, paint chips.
3). Spot puddy chips and dents on hood - I use "Body Icing" for this. It is a glazing putty that can be applied right over paint. Unlike body filler that needs bare metal. Get each spot, chip with a small amount. Wait for the catalyst to setup and it will be hard enough to sand. Sand down those spots with 220/400 grit sand paper until smooth.
4). Prime the surface - I use a "high build" primer for this. It will lay down with thicker layers so some block sanding can occur.
5). Block sand the surface - I take a rattle can of opposite color paint and spray over the surface of the primer. I let the can "spit" as opposed to spray to create little dots all over the surface. Next, I use a block (I have "Durablocks" in several sizes and lengths) for this and usually use 400 wet/dry paper, Spray bottle w/ Water. Spray the work area with water, use an X pattern of sanding and wet sand the area until the dots disappear. The dots will stay in the low areas and as the disappear, the surfaces are even. I do this process twice at least until I am satisfied the area is smooth with no dips, waves or ridges.
6). wash the entire area with soap and water, let dry.
7.) tape off everything you don't want paint on. (and I mean everything).Paint will get places you can't imagine.
8). Clean the surface with a surface prep solvent (Prepsol), use a tac rag to get any dirt off the surface.
9). spray the base coat, let flash and reapply. Use a 50% stroke, (overlap previous stroke 50%), keep your distance from the paint even across the hood. Also, guns have two positions on the trigger, air and paint. You always have the air flowing while painting, but only paint while you are moving across the hood. If you stop and don't let up from the paint, you will build extra paint where you stop and get a run.
10). Apply the clear coat, 3 coats with a 20 min flash time between them. Commercial clears go down much thicker than a rattle can (about 1mm per coat), you have to take care not to put down too much or it will run, too little with show up as a sandy surface. Practice on something you can throw out first.
11). After it hardens (usually 24 hours), wet sand again. This is called "color sanding" and it takes out the "orange peel" in the surface. The better you are at painting, the less orange peel you will have. But, this step is what really makes the paint stand out. I use 1000 grit wet/dry, a bottle of water with a few drops of soap for lubrication, a soft rubber blade, and a block to keep the sanding even. I use the largest block I can (12" if possible). Work the surface as before with an X pattern, sand the area keeping it wet to allow the sand paper to cut, but not dig into the surface. Use the rubber blade to pull off the water. When you no longer see little darker spots (low spots that are wet), you have it smooth. That is why 3 coats of clear is important. You need enough to sand smooth without going through the clear coat. I do this 3 times, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit paper.
12). Buff - I use 3M compounds for this, but others work too. I have also used Meguiars and have gotten good results. 
A). First buff is with rubbing compound and a buffer. Work a little area at a time and let the compound cut the surface. Be VERY CAREFUL at the edges as it will burn right through the paint. Always when near the edge have the buffer direction going off the surface, never on to the surface. When the buffer direction is running onto the surface it cuts the edge very quickly and burns through. I would recommend only sanding and buffing to 1/4 in of the edge so not to have this problem. 
B). Intermediate compound buffing - This will further reduce the scratches in the surface from the buffing compound (buffing compound reduces the scratches from the wet sanding). Do exactly the same process but with a new buffing pad.
C). Swirl mark remover - This is the last step and done as the other two with a new pad. 

When you finish these steps, done properly, your paint will look BETTER than factory. The finish will be amazing. 

Here are some pics from when I shot my "fun" car...

Paint booth I built (it was almost a disaster, another story)









Primed ready for paint










Painted - Notice the nice paint booth falling down!










Finished:


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## the_M_man (Jul 19, 2011)

ratherbefishin' said:


> Of course, now you'll also need a couple grand in tuning, some nice wheels and one of those bumble bee sounding exhausts if you're really gonna convince anybody.:laughing:


Yeah I just got aftermarket bumpers recently and installed a new muffler. My car will be rice but i dont care :laughing:
Anyways I am aiming for a very shiny look but if flat black is more forgiving I might go for it.



Marty1Mc said:


> It's your first attempt, so don't be too hard on yourself. You are also trying without the right tools, so that makes it extremely hard. Having a decent job depends on what your are willing to do, and if you are willing to invest in some tools and good paint. The hood from the pic you show doesn't look that bad either. If you decide to do more then I would suggest a few things...
> 
> Do you have an air compressor that can run an impact gun? If so, you could get a small (and cheap $30) gun. Get a gravity feed, HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) gun. Also, get a disposable filter for moisture.
> 
> Commercial paints are far superior to rattle can for a few reasons. One, you can use different "reducers" that help thin the paint so it sprays. These are based on outside temperature and help the paint from drying too fast or slow. The primers come in different types as well. From epoxy, that can be used to seal old paint, bond to metal to high build primer that allows sanding for a very smooth finish. Base coats are designed to work with these primers and bond to them as well. So, you want to use an entire system (from one paint supplier, PPG, Sherwin Williams, Valspar, others).


Yor paint job is stunning

Anyways I will see to it that i invest in some of the tools you stated. As for right now I have no choice but to use rattle cans until next pay period. I saw this trick online on how to make a project look cabon fiber with shelf liner. If you know it or seen someone do it, do you know if it's better to spray over silver on top of the gloss black, or would it be better if I sprayed over a flat black surface?

UPDATE:
Well here is my result
http://imageshack.us/f/16/img4366y.jpg/

I wet sanded the spot to smoothness and then blue taped the areas around the area. And then I sprayed primer and then I sprayed gloss black. Now I have one super good looking spot and the rest of the hood looks not as good.
Do you think, anyone, that I should continue painting in small areas like this like so or would that make my hood look uneven?


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## Marty1Mc (Mar 19, 2011)

It will make the hood look uneven. You will have lines all over where the paint stops and starts.


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