I still say, strip it to metal so you can actually see what you are dealing with.

pakamper wrote:

Doright wrote:

pakamper wrote:It doesnt need to be 100% perfect.

So why Mess with it then? I bet it looks fine 20 feet away!

Yeah from 20 ft away. We'd like it to look good from 5 ft away. But as it sits it looks like a foot long scratch on the car.

The difference between a 20 footer and a 5 footer is Notta!
If its worth doing its worth doing right!
Work for Perfect accept your mistakes as learning/Redo it as you see fit.

With that said the Guy's have already told you how to go about correcting it.
The Best thing about Base Coat Clear coat paint jobs is how easily they are repaired.

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:I still say, strip it to metal so you can actually see what you are dealing with.

Most definitely!

Doright wrote:

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:I still say, strip it to metal so you can actually see what you are dealing with.

Most definitely!

No need. We know what we're dealing with here.

pakamper wrote:The products used were primer, factory color, and 2k clear

The problem is that the guy who did the repair, in his ignorance, used the wrong technique and left a hard tape line. However, by using 2K clear he's sealed the surface, leaving something sound enough to go over. Taking the repair back to metal would only create new issues with extending the repair by the amount needed to feather the paint and then prime, base and clear beyond that.

This makes it next to impossible to do a rectification at the body line that he used because sanding down to level the step will expose base and probably primer. So, any rectification will have to go to the next body line or the end of the panel. From the photo it isn't possible to see whether another body line is either available or suitable for use to fly mask, so extending to the whole panel is probably the only choice.

That being the case, sanding down the step will require a light and contained priming then base coat extended beyond that and blended in to the existing colour, followed by clear to as far as it's necessary to go.

Would it have been possible to repair the original damage and end on that line around the wheel arch? Probably.

Doing a repair like this is possible. The concept is no different to doing a blend over a whole panel but it's the scale that makes it hard. Lets say that the flat area from the wheel arch to that line is maybe 50mm wide. The initial repair has to be contained within the damage, so filled to original paint level with coarse scratching contained within about 10-15mm from the edge. Then the primer, extending to around 20mm from the edge.

Backmasking each step and making sure that the edge is feathered. Hard to do, it's like microsurgery, but possible using a very small gun (I use a Star S2 which is a 0.8mm mini) with fan wound right in so it's only about 15-20mm wide. Air pressures and spray technique are critical - you don't want overspray and you certainly don't want the pearl or metallic to stand up around the edges. Nor do you want over-thick layers.

Then base coat extending to maybe 35mm from the edge and finally clear to a flymasked edge right on the body line.

Ends are not so much of a problem since there's lots of room, but the whole repair shouldn't be more than about 300mm in length. Clearcoat blends need to be melted in using a blending thinner. The flymasked edge doesn't need blending thinner if done right, but some painters will remove the flymasking immediately and dust a little blending thinner over it just to be sure.

Colour match of the basecoat needs to be near perfect. There is not enough room, across the repair, to colour blend.

Degree of difficulty? Extreme, only the most experienced painters can pull off a repair like this. Amateurs? Well just look at the photo in the first post.

pakamper wrote: It's on a body line actually.

on a body line= pinstripe it.

Just put some fender flares on it lol