Hi, ok so this is going to be my first paint attempt

A friend has bought the wrong color panel for his car, and I was going to have a go at changing it to match his colour car(lets forget butt matches etc for now! just for practice going to do a straight colour swap)

The panel is in good condition

So is the right method to repainting this.....

Sand down existing panel with 600grit and then just lay down the new base coat? is 600 enough?

My other question is... when I have seen people blending they 600 grit the panels next to remove the clear coat, after this I always see 600 scratches , do these scratches just fill back in as soon as you clear coat?

i have also made a poor paint drawing to check if my theory is correct if anyone can take a look(assume the big black box is a panel I'm blending in to)

Complete noob so please be gentle with me!

a little more info is needed, like just where are you blending? and what panel are you replacing? what color are you using solid or metallic? a picture of where your going to replace the panel would really help. one thing for sure, you DON'T have to remove the clear coat.
Jay D.

quote="badsix"]a little more info is needed, like just where are you blending? and what panel are you replacing? what color are you using solid or metallic? a picture of where your going to replace the panel would really help. one thing for sure, you DON'T have to remove the clear coat.
Jay D.[/quote]

Hi Jay

Thanks for responding.

The panel is a fender /wing and is metal. Solid colour.

I don't have the panel yet so can't post a picture... But out of interest what is the difference on a metallic and a solid
colour anyway? Just so I know for future

Also the blend would be across a bumper... So I am planning to fully replace a wing/feeder with a new colour and then blend it in to the bumper....and bonnet too.... And door. But just to keep it simple let's say I'm only blending it to a bumper

Hope you can help

badsix wrote:a little more info is needed, like just where are you blending? and what panel are you replacing? what color are you using solid or metallic? a picture of where your going to replace the panel would really help. one thing for sure, you DON'T have to remove the clear coat.
Jay D.

And I don't to remove the clear coat?? As long as its scratched so the base can stick to it? Is that right?

There is no need to remove the clear if it's not damaged and, if you do then you will have to prime that area, including the feathered edges. Do not use P600. Not coarser than P800 where you're going to spray base coat, P1200 - P1500 where you're just going to clear. Even with a solid colour you can still see P800 scratches under clear and it's worse if you're blending.

Here is an extract from a TDS for clear that details blend technique.


Blends are not that difficult, but they do need some technique and that only comes from practice and understanding of what works and what doesn't. Masking techniques are different and a great deal of attention needs to be paid to overspray, gun control and even things like airflow in the booth and positioning of the vehicle.

Successful blends are possible on narrow panels. For example, cant rails, sections of bumper bars, sills etc. Even I would not attempt a clear coat blend on a bonnet or across a door. Sometimes they can be done on guards but it depends on shape/size/style and any body lines. For bars I usually try to put blends behind the number plate or on very narrow sections; better if a section can be masked of and cleared without a blend. There is no way that I would even attempt a clear coat blend on a bonnet - certainly blend the colour, but always clear the whole panel. Same with doors.

Chris
Jay D.