Had a bit of a scrape last Summer whilst drunk driving around a field at night. I didn't see a outdoor tap and wooden post and scraped the nose cone. It has left a deepish grove, which won't polish out. Would I just be able to get a can of white spray and go over it that way? What prep work would I have to do?

Thanks

 

First of all, be thankfull you have a white car...I've found that white paint is the easiest to correct.

If the scrape is too large to attack with the nail-polish looking paint tube but too small to warrant taking it to a body shop, here's what I reccommend: First, mask-off as much of the area as possible so that only the damaged area is still showing. Then, use some very fine grit sandpaper and smooth out the rough surface (If the groove is deep, you might want to use a little bit of body filler). After sanding, apply some grey primer and sand smooth once it dries. Then, you can apply the paint, and possibly some clearcoat on top of that.

If you still have questions & can take a picture of the damage, feel free to email me. Good luck!

 

Excellent, thanks for the help. It is the medium sized damage you catered for, too small for the body shop, so a home repair is ideal.

Why use the clear coat and is standard spray paint in a can ok to use?

Thanks again.

 

You might want to look at
http://www.urethanesupply.com

They seem to have a lot of info regarding
thermoplastic repair technique

I got the site here from somebody I can't
remember who it was

I was going to talk to them tomorrow
about my wing...

 

You don't have to use clearcoat I suppose. If the damage only covers a small area, I would recommend using it simply to put more shine on the paint.

If you don't use clearcoat, then I would recommend wet sanding and buffing the paint. After applying several coats of paint & letting it dry, apply water to painted area & sand using very fine grit sandpaper. It may take a few repititions before it's smooth (i.e. no more "orange-peel" look/feel). Next, apply rubbing compound (i.e. using a damp cloth) & buff out. Again, it may take a few repititions before the reflection appears in the paint. Hope this helps!

 

Oh yeah....and standard paint out of a spray can should be good enough.

 

What about flexing agents? I'm getting my front spoiler repainted as the previous owner had scuffed it. Should I use a flexing agent for this?

Also, I'm thinking of taking all of the paint off of the spoiler and going down to the bare plastic. What is the best way to do this? Fine grit paper or a chemical based...stuff?

Felix,

I'll mail you soon and update you on how my car's comming along. I've started to play with the new set-up and it is so much better than before. I'm just needing a custom chip to get it all sorted

Robert

 

Cool Rob, see my other post- I forgot RMK was you! When are we going to hook up?

 

About what Rob said about flexing agent. Is that a consideration or will standard be fine?

Thanks for the top quality advice chaps

 

Felix,

This is an old post! I ended up getting my front end repainted. I didn't remove the old paint as it was not comming off at all! Also, I didn't add any flex agent to the paint either and it has NOT cracked, flaked, peeled or suffered from any other form of removal. I had the job done over a year ago now and it all looks good.

Also, the Classic American is on 16, 17 and 18 May. It's a long drive for me, but I'll make it down if you (and maybe others?) will be going. Should be fun.

Rob

 

Hi ya mate! Good to hear from you again. I am going to try and tackle the nose next week- never really done any paint work before so it should be a challenge..

I'll e-mail you nearer the time of the CA meet as not sure what's happening yet. Will probably only go for one day. Like you say it's a hell of a long way for you. It will be a LOT of fun though! What do you think your beast will be running? Next year I'm going to focus on a little more power- sometimes 355bhp ain't enough. I'm sure 660 bhp wouldn't be enough sometimes too! Such is the quest for speed!

Cheers