can sparayed mirror p[roblem

[gh3382]

I had a lorry catch my miiror on my Insignia but couldnt stop to get his registration so paid £23.00 for the mirror cover and £13.00 for the 2 can spray paint. At first I thought he had hit the wing.

Colour is not too bad (sovereign silver metallic ) but I am damned if I can get the laquer to look as glossy as it should .

Any tips on how to improve the finish (cutting etc ) before I fit it and subject it to the elements.

Gh3382

 

[Fleetwood]

Warm the can up first in some hot water and make sure the area you are painting in is nice and warm, if its cold the paint will go flat and you'll never get a shine

 

[gh3382]

Painted it in the nice warm kitchen on a wire coathanger .

wife not impressed.

have t cut and improved it and will giove it another go .

gh3382

 

[Xtractorfan]

The spray can is a single pack lacquer and by nature will dull down when it dries out ..
you can improve the finish by flatting down the dried lacquer and then recoating
When you have a decent finish flat with 12 or 1500 paper and polish up the finish...
if you put the mirror backing on the car you will be able to use more elbow grease..and Tcut is fine so will take a bit longer

 

[gh3382]

At the weekend I decide to tackle the problem.

I already had some Silver coloured tcut and used that.

The end result is the mirror both colour and gloss finish is excellent.

You cannot tell the difference from the rest of the body of the car.

well pleased

GH3382

 

[teabag]

Bah Humbug

Painted it in the nice warm kitchen on a wire coathanger. Wife not impressed.gh3382

I've done similar things in the past with the predictable response from my wife.
However yesterday was payback time when she had finished putting up the Christmas tree and all the other dust collectors, she had to spend 3 hours cleaning up the specks of shiny stuff which could be seen all over the house.

I watched with great glee as she struggled but I had to beat a quick retreat to the pub when she did not appreciate my comment "If you had done this in the garage it would have saved a lot of mess".:lol:

 

[television]

Just for the record, one cannot touch base coat, the surface must be perfect.

So fill and flat the marks and sand with a 1000 grade wet paper, when perfect an no sink marks from the damage you can then spray on the base coat colour.

When dry circa 2 hours minimum at 20c, if all perfect then apply the top clear coat, and one can re coat after half hour, then leave for 2 days. Next flat with a 1500 wet paper and T cut, and you should have a perfect job.

As many have said, a warm article and warm paint make all the difference.

One can use base coat to fill marks, but one must remember that as paint dries it shrinks and it can pull back in a scratch, so if any filling is done with base coat, do leave it for 2 days before flatting, or you will chase the scratch for ever if it has not dried.

 

[mxs]

High build primer is the best stuff to cover scratches, allow it to dry, flat back and then proceed as television has suggested.