I have a couple small penny sized areas on my rear bumper where the clear coat came off. Can I just tape off around them, wet sand, then spray them with new clear coat? I would like to avoid orange peel but I figure even if there is a little it will look better than it does now. I would like to use either a 2 part spray can like 2k clear coat https://www.amazon.com/Spraymax®-Glamour-Gloss-Aerosol-Usc-3680061/dp/B0043B7UQY
or a airless spray gun from HF and mix my own. How bad will the orange peel be if I do this?
Without knowing the year, make, and model of your vehicle, its mileage, and its condition and the overall condition of the paint, it’s really tough to comment. Knowing why you suspect the clearcoat’s adhesion is failing might help too. Is the car in Southern Texas or New England? Is it garaged usually, or never? Is your area subject to acid rain? Stuff like that might help.
I wouldn’t recommend doing spot repair with a spray gun (nor would I recommend doing a major repair without one) unless you’re an experienced auto painter, as overkill is usually fruitless in the long run. But rattle cans from the parts store are made for and fine for spot repairs by inexperienced painters on an older car. And for that they’re great, very tolerant of amateur mistakes.
A newer car in excellent shape is exactly the opposite. Doing a proper repair requires much more work, but the overall excellent condition of a typical new car finish makes a poor repair stand out like a clown at a funeral.
However, should you be determined to use an air gun, buy a book on car painting at the local bookstore and it’ll tell you the causes of and how to prevent orange peeling, as well as give you good tips on how to do a good repair job. Do a bit of research and study before trying the repair and you’ll likely be a lot happier with the results.
The clear came off form being rammed from behind, but not hard enough to dent it. I removed the paint transfer and in the process some clear came off. It is a 2011 honda accord with low mileage.
In that case, on that car, I’d simply try lightly sanding the spot(s), mask the areas and use a bit of clearcoat from a touchup bottle with a brush, or even a rattle can.
You might even stop by a body shop for an estimate. It might be a lot cheaper to touch up than you think. The estimate is free.
The guy/gal that hit you… no insurance?
How much orange peel wilI I get from a rattle can?
In the early 90’s some Toyota vehicles came off the ass’y line w/a clear coat problem in the paint job and a lot of their customer complained about it. So Toyota as I recall agreed to fix the problem under warranty for whoever was bothered by it. The ill-effects usually only showed up on one part of the car, like just one fender, or the hood. Does anyone recall how they fixed that clear coat paint problem? I think they just repainted the entire fender or hood or whatever it was that had the problem.
What did you use to remove the paint transfer?
Tester
A baby wipe.
That’s an alcohol wipe.
That shouldn’t remove the clear coat.
Tester
Well it’s gone.
Missing clear coat won’t be very noticeable in a short amount of time but the paint will dull after time. It is unusual for only the clear coat to peel from an impact but not the base (color) coat.
It is very noticeable, unless they used black primer the base coat is still there.
Bumper covers are made with black plastic.
I guess it could be down to the plastic then. Seems weird a baby wipe could do that.
The paint probably peeled do to the collision. It can be surprising how far these bumper covers bend during impact then return to shape. You might find more damage under the bumper cover if it is removed.
Don’t use the product from Amazon, it isn’t designed for a car paint. Don’t use an airLESS sprayer from HF, it will look like you used a paint roller.
Get the paint code for your car, it is on a plate in the door jamb or engine compartment. Go to the auto parts store, buy a spray can (Dupli-color is the big dog here) of the proper color and a can of clear of the same brand and buy some polishing compound, the white stuff, not the orange stuff. Wet sand with 400 grit, and finish with 800 grit. Spray color in the smallest area you can. Then spray clear in a wider area getting thinner and thinner at the edges. Untape it as soon as its dry to the tough. Let dry overnight. Use polish on the edges of the clearcoat to smooth out the “fuzzy” edges. It will be a passable repair depending on how much care you take.
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I use rattle cans from Tower Paint which they claim contain clear coat. Before sanding use pre-cleano or prepsol, Sand with 600. Small area on a bumper can be primed with ordinary primer. Large areas need special flexible primer. On yours, i would use regular which I also get from Tower Paint.
Their rattle cans work fine, very little orange peel. Don;t mask the area you are painting as the line will be difficult to remove.Mask the surrounding area and blend the paint in. Allow to dry then wet sand with 800 or 1000. Finish up with white polishing compound.
If you don’t like the result, wipe it off with lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner will remove rattle can paint, but not factory paint. Try again.
My friend got an estimate of over $2000 to repair a scrape on the rear bumper of her Lincoln. I have done several chips and scrapes on various late model Hondas and Accuras with very good results. Just takes time and practice.
If you clean the surface well, none. “Orange peel” is a paint surface consisting of basically two surface levels, the adhesion being good but the surface level varying. This is a function of the viscosity of the paint applied, its thickness, and the rapidity with which it congeals. Rattle cans put on very thin coats of very low viscosity (resistance to flow) paint, too thin and low in viscosity to create orange peeling. Conversely, rattle cans are prone to dripping and running, a downside to low viscosity.
Agree with Mustangman. Just use Dupli Color for small defects. I think you are down to plastic or primer. Even if you aren’t, you can’t sand the base coat and it’ll never match again so you just re-do the spots. I guess I don’t know what an airless sprayer from HF is. I used a HVLP from HF and it actually works pretty good. Its all technique though and practice. After you spray the spots, you can use 2000 or so grit paper to smooth out the overspray, then polish with the rubbing compound to blend it in.
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I read that the 1 part clear coat cans only last a couple years before they peel off is that true?