DIY car spray paint? not available from dealer or Halfords

[Duncan Wood]

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Very lightly polish a bit with cutting compound, if the rag takes colour= =

then it's not got clear coat.

[Lobster]

Well I dunno. I emailed paints4u in parallel, and got the following reply:

"The process is the same for metallic or solid colours. The important thing is the type of paint that you are using (basecoat or cellulose). Cellulose does not require a clear lacquer, however, metallic colours are only available in basecoat. There are also a number of reasons why you would choose basecoat over cellulose for solid colours (better UV resistance for example).

You should apply the lacquer as soon as the basecoat is dry. The only time you should flat back the basecoat is if there is a bit of dust or muck that you need to remove and then you should make sure to apply another coat of basecoat before applying the lacquer. It is recommended not to leave the basecoat for more than a couple of hours before applying the lacquer as it can cause the colour to darken."

Regretting having started this whole thing - it's all just too confusing

[Dave Plowman (News)]

They sound a bunch of idiots. Cellulose hasn't been used on a production car for decades.

They're certainly not helping.

As Duncan said, try cutting back some of the original paint. If you have T-cut lying around, that will do. If the cloth ends up with the paint colour on it, no clearcoat.

But any aerosol applied paint - even clearcoat - will need cutting back to get that perfectly smooth finish.

FWIW I did do a repair on my metallic BMW, using Halfords paint. Their instructions said to apply several coats of base in quick succession - before the last was fully hardened - then leave a few days to harden fully. Then flat back with fine wet or dry. Then apply the clear coat. Worked ok.

[Lobster]

Thanks. So, I've just tried that (using the vial of "G3 polish" which paints4u provided), and yes I quickly get the original paint colour on the rag. Also tried using it on a small area of the repair (which I painted two days ago), and it does seem to come up pretty well). Tempted just to have done and go for it now with the polish over the whole repair, ie no clearcoat - but what about: "It is recommended >> not to leave the basecoat for more than a couple of hours before >> applying the lacquer as it can cause the colour to darken."

...is that just complete and utter bollocks? After the strong reccomendations from folk here I'm a bit surprised if they don't know anything about the product they're selling?

[John Williamson]

The lacquer they refer to is what people here are calling clearcoat. Your paint doesn't use it, so that paragraph is irrelevant.

Paints that are designed to be lacquered after use change colour slightly relatively quickly if exposed to the air. Other paints don't have the same problem, so cutting back with T-cut to smooth the surface and blend it in with the surrounding colour can be done at any convenient time. It is recommended that you don't use cutting compound until the paint has fully set, which can take a few days, depending on eht weather. The only downside is that when you do blend in the edges, you now have a small patch of the original colour paint round the repair, which will stand out like a sore thumb until you use T-cut or other colour restorer on the whole panel, which then shows a different colour to the rest of the car......

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Did they supply a clear coat as part of the kit? I'm wondering if they made a mistake. It's only normally used with metallic.

If you've got a good match after cutting back I'd just give it a good waxing and leave it. I don't think it would be a good idea to use a clear coat where there is none on the original.