My car was involved in a hit and run last spring and I obviously had to get it repainted/repaired. The 10+ years this car has been around has obviously faded the paint so the panel doesn't exactly match the car, but lately i've really started noticing the difference more. Anybody know of anything short of re-clearcoating or painting the whole car that would help blend the panel?? Here is a pic..the rear right quarter panel.
they should have blended it into the door and rear when you had it painted anyway...thats the correct way because no matter what the paint will not match exactly.
I would try using some type of a cleaner polish on the entire car. This type of polish will take out the small scratches and smooth the clearcoat making the paint more deep and dark without the hazing.(should look more like your quarter) Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner from meguiars is a good product that us just rub in to the paint(pretty hard) and then wipe it off right away. Its a gentle product..if it didnt work try something with more cleaner. Black paint should blend right in...I would think. GL
It's the kind of thing that you really don't notice unless you're at the right angle, are told about it, or own the vehicle. I know every little ding/scratch on the car and this is just one of those things that I notice and it irks me. There is some "blending" on the panel itself as when you get up close you can see where the clear coating starts freckling then stops, but they didn't continue the blending onto the door itself. My car has 3 or 4 shades of black on it, they're much more noticable at night, but the quarter panel is the most obvious of them all. Zinc i'll try that next spring I guess, I had just cleaned it prior to those pictures and it's now under wraps for the winter. I have a porter cable + sonus SFX step 2 polish + zaino and have used that on the car 2x since it was painted with this being the end result.
Is the polish you are using a cleaner polish?? If its just a pure polish it wont really 'clean' up the paint just 'condition' it. I have a dual action polisher and am really familiar with meguiars' polishes, but am not familiar with many others. Meguiars DC Paint Cleaner will work well with your machine polisher. It did for me. If you ever get a warm day or have a heated garage, try a cleaner polish in an area with the factory paint right next to the new paint to see if it works.(that is if you can tell difference without it being in the sun)
They cleared the entire quarter panel. They might have only "blended" the black paint but you shouldn't be able to tell. The clear coat application itself will make your panel shine like new. The only solution to your problem (without painting the entire car) is to clean the rest of the panels. I'd recommend using a machine glaze by hand. The last thing you want to do is take a buffer to a black car. You'll have another problem to contend with...swirl marks. EDIT: A machine glaze has more of a cut than a polish, so apply it by hand. You can polish however you want afterwards.
Only way to get it to match perfectly is to paint the whole right side. Bodyshops dont normally blend black paint. Wont blend other colors either unless the damage is near an adjacent panel. Get a high speed buffer, and run a rubbing compound over it. 3m Perfect It or Meguiars dual action cleaner polish. Run that over 2 or 3 times. Buffing till it drys, then go over it with a dark foam polish (3m) or machine glaze (meguiars). The little freckling might be "dry spray". The would need to be sanded out and buffed. Start with 1200 grit to knock it down, then i'd just jump to 2000 grit and buff it with the above products. Apply a medium pressure at first to cut the scratches out. Good luck!
Thanks for the replies guys, i'll obviously have to wait til next spring to deal with this so i'll just add this thread to my favorites and check it next spring and see what I feel like doing with it!
