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Please let me know how I did.
Open to feedback and insults so I can get better for the next one.
The paint was flaking on my door, and this was an opportunity to try paint work.
I'll document my experience as encouragement for anyone who wants to try their luck.
One mental big hurdle is that it looks like total **** (way worse than it was) until the VERY last polishing step,
so it is a bit unnerving to do this work without the experience of knowing the final outcome.
To do this correctly, you may need to invest almost $100 in materials for the first job.
I put the materials at the end of this post.
Here is the large chipped paint area after I scraped off the loose edges.
You can see the black primer underneath the paint.
I used 800 grit sandpaper to feather out the edges of the paint.
I kept sanding until I could not feel the ridge with my eyes closed.
This was still not enough because I can detect the edge if the light shines right.
You need to sand it to perfection. This takes time, so be patient.
Next, I taped off the area, with bags and towels.
I didn't just mask off the damaged area. Instead, I have left a larger area exposed.
It doesn't feel right to allow the new paint to land on the perfectly good section of door.
But, I think if you just tape off the damaged area, you will have a hard tape line in the new paint.
Instead, I tried to allow for gradual overspray to taper off.
This way, the new and old paint will hopefully gradually blend together.
I used the door ridge as the natural boundary.
I shot one coat of primer.
Idiot moment, I forgot I had black primer.
I then shot 2 coats of base coat about 10 mins. apart.
Try to do several thin coats instead of thick coats that may run.
I could still see the primer. It is much harder to cover grey primer with dark paint.
The next day, I shot another coat of base coat, and the primer was fully covered.
30 mins. after the last base coat, I shot 3 coats of clear, about 10 mins. apart.
To avoid tape lines, I removed the bags before shooting the clear.
I allowed the clear to overspray an inch onto the middle part of the door.
I think that's ok since the clear coat will be wet sanded and polished anyway.
Again, try to do several thin coats instead of thick coats that may run.
I shot the clear coat on the entire exposed area of the door.
Notice the natural orange peel in the glare.
Another shot of the rough matte textured clear coat (prior to wet sanding)
Clear coat needs sanding.
The next day, I wet sanded the clear coat using 1500, 2000, 2500.
I didn't go nuts and just sanded for about 1 min with each grit.
After 2500, you should have a terrible looking finish that is very scratchy looking.
As the last step, you need to polish out the clear coat.
This brings the scratchy clear coat to a shine.
I spent a lot of time polishing by hand.
You really need a tool to get the shine out.
Polishing by hand just doesn't seem to cut it.
A few days later, I did a final polish with a DA, and it really helped bland everything better, and remove some of the haze in the clear.
Before and after of the wet sanding and polishing steps.
Before and after of the entire repair.
For a total amateur with no real experience, I am happy with the outcome.
It's not perfect, but it's a whole lot better than it was.
Open to feedback and insults so I can get better for the next one.
The paint was flaking on my door, and this was an opportunity to try paint work.
I'll document my experience as encouragement for anyone who wants to try their luck.
One mental big hurdle is that it looks like total **** (way worse than it was) until the VERY last polishing step,
so it is a bit unnerving to do this work without the experience of knowing the final outcome.
To do this correctly, you may need to invest almost $100 in materials for the first job.
I put the materials at the end of this post.
Here is the large chipped paint area after I scraped off the loose edges.
You can see the black primer underneath the paint.
I used 800 grit sandpaper to feather out the edges of the paint.
I kept sanding until I could not feel the ridge with my eyes closed.
This was still not enough because I can detect the edge if the light shines right.
You need to sand it to perfection. This takes time, so be patient.
Next, I taped off the area, with bags and towels.
I didn't just mask off the damaged area. Instead, I have left a larger area exposed.
It doesn't feel right to allow the new paint to land on the perfectly good section of door.
But, I think if you just tape off the damaged area, you will have a hard tape line in the new paint.
Instead, I tried to allow for gradual overspray to taper off.
This way, the new and old paint will hopefully gradually blend together.
I used the door ridge as the natural boundary.
I shot one coat of primer.
Idiot moment, I forgot I had black primer.
I then shot 2 coats of base coat about 10 mins. apart.
Try to do several thin coats instead of thick coats that may run.
I could still see the primer. It is much harder to cover grey primer with dark paint.
The next day, I shot another coat of base coat, and the primer was fully covered.
30 mins. after the last base coat, I shot 3 coats of clear, about 10 mins. apart.
To avoid tape lines, I removed the bags before shooting the clear.
I allowed the clear to overspray an inch onto the middle part of the door.
I think that's ok since the clear coat will be wet sanded and polished anyway.
Again, try to do several thin coats instead of thick coats that may run.
I shot the clear coat on the entire exposed area of the door.
Notice the natural orange peel in the glare.
Another shot of the rough matte textured clear coat (prior to wet sanding)
Clear coat needs sanding.
The next day, I wet sanded the clear coat using 1500, 2000, 2500.
I didn't go nuts and just sanded for about 1 min with each grit.
After 2500, you should have a terrible looking finish that is very scratchy looking.
As the last step, you need to polish out the clear coat.
This brings the scratchy clear coat to a shine.
I spent a lot of time polishing by hand.
You really need a tool to get the shine out.
Polishing by hand just doesn't seem to cut it.
A few days later, I did a final polish with a DA, and it really helped bland everything better, and remove some of the haze in the clear.
Before and after of the wet sanding and polishing steps.
Before and after of the entire repair.
For a total amateur with no real experience, I am happy with the outcome.
It's not perfect, but it's a whole lot better than it was.
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