The Oldsmobile Connection

[dex16]

I've read this forum on the subject of painting. but here is my situation.
I have 2000 olds intrigue; with some pot marks from road dirt and such. I decided to to a little touch up painting today. Went to my local auto store. We looked up the paint code under the trunk, got the "factory match paint" and then I went to work.

My steps.
1. Washed the car
2. Lightly sanded the surface around the touch up area
3. Masked off area, painted area.
4. Let dry, lightly sanded again
5. put second coat of paint on
6. Let dry
7. Removed masking tape

My problem now is that the area I painted looks black against the older paint on the car. I tried some polishing compound to even out the color or the edges of where I had the tape but there is still a noticable differece.

My question. Do I keep working with the polishing compound? Do I move to a more abrasive substance such as rubbing compound? Do I send my car off to a auto shop and have them paint the whole thing?

Thanks for you suggestions.

[bdyman]

if ya did this with rattle can your screwed it wont look any better, so now its goin to cost you allot of more to have it fixed the correct way
and yes iam a body fender tech, so sorry dude but your screwed

[andrewk]

You might be able to make it look better by using more abrasive products on the entire repaired area, but you probably won't ever get to a point where the new paint blends in completely.

If there is a MACCO in your area, they do paint pretty cheap, if money is a huge concern.

Andrew

[88 Coupe]

dex16 wrote: ........ Went to my local auto store ........
First mistake: "The "touch up" products they sell, are far from OEM quality. They may or may not match the "batch" your paint came from.

Quote: ........ We looked up the paint code under the trunk........
Second mistake: Unless your car has never seen the "light of day", the sun has faded the original (assuming it is original) paint.

Quote: ........ the area I painted looks black against the older paint on the car ........
Looks that way, because it is.

Quote: ........ tried some polishing compound ........
Good for removing oxidation, but will not change the color.

Quote: ........ to a auto shop and have them paint the whole thing?
Unless your "touch ups" cover several panels, it's probably not worth the expense.

Any competent body shop repairs small areas (a fender or door), and paint matches them, on a daily basis. Such a shop can easily match your existing paint, using a spectrometer.

They can also give you the information, you'll need, to make an informed decision.

Norm

[IntrigueErin]

Just wanted to pipe in here and thank 88 Coupe for information on this. I've been tearing my hair out, trying to do proper touch-ups because I had rust forming on my doors and wanted to try and stop it before I lost a door to the evil of rust.

It never crossed my mind that the colors could fade or that there could be different mixes for the same color depending on the year or whatever. I know that should have been my first thought but it wasn't. Oops. Thanks for the information. I'm definitely going to look into getting a body shop to do the proper touch-ups. I haven't lost any of my sheet metal yet to rust so here's hoping it won't be too expensive.

[88 Coupe]

Hi IntrigueErin,

Welcome to TOC.

Happy I could be of help.

Norm