I have read your other post 'My first blunder'. In my view doing what you're proposing would be the second - the magnitude depending on how much of the van you're intending to respray. From the photos on your other post the panel around the damaged area seems to be in reasonable condition, so is it just that small area that you've already had a go at? Blending in to the rest of the panel using rattle cans will be impossible and your attempt will look even worse than what you've already done.

I've tried rattle can spraying twice (yes, I didn't learn my lesson the first time!) - I bought primer, base coat, 2K clear coat (Google 2K and 1K clear coat if you don't know the difference,), 3M mask (2K is lethal stuff - you must wear a high quality mask and do not attempt to work in a confined space), wet and dry sanding sheets in all the right grades of grit, panel wipes, masking tape, masking sheets etc. I researched on Youtube and thought this doesn't look too difficult - I should be able to get a half decent result, my expectations were realistic.

Now I like to think that I'm reasonably intelligent, capable of following instructions and copying someone else in a video. I'm patient, careful and methodical. Unfortunately, it seems I am also completely deluded with the spraying skills of a two year old.

My first job was the upper front and rear door panels, and front wing on my old Mercedes E320 - the original base coat and clear coat had just crazed over completely (perhaps not the original factory finish). The finished result? Despite my best efforts it only looked OK from 100 metres away to the man with the labrador retriever holding a white stick - anybody else was not so impressed.

My second attempt was on my son's Fiat Punto because I really thought I couldn't make a worse job than that first attempt. Admittedly it did involve a bit of filler to smooth out a dent and it was just the rear panel around the wheel and up to the window frame. The result - Oh dear, never mind. There will not be a third time!

If I was you, I'd try something like these stickers Car Body Repairs - Car Body Repairs UK at AutoStickerOriginal.co.uk - AutoStickerOriginal.com until you can afford do get a professional to do a decent job.

 

post some pics up of what you need to repair , some jobs are perfectly possibly with cans , others not so much

 

It's a follow on from this post. Pics on there.

My first blunder...

Hi, Today I tackled a few small scratches on my van which I wanted to repair with a 3 pen kit from Halfords. The abrasive pad however was nowhere near strong enough to smooth out the primer so I ended up buying 1200/2500 sand paper. Unfortunately, I have oversanded through the paint and ended...

www.detailingworld.co.uk

 

ah yeah , if you messed that up i would stay away from the cans

 

Is it not possible to improve on a second attempt? I've been quoted for a repair and I could just have it done if all else goes wrong?

 

someone with experience could improve it , i wouldnt really recommend it for you if the brush paint got out of hand

yeah sure you can just pay and have it fixed , the more you mess it up might make it cost more money though

 

I hear what you're saying, I really do. My first mistake with the touch up kit was unfortunately oversanding and then trying to incorrectly use a small paint touch up brush to cover a large blemish so it was always going to have brush strokes visible.

 

yeah you wont ever brush on silver and not see it

what have you been quoted ? the cans and materials to do a reasonable job will soon add up

 

300 plus vat as it currently is.

Ive got some fine sandpaper already. Finest is 2500.

Might be worth adding I'm time rich at the moment and as it's a self converted campervan, I'd love to be able to do as much on it as I can as it gets scuffs and scratches a lot of the time.

The attempt to fix it with the Halfords touch up kit was frustrating. The abrasive pad was in nowhere strong enough to smooth out the primer as instructed. Hence me buying the sandpaper. Oversanded, and then caused a patch in the paint. Trying to cover such an area with the brush was a dumb mistake. Which is why I'm more confident in trying a proper attempt. Its hard not to be swayed by some level of 'amateur' repairs I've seen online and on YouTube.

 

can you post a pic from further back to show where abouts it is on the vehicle

 

 

hmm yeah nasty place

honestly unless youre very lucky that will always stand out if you rattle can it , if i did it i would clear up to that swage line under the door handle

 

Another thing I'm aware of, that I'm not sure is blasphemous on here lol is people that have roller painted their whole vans. I've seen some up close and they look decent. So other than tacky stickers, it is an option...

With that said. The videos I've seen do go quote into depth, like you say spray clear coat higher up, then a light sand over most of the panel to then buff it up to blend it all better. I'm not expecting a perfect job by any means, but there must be poeple on this forum that have had decent results?

 

ive painted cars for many years for a living and done rattle can jobs at home , i dont mind telling how i would do it through pm's dont hold high hopes of it looking great being silver , i would suspect from a distance it will look like a spot in the middle of the door ...then again some colours match great and it could be more than acceptable

i wouldnt entertain anything other than 2k clear either

 

Based on what I've read, 2k clear coat is meant to be one of the things that will help achieve a better job. With the paint being metallic, I've also read that increases the difficulty. I'm not 100% commited to it yet. You're advice has made me question it. I do have a local automotive paint distributor near me I was going to pop into for some advice with the van. It would be interesting and appreciated if you were happy to send over some steps of what you would do if you were to attempt it. I'm always happy to stop if I feel om out of my depth.

 

yeah will message you ..

 

Thank you

 

I've painted a lot with cans over the years, and a little with a gun. The difficulty with both is not having a proper sealed environment in which to do it as this will always hamper your results as a DIY-er. You also need to be okay with the prep, and the finish as using cans will always result in more lemon peel than a gun job, especially if you're doing it out of a controlled environment. This is where you can risk going through with the wet and dry in getting a good finish, again more likely with aerosol paint as you just can't easily get the same depth of lacquer from them. You'll then need to compound out any sanding marks. A decent can of 2k lacquer is £25, a can of paint is £15, plus primer £15, plus materials, plus it almost inevitably not looking great and then needing to pay to get it done anyway except probably more paint will be required to hide your own job act it. I'd say £75-80 in materials if you don't already have things lying around. Metallics can be difficult to blend at the best of times but silver is horrendous, and it always looks bad, even from a lot of bodyshops. It's also not as easy as just spraying some individual parts which can be removed from the car and sprayed edge to edge. With this you'll need to not only mask off but do it so you can blend the paint into the old paint. Anything else will look awful.

This isn't to say you should never try doing something new, just that this is really not the thing to be trying it on. If you had some mirror covers you wanted to paint then I'd say jump in and go for it because a) there's no masking required and b) you won't end up chasing a mistake around the van. £300+VAT doesn't sound horrendous for painting an area like that, IMO.

If you want a truly easy DIY option I'd get some vinyl stripes for each side of the van to cover it.