Ghetto paint job

[gabkwong]

I was dumb enough to park my Miata so close to the garage door that when the door came down, the bottom of the door scrap off the paint of the front bumper of an area of 4"x6". It took the black top paint off and exposing the white base coat. It is more of many scratches than taking the entire section off.

Do you think the spray paint from the parts store work OK in this situation? I understand it is not going to be as good as a body shop work. But being a card carrying member of the TCB, I really not ready for a $300+ paint job. The other alternative is using the tiny brush with touch-up paint, which I think result will be as bad or worse than a spary can.

Let me know what you think!

[sammm]

The nose of my '92 had a spot like that when I bought it. I touched it up with the small bottle of OEM touch-up paint (brush). I did several thin coats, wet sanding the brush marks out in between coats. Turned out really good IMHO. Had to get very close to it to notice it had been done. Black may be easier than red.

[gabkwong]

Thanks! I'll give it a try! I just wash it. It is bad,. but the scratches just took off the top coat of paint.

[trickyrix]

I fixed and painted a little rusty spot on the rocker sill of a red RX7 I had. it was a pain to match the color, but if you mask off what doesn't need paint, use several light coats, and finish it with progressively finer sandpaper (I think I finished up with wet 1200 grit, might have been 1600), you should expect pretty darn good results. Your job ought to be easier since the car's black.

Expect it to be a good half-day/all-day project... good luck!

[icepenguin66]

After having to replace my front bumper cover and hood, I just spray painted it and it turned out okay. The hood looks a bit off but the bumper looked great considering I needed about twice the amount of paint! I think it looks fine until I get the entire car repainted...a white 90 with 242k miles is starting to come off.

[Machismo]

If any of you have seen my ghetto paint job (Smoke Grey miata w/ Black Stripes to mimic the Cobra on the fenders, then yes you can do it yourself. I painted the whole car w/ rattle cans. I left the base coat so I am not worried about how it will weather. The hardest and longest part of the job is the prep work. You really have to be patient when doing large areas. Requires alot of cutting and wet sanding to required results. Your small area should not be a problem and not even noticeable given certain lighting changes. Take your time and you'd be surprised by the results. Don't underestimate rattle cans. They do require more paint, and have terrible overspray, but with wet sanding between coats, I can get mirror finishes with enough time. I have been painting for many years with my personal art pieces, and for the money, it usually makes the pieces 2x better. Good luck and practice on a few scraps first. The edges will be higher nearest the masking and the center lowest filling in imperfections. This is where prep work is so crucial. Your area might eventually be 8" x 12" when final coat is applied. Sorry to be so long winded, just easy to make more of a mess than sometimes worth.

[black roadster]

...

Why don't you introduce yourself in the Introductions section and post pics?

[boisking]

Why don't you introduce yourself in the Introductions section and post pics?

The rest of us appreciate your input, Machismo.

[gabkwong]

Thanks! Machismo. Welcome to the TCB!