So lets say it's a nice wonderful sunny day. No wind. And I decide to do some fixing on my car, removing the rust spots. So I get on with the rust removal, really sand it down to bare metal and so on. A bit of filler, some primer and we're ready for paint!

But I have a question. Can I do it with the sun shining on the freshly sprayed paint? Or should I do it in the shade? Same question for clearcoat. I'm having some trouble with my paint, it's okay in the shade, the transition is nice and smooth, but in the sun it's slightly noticable, a bit more matt. Also, when I applied the clearcoat, instead of it going clear it went matt so I had to polish it really hard(waited two days) to get it to shine, but it's still not quite the same. Fine in the shade, but slightly off key in the sun.

Did I do it wrong by doing it in the sun and not in the shade?

Also, can I polish the paint itself after it's dried up well?

cheers, meh

Edited 9 April, 200917 yr by MehMan

If your using cans, thats what your doing wrong. it wont match.

Look at mine

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...hl=my+spray+job

Its fine in the shade, once the sun gets on it you can really see the differance.

the sun shinning on it shouldnt effect things much....it would if its super hot as hell outside but not now in spring

try and paint when the panel is warm and keep the cans warm in hot water

If your using cans, thats what your doing wrong. it wont match.

Look at mine

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...hl=my+spray+job

Its fine in the shade, once the sun gets on it you can really see the differance.

I got mine mixed via the colour code, but maybe it should've been done with an actual car part since paint tends to age. But the paint really is spot on in the shade, it's only a tad different and you have to look a bit hard to notice it in the sun. It's not a catastrophe(all my other attempts at painting were though). I'll try to get a picture tommorow.

the sun shinning on it shouldnt effect things much....it would if its super hot as hell outside but not now in spring

try and paint when the panel is warm and keep the cans warm in hot water

Thanks for the tip. I'm actually from outside the UK, it's a bit hotter these days with temperatures going as high as 20°C in the shade, which is very hot for spring. But still, I'd imagine the super hot as hell condition being 35°C+ in the shade.

Still, I'll try this tip tommorow, the weather forecast shows that the nice weather should hold up until monday at least, which gives me more than ample time to tackle the smaller rust spots by the door and on the roof and the large rust spot on the wheel arch.

Also, paint polishing, yay or nay? I'm guessing that'll just rub it off and leave me in an odd spot.

The polishing I did on the matt clearcoat did leave me with a completely smooth surface, but if you look very closely you can see that there are two different kinds of clearcoat on the car now. Mainly in the distorsion effect upclose. Or maybe that's just the result of me screwing things up. Eh, I'll see tommorow.

Alright, pictures as promised:

Sunlight, with flash:

Shade:

The repair's been done on the right side, i took a picture of the whole panel for you to judge how well it blends.

I should take some angle pictures now that I think of it.

mmm I think I will get mine mixed by euro colour then.

Not being satisfied with the colour coded mix I decided to change the local shop to go to a big more pro solution. Took the front bumper tow cover and had it done by that. A dry test on a piece of paper was light years apart, mainly in the spray itself, the new one has way more pressure and general spray coverage is tons better. The shade seems to match better, but the final test will be on the car itself. Will report it later on.