Before and After

[pyat]

Starboard Stern, before.


And after.


Port Stern, before.


And after!

It's far from perfect, but it's a lot less jarring than it was before. And the cost of paint, primer, clear coat and putty was 1/25th the quoted price for professional repainting. I also did some work on the front bumper, which is not seen, mainly because a blob of primer dribbled down unseen behind the paper I'd used to block things off. And, because the paint was running out so the demarcation line between original paint and retouch is clear. But even that looks much better than before.


Special bonus pic, me looking all blue collar.

Comments

[annvole.livejournal.com]

that looks more appealing and less a-peeling

[leonard-arlotte.livejournal.com]

But your collar isn't blue. It's grey.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Ring around the collar?

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

It looks a tiny bit more matte, but other than that, it's terrific! Nicely done.

[hannahmorgan.livejournal.com]

Nicely done!

[catarzyna.livejournal.com]

Good work!

[pvenables.livejournal.com]

Expert work.

[seattlemouse.livejournal.com]

The paint work looks good.

And you do, indeed, have a blue collar. :)

[lee-in-limbo.livejournal.com]

Looks good, man.

Lee.

[doc-mystery.livejournal.com]

Looks great! And I'll be nit-picky enough to point out you DO have a blue- collar around your T-shirt!

::B::

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Though, trust me, in person it looks patchy. But MUCH better than before.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Well.... in person it's not so expert, trust me.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

What... it started out white, until I started spraying... hmm...

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Lee! Elizabeth was sad because she thought I was painting flowers on it.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Curses! My secret manual-labor shame, revealed!

[catsarah.livejournal.com]

Pssht...that's no collar! That's just a neck hole! :D

[girlydoll.livejournal.com]

I have to ask, how did you get the top of your bumper?? It looks like you inserted your car into a giant pencil sharpener and well... ya know, twisted.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Oh, the whole bumper crumpled on each side, and I popped it out again. It's a sort of collapsible plastic over the metal fender. It's very handy for repairing damage - but it makes the paint flake off like crazy.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Who are you callin' a dirty blue neckhole??

About that patchiness...

[archai.livejournal.com]

This is Archai's Crash Course in Wet-Sanding.

Supplies: $30, give or take.

1. 1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper, three to five sheets of each. This is normally something you'll have to get at the counter, as it's considerably finer than most people will ordinarily use. You will be using it extraordinarily. Normally this kind of sandpaper will be for wet sanding; ensure that this is so.

2 & 3. Select a "soft block" (dense, closed-cell neoprene foam sanding block) and a squeegee (small, plain, flat rubber rectangle) from the auto body tools shelf.

4. Go a shelf over to the waxes. Meguiar's makes a three-step paint cleaner/polish/paste wax system. Buy at least the first two of these. Alternate brands may be substituted; paint cleaners and polishes are created roughly equal.

Here We Go:

1. Set aside some time. To do one side of your bumper, if this is your first time, allow yourself at least an hour. I could probably do this in fifteen to twenty minutes, but I've done it before (ask Warp) and would even allow myself about an hour. Don't rush yourself.

2. Run a bucket of water. Make sure it's a reasonably clean bucket. You'll want to have at least a gallon, preferably two. You'll see why.

3. This step depends on what you're comfortable with. If the "matte finish" or orange peel is really coarse, use 1500 grit paper first. If it's very fine (if the bumps are twice or three times as fine as a literal orange peel), or you want to proceed with much caution, use the 2000 grit paper and save the 1500 grit for some later project.

4. Tear off enough paper to cover about half of your soft block and wrap around either side, and apply it to the soft block in this manner. My favorite way to hold it is to secure the paper on the sides of the block with my thumb and ring or pinky finger and gently set the intervening digits atop the block to apply pressure with, but this is a matter of personal style. Any combination of digits or even additional appendages is acceptable, provided it works.

5. Dip the block and paper into your bucket of water. Have your squeegee ready in your other hand. Applying light pressure, gently, start sanding. The water will start doing interesting things on the paint - you'll see it foam up and start looking weird, and especially at first, you may need to re-dip your block a lot. In fact, if in doubt, dip it again. See now why more water is better?

6. It DOESN'T TAKE MUCH. Stop FREQUENTLY to wipe the foamy, funny-looking water off with your squeegee, and see if the orange peel is gone. Be especially cautious around the edges of your freshly applied paint and while working on tight or compound curves, but if you mess it up, it's not the end of the world. You've already done touch-up work. All you need to do is get the surface smooth.

7. Once you've sanded the bumps even with the valleys and blended the edges, stop. If you started with 1500 grit paper, switch to 2000 grit and briefly refine your sanding area. If you started with 2000 grit, never mind.

8. Rinse your area and towel it dry. Get a fresh, soft cotton towel, and shake up your bottle of paint cleaner. Follow the application instructions. By the end of this stage, your bumper should look uniform and shiny.

9. ...but there's nothing like a little overkill. Apply the polish, too. It'll take the shine just a little deeper, and finish polishing out the surface.

10. If you'd like, apply wax.

And you're done. It'll get your hands the color of your car, or some lighter variant, but that cleans up with soap and water and no part of this process will harm you at all. If you retain this skill, you acquire the Remove Minor Scratches skill, for which humans have a +3 racial bonus. You gain an additional skill point for each two instances of use; this one builds easily.