DIY paintwork?

[daveo2005]

A few months ago a muppet left a deep scratch down the length of my volvo from the rear arch to the front door. No apology left, far less any contact details so rather than cough £400 for a respray I tried a can of spray paint from Volvo. Fortunately none of the panels were dented (muppet couldn't have been driving another tank!) so I was able to remove the scratch by rubbing it back to not quite the bare metal. Resprayed with four very thin coats of paint plus two lacquer with light rubbing down with 1200 grit between coats. The paint has been on for six months now with no signs of lifting but the finish is dull and lacks the reflective gloss of the factory finish. Is this down to the aerosol method or could I have done more in the prep / finishing of the job?

Pics to follow.

Thanks, Dave

[tc]

It could be down to a few things,

Poor finishing of the surface prior to painting, you must use at least 6-800 grit paper to get a smooth surface.

Not a god enough covering of paint, you dont say how much of the car you painted or how many tins you used. Usually a spray can will be good enough for small areas, but if you get into doing something large like a door or a bonnet you would have to buy quite a lot of cans to get the same sort of coverage as a spray gun. If you dont put a thick enough coat on to keep the paint "Wet" as your applying it, then you will end up with a dull coat as the overspray will settle onto the tacky paint rather than sink into it and leave a dull finish.

To get rid of the dull finish try a gentle rub down with some 12-1500 grit wet and dry paper with loads of soapy water. Dont remove too much otherwise you'll break through the paint and have to re do it, just enough to flatten the paint. Once you've done that buff the paint back up with some cutting compound or T cut if you cant get hold of any. Use on a damp cloth and rub until the shine returns.

Good luck

[daveo2005]

Thanks TC.

The area I painted is about 2 1/2 ft by 1ft and I think I used around two thirds of a can, so I may well have used to little paint as you say. Pics attached now - you can see where the new paint is.

The paint is a metallic with a top coat of lacquer. If I rub back a little and then polish it up will that remove the lacquered layer or do the two paints bond as it cures?