How should I clean this up?

[eastz14miata]

My girlfriend recently bought a 1991 Miata. The car had been in minor accidents, the driver side door and left rear quarter panel shows some damage. The previous owner had the damage repaired and resprayed the whole car. The job wasn't done well, other than over spray on wheels and engine bay, it left a big mess on the damaged areas. It looks 10 times worse after I buffed/polished the car.

We're on a very tight budget, can't afford a proper paint job. We decided to spray paint the damaged area. The result is amazing for how much we spent.

The door also came out well except the part where I try to blend the paint into the fender. (Should have left it alone). My plan was to spray onto the fender, then sand it back until I can't see the difference. As I was sanding the paint back, it turned into this. You can see the line down the middle of the picture.

Do you guys think a good polisher will help with this? I have my eyes set on the Porter Cable 7424xp. All the review I've read suggest that's the polisher to go with for beginners.

Thanks in advance.

 

[weavers]

thats a great improvement!

a PC won't do the job all its own. you need to wet sand the paint, 1000, 2000, 3000 grit. the clear coat probably looks like an orange peel and just from the way it was painted. it needs to be sanded back, then compound then polish. the PC will help alot with the compound and polish. its probably best to sand this by hand.

wet sanding will give that highly reflective mirror look. be careful not to sand through the paint. atleast you have the supplies to fix it, if you do. you probably will need to do 1000 grit and work up to 3000.

here is junkman 2000. its a long winded video, but he has good technique
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EMZJQ6KKko]Wet Sanding 101 - Part 3 - YouTube[/video]

i went with the griot DA over the PC. more power and a life time warranty. buy a 5" backplate and 5.5" pads. I like megs m105/m205 or ultimate compound/polish. if your thinking of getting a DA, get one, you will see professional results with so much less effort compared to working by hand.

 

[BobbyG]

Posts like this will only have all the bodyshops in your area pissed off at you! With results like this how on earth can they continue to charge $1500.00 or so when you're spending $75.00 and achieve such great results....:laughing: rops:

To remove the orange-peal start wet-sanding with 400 to 600 grit and always use a foam pad. The foam pad evenly distributes the sanding force giving you an even and uniform cut.

Be careful not to be overly aggressive and sand right through the new paint. Keep in mind that you're trying to level out the high spots and create a more uniform surface to finish.

While you can wet-sand up to including 3000 grit, for what you're trying to achieve finishing up with 2000 grit should be sufficient. Be sure to use plenty of clean fresh water to keep the paper cutting and avoid clogging the papers pores.

Most of the dual action polishers today will work well when combined with the right pads and compounds. When using the Porter Cable style polishers stay with the 5 1/2" diameter pads. These polishers really work well with this size pad.

I prefer to put my own package together.

• Porter Cable 7424xp
• Lake Country Backing Plate
• Lake Country Flat Pads[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

 

[donb]

Posts like this will only have all the bodyshops in your area pissed off at you! With results like this how on earth can they continue to charge $1500.00 or so when you're spending $75.00 and achieve such great results....:laughing: rops:

:iagree:
Really good results on the Miata! Nice work.