kaotic guide to spray painting

im getting sick of painting..

my advice - make sure the damn spray putty is completely dry before putting any paint on it.

i have been doing 5 areas on my car that needed touch up paint, 2 are done to my satisfaction, one is bodged and needs fixing and two are still in progress.
about that, anyone who thinks painting is an easy quick process is sadly mistaken.
first you have the work of rubbing back the flaky paint so that when you run your fingers over it feels dead smooth. then you need to mask and paper around the area youre painting to protect from overspray
*i like to paint whole panels preferably as it relieves of the need to smooth out th lines where th paint has built up next to th masking tape, although im starting to think leave a generous border around the area youre working with and use a fine wet n dry to smooth out any transition paint before the clear instead*then you need to apply the spray putty in thin repeated layers so as to build up the surface under the flaked paint to the height of the rest of the paint. make damn sure each layer is dry before adding the next as wet putty on dry putty will make th dry putty wet again and you want it to dry evenly, not end up with a patch of blue mud on your car that takes 5 days to harden properly.
then you need to sand it again, making sure it is absolutely friggin perfectly smooth before applying any paint whatsoever, you want to make it as smooth as humanely (or not) possible because paint will exaggerate any minute indent or lump.
apply a couple of thin coats of primer
let the primer dry properly before running over it with a smooth wet n dry paper. a 2000 is great

*when using wet and dry between painting, dry the paint surface thoroughly afterwards and leave in sun for a bit before painting again*

apply your colour evenly and in a thin coat. let the paint dry so that it doesnt have that wet shine and then add another coat. dont worry if it doesnt look right, it will after a few coats, the paint comes out like a powder

DO NOT TOUCH - EVeN If YoU THiNK IT iS DRy..
(if you really have to for some reason, press your fingernail into the paint thats collected on the masking tape around the area you are painting to see if it still dents)

once it looks evenly coloured, leave it for an hour or so if its a warm day (which it should be because you are an idiot if youre painting in under 25c weather) before adding a few coats of clear over the top to protect your new paint.

so that is my kaotic guide to spray painting. good luck! and dont blame me if you fuck up lmao
*a friend told me a handy tip th other day, she dropped in while i was painting, she said if i shake the hell out of the can and then leave it in the sun for five minutes, then shake the hell out of it again, it warms the paint so it mixes properly and runs smooth and you dont get as much spatter*

and you should never use the first spray on your car, test it on the grass first :)