How To Save A Paint Job

[Plowboy]

I think everyone that's built a model has, at one time, ruined a paint job. Whether it's a drop of glue, burn through or other. My latest goof was smearing what I thought was Tamiya Finish Compound, but was actually Tamiya White Putty, on the roof of my latest model. In my defense, both have white lids. But, I obviously didn't read the tube! I didn't get a photo as I was too busy trying to get it off. But, this is what it looked like after sanding it with 1000 grit.

I've saved quite a few paint jobs with this method. But, this one was the ultimate test! I first take a piece of paper and roughly draw the size of the area I need to fix. In this instance, my drawing looked a little too large. So, I cut inside the lines.

I then placed the body on my stand to free both hands. I take the paper, hold it a half an inch or so above the body.

Then I do a quick shot of paint through the hole in the paper. In this instance, I had to shoot a little extra as there were a couple of small pits in the damaged area that needed to be filled. 

As you can see, the paint is a little thick around the edges. You won't get that with a quick shot of paint. This is an extreme example. 

Sand with 1000 grit. You can still see a hint of the edges. But, we're going to take care of that with clear.

Next step is cut the hole in the paper larger.

Shoot a coat of clear through it.

Sand with 2000 grit. You can see that the edge of the paint is fading away.

Shoot another coat of clear through the paper. This time, I moved the paper over towards the center slightly.

Sand with 2000. Then 4000. Polish with Tamiya Course and Fine compounds. And I'm back to where I was! Ready for Tamiya Fine compound. Like it never happened!

After Tamiya Fine Compound, there's no hint of the previous damage.

I even took it out in the sun and couldn't see where I did the repair. So, next time you have a goof, give this a try before stripping and starting over. I've used this method on metallic and solid colors with great success. It sure has saved me a lot of time, materials and grief.   

 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Excellent  

[stitchdup]

I fixed my bug paint job with a very similar technique but since it was on the windscreen header I made a loose box for over the roof and cut a piece of paper to fit over the hood and through the screen opening. It turned out well, even though it was hok pearl. You can also half roll masking tape along the edges if its not on a panel line, eg for a soft edge on a 2 tone paintjob or repair similar to yours on larger areas or for painting at a higher pressure

[TransAmMike]

Great suggestion Roger. I assume it would as well with a sanding burn thru. Wish you would have posted this a few days ago since I tried sanding with my new micro-mesh pads (first attempt) and had a burn thru on my latest paint job.

Thanks for sharing.

[Plowboy]

3 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Great suggestion Roger. I assume it would as well with a sanding burn thru. Wish you would have posted this a few days ago since I tried sanding with my new micro-mesh pads (first attempt) and had a burn thru on my latest paint job.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanx! Yeah, it works on burn throughs. That's actually why I developed this method. I was tired of starting over because of small mishaps. This was the first model I tried it on. It had a couple of burn throughs that I had to fix.

Burn throughs are also why I quit using the micro mesh pads and switched to Tamiya polishing compounds. 

[TransAmMike]

1 hour ago, Plowboy said:

Thanx! Yeah, it works on burn throughs. That's actually why I developed this method. I was tired of starting over because of small mishaps. This was the first model I tried it on. It had a couple of burn throughs that I had to fix.

Burn throughs are also why I quit using the micro mesh pads and switched to Tamiya polishing compounds. 

Yeah, after I repainted it, I only compounded and polished. 

[slusher]

Excellent Roger, great tip!

[Andrew McD]

Thanks for this little tutorial.  A great technique I might never have thought of but will no doubt need to make use of!

[Dpate]

Beautiful work Roger.  Will this work with 2K clear as well or basically works with everything?

[Plowboy]

1 hour ago, Dpate said:

Beautiful work Roger.  Will this work with 2K clear as well or basically works with everything?

I know nothing about 2K Dusty. But, I don't see why it wouldn't because all you're doing is spot spraying paint and leveling it out with clear. The only issue I can think of is if spraying paint over the 2K could somehow cause a reaction. I've had that issue with other paints before. But, IIRC, I was mixing brands. It's never happened with Tamiya paints.

[speedboy57]

nice.

[Lunajammer]

Well done sir.

[carrucha]

Very useful tip!

[bogger44]

Great save and tutorial Roger, thanks for sharing!

[iamsuperdan]

Will have to try this. I messed up a Ferrari, huge blemish on the hood. Haven't fixed it, and it bugs me every time I look at it.

[Mattilacken]

Thanks for this great tip m8!

It saved my 454SS but I messed up again, will see if I managed to buff it out.. or do some one have a good idea of what to do?