Just painted trunklid... how to make shiny again?

[Thieu]

I needed new paint on my roof, trunklid and rear bumper.

I'm a cheapass... so I bought some primer/paint/clear in rattlecans and decided to try repainting the trunklid first just to try painting for the first time.

The paint came out fine... couple of coats of primer, paint and clear and it looks good. I polished and waxed but it doesn't shine...

what gives? Do I need to wet sand again with 2000 grit then polish and wax?

For the roof and bumper I'll probably buy a paint gun and do it the right way... probably redo the trunk with factory paint.

Anyone? It looks better than big white nasty sunbaked blotches that were there before

[ThatGuy]

Pics would help. Might just need wetsanded and buffed again, but I could tell more if I could see how your paint looks. I wouldn't expect great results from rattle-can clear coat though.

[Thorpedo]

we use an aerosol clear at our shop for small cut-ins and little spot ins under bumpers and such and it works pretty well its a bronzish color can and it says "CLEAR 1" on it...cant remember the brand but it works pretty well if you take your time, it can yield some pretty decent results its dies back a little bit so it wont be nearly as shiny but it'll look decent from a bit away if you do it right. i do hope you didnt wax it after painting it that soon. not good. you shouldnt even wet sand it and buff it until a day or so has passed...especially since you probably didnt bake it at all. aerosol sets up a lot quicker but still, you should of waited.

[Thieu]

hmm... I waited about 3-4 hours until I polished/waxed...

I'll take the wax off tomorrow -> wet sand with 2000 grit and re-polish + wax again...

will that help at all?

Anyone know how much a quart of automotive paint costs to have mixed?

[Ritz S14]

I'm not sure if this applies to rattle can paint. But you're not susposed to wax any freshly painted surface for at least two months, so that it can cure(release all activator).

[sleep]

we use an aerosol clear at our shop for small cut-ins and little spot ins under bumpers and such and it works pretty well its a bronzish color can and it says "CLEAR 1" on it...cant remember the brand but it works pretty well if you take your time, it can yield some pretty decent results its dies back a little bit so it wont be nearly as shiny but it'll look decent from a bit away if you do it right. i do hope you didnt wax it after painting it that soon. not good. you shouldnt even wet sand it and buff it until a day or so has passed...especially since you probably didnt bake it at all. aerosol sets up a lot quicker but still, you should of waited.


You SHOULDNT even wetsand or buff for a day, but i have wetsanded and buffed paint that was still soft to the touch.....Its not like its bad, it just takes alot more skill and finesse.. I hated doing fresh jobs like that, but its not bad. That IS coming out of a paint booth with REAL paint and REAL clear coat though.

I wouldn't expect the best results from aerosol clear on an entirely repainted surface like that.

and yeah shouldn't wax fresh paint.......

[kazuo]

You shouldn't wax fresh paint for like 30 days IIRC.

First problem.

Second, yooou need moooore cleaaaaaar. The clear in the cans is real thin and needs A LOT of coats (thin ones :P) before it gets any kind of shine.

Wetsand it a bit with like 2-2500 grit, clean & tack and start laying down clear on it. Don't wax it until like 30 days after you're done.