Paint finishing

[southerly95]

Our 65 convertible had a great respray about 5 years ago but the paint split on the bonnet for 6" just unnder the long bonnet flash on the side and right in the concave part.

I have cleaned it out down to bare metal and filled and undercoated till smooth and then top coated with some matched spray paint (OEW).

To avoid overspray I taped off for an inch and a half around the affected area and then top coated. Looks great and a perfect match but have created a 'step' where where the tape was.

How do I remove that without mucking up the otherwise excellent finish?

Thanks, John

[MoggyTech]

It's actually a mistake to mask off too close to the repair area, as you cannot then blend in the finish to avoid the step in the finish you now have.

Best way forward now is get some 1200 or 2000 grit wet and dry, a bucket of water and some soap. Use the 1200 or 2000 grit wet with a little soap on the paper, and gently colour sand out the step. This will dull the paint slightly, so you then use rubbing compound to burnish the paint. Use the rubbing compound with a damp cloth. Then T-Cut to give more shine, followed by some wax a few days later.

One problem you may encounter with the above, is if you primed to the masked area, you will expose primer when you buff out the step. If this happens, you will need to blend in a topcoat without masking too close to the repair. The overspray can then be flatted out the next day.

[southerly95]

Thanks for the reply, yes I realised my error too late, I had allowed for overspray when taping but forgot and it built up where I had not intended to. Using a tin of pain spray was not ideal as the spray pattern is too wide and think I will get a proper compressor and fine gun for making good.

I got some 1500 grade and that was fine but used some thinners just to take the edge off the new paint first.

Working on concave areas I found to be really difficult and it has taken me 30 hrs of painstaking work but it can't be seen now so must be ok.

Regards, John