2013 Fit with about 80,000 miles, color is "polished metal metallic" code NH737M

Might look easy. It's not. There are a lot of things which can go wrong. Feel free to share. (Also of note: this project is not entirely over for me if you read through the directions)

To begin with, this is not my initial attempt with this car. I was previously involved with a brush-on kit which went south (you name it, it happened). I had to wet sand everything down and start from scratch. This spray paint kit is from Paint Scratch (site: Automotive Touch Up Paint from PaintScratch - Order Pro Grade Paint - PaintScratch.com). I recommend it with reservations; specifically that if you have a used (weathered) car, please realize the original factory paint color (and they even code for the specific plant from the VIN) is probably no longer the actual, literal color stuck to the body. Wet sanding and the distance you spray from also seem to have an effect.

Everyone seems to recommend a really aggressive grit when taking the paint off. I used 2000, 3000 and 5000 grit a lot during this project. It takes the paint off much more slowly. Automotive masking tape (similar to painter's tape, sticks just enough) sandpaper and masking paper were available at Walmart. The car's previous owner had tried to touch up a spot on the roof but not done a very good job; it bubbled and rusted underneath and was getting worse. Just painting over rust will not fix the problem. So, after sanding through the rust and priming, I made my way through the project without too many surprises... up until the clear coat. The basic idea is that you build the paint up higher than it needs to be and sand it even with the surrounding area.

You have to use a pretty heavy hand with the clear coat to get it on evenly, which isn't ideal for vertical surfaces. Unlike the paint, it also dries very quickly. The paint took much longer to dry than stated in the instructions; I would plan on almost a full day for this kind of work. A space heater or hair dryer can be very helpful. The clear coat also drips more readily, which makes it difficult to use on vertical surfaces. I really liked how even the spray paint kit was, but it's definitely a downside when you get to that stage. Otherwise, I'd say it was almost fun.

I couldn't find an auto body shop that would just do a touch up. They want to do a full panel at a time. I actually sympathize after this. The site linked above has a good video on the process. In my case, the process was 1) mask off the smallest area possible 2) build up paint in thin layers 3) sand out the edges and 4) clear coat whatever was left. I'm not unhappy with the results, but you can tell the color isn't an exact match. In cases where the rust is more extensive, I imagine you would also need some kind of filler, which I'm not familiar with. This was about removing rust (caused by neglect) and covering it with something that looked close for 1/10 of the cost of a professional paint shop. It's a job most home mechanics could probably do. I'll make sure and take a picture of the finished product in the 30 days or so to come so you can see how it turned out.


Masked off, sprayed from about a foot away. This is going well...

A nice, smooth, gray square. Doesn't match.

Re-masked perimeter an inch or so out and sprayed clear coat (walnut ding for perspective)

 

I'm all for DIY repairs, but it is basically impossible to get a good match with your approach. A small repair with hard/straight edges will always draw attention. Maybe that doesn't bother you, and if you really removed all the rust this is perfectly adequate to maintain the vehicle. On the other hand, you can find plenty of online tutorials about how to make soft/feathered edges and how to blend in your repair, which will produce a much better result.

Most paint shops won't do a small/spot repair because your car is their advertisement for future business. It is nearly impossible to match a small spot to a larger, weathered panel on an older vehicle, even with the best techniques and materials, and they know that.

From the autobody shop's perspective, there are two scenarios:
1) Passerby: "Dude, your formerly rusty car looks awesome!"
You: "Thanks, I got it repaired by Bob at Local Autobody Shop X. He's the man."
Passerby: "Cool, maybe I will take my car there too."
You: "You better hurry, because he's popular and there is a two-month wait list."

2) Passerby: "Dude, your formerly rusty car now has weird squares all over it! What the heck."
You: "I know. I tried to save money with Jim at Discount Autobody Shop Y. He's the cheapest and fastest but it sort of sucks."
Passerby: "Bummer. I will never go there."

 

To my earlier post, I'd also add the clear coat dried much physically harder than the paint (useful to know when sanding down). I definitely have a mismatched "square" instead of a rusty circle. Just to one up the next comment, I even looked at the cost of a replacement roof from a salvage yard instead of dealing with all this. $200? Sure. Guess what? The roof is welded on. Seen this? PowerPoint Presentation (honda.com)

 

Update: I sanded it off and started again. I found a shop near me that matched the actual paint on the car (got code, then used paint chips) and mixed up a spray can for only a few bucks. Took them about 20 minutes! A couple spots on the car are now all but indistinguishable from the factory paint. If I had known, I obviously would have bought from them to begin with. If and when for anyone else: I'd just assume that unless your car is very new, the VIN + color code combination isn't going to get you a perfect match. I could be wrong. As for the spot on my roof, I'm not unhappy and there's no rust, which was my main concern. I'd say 90% of people would probably prefer the new "alternate" look to the mismatched "patch" look. The downside is that the final finish texture I'm seeing isn't exactly like the rest of the roof. Live and learn.

I had trouble with the clear coat, again. Even tried a different brand. It seems that clear acrylic spray likes to dribble or pebble itself onto the paint (drying almost instantly) instead of generating a fine, even mist like the color matched paint. This makes it very frustrating to get a smooth finish. I eventually resolved my situation with polishing and skipping it altogether. In small touch up areas, I'd say you could get away with it. Again, I sympathize with the shops who refuse to do anything but full panels. As for taping, I'd second the opinion that paint lines are, in themselves, more noticeable than the mismatched color in a lot of ways. I eventually got to where I just cut up a cardboard box, blocked off the surrounding area, and only taped the first pass. A little overspray actually helped cover things up in the end. Your mileage may vary, of course. I bought several different grits of sandpaper, some abrasive paste, paint degreaser, and a $10 hairdryer to speed up the drying process, which I would consider helpful but not crucial. I feel a more knowledgeable about the process... although a little too late, of course.

Some of the quotes I got from auto body shops were about what I saved on buying the car one vs. another in the first place (it has some hail damage and scratches in other areas as well). If the car ever makes it to 300,000 miles I might consider having the roof professionally painted. I'm at a point more recently where I think the project crosses streams with how much maintenance most people are willing to put into a ride period. I changed the transmission fluid in this one. Shifts a lot better. But why didn't someone else? Spark plugs? Same. I really think a lot of folks just aren't sure and so never try. Whatever.


Finally! An actual match. Nice and even.

Argh! Clear coat dribbles! Curses! Double curses!

 

Looks good! What's next? Wet sanding?

 

Trying to remember my password...

 

Stared at it for a long time. Finally found a mom & pop shop who pulled the ding and painted the whole panel for a couple hundred bucks. Few and far between though. Touch up paint is for scratches now.