Polishing up spray painted T?

[1925 Touring]

So the previous owner of my 1922 T decided to spay paint the car black with a rattle can. From far away the car looks pretty decent, but if you get close to it, not so much. It has a lot of cracks in the paint, some areas more than others, and numerous scratches, but these don't really bother me much. I was wondering however, if I could sand/wet sand/polish the paint to just make it a little shinier. Has anyone ever done this before? I dont know if id really do it or not, but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions if I did decide to try it. I dont think it has a clearcoat on it, and have no clue what type of spraypaint was used, other than its black ... never done this before. The car used to be red (fire cheifs car) so i wouldn't want to sand too hard!
Thanks!

[RGould1910]

If the paint was applied thick enuf you can color sand with 1500 to 2000 grit or higher then buff it just as you would a single stage automotive paint. Only issue I see is whether the rattle can paint you used is touch enuf for the sanding and buffing. It probably is. Try it on an inconspicuous spot and see.

[jiminbartow]

Yes. You can make such a paint job as nice as a professionally painted car. If you mask off all the glass, handles, radiator shell, and anywhere you don’t want to paint then get six or eight cans of Rustoleum Gloss black appliance Epoxy (from Home Depot). Wet sand the car to remove all old oxidation, imperfections, dirt, rough spots, cracks and to provide a smooth surface to get a good surface for the paint to adhere to. Spray on a fresh coat of paint to fill in the cracks and make it thick enough to provide protection to the body and allow for compounding without going through. Shake all the cans (a minute per can) to have them ready to spray when a can runs dry. Spray the paint on and continue spraying until the car is done. Try and spray a consistent thickness overall. Keep moving as you spray and only move to the next section when the previous section is a high gloss with no overspray or runs. When done. Let dry for a week before compounding. No need to wet sand unless dust or overspray has settled on the finish. Wet sand with 600 wet/dry sandpaper, but only enough to take out the flaw. Compound with Meguiar’s Rubbing Compound.

I am attaching 3 pictures of a fender I did with Rustoleum Gloss Black Appliance Epoxy. I used 2 cans on this fender and sprayed a constant flow of spray paint going back over the fender, re-wetting the overspray until it was reabsorbed into the wet paint. When I had a beautiful mirror finish with no overspray or runs. It went over so well, there was no need to wet sand or compound. This is how it looked after it dried. Be especially careful of runs on vertical surfaces such as doors and body panels. Horizontal surfaces can take more, but all surfaces will eventually run if you are too careful and get it too thick. Good luck.

[SteveK]

I've cleaned up a number of old cars and before I take any sandpaper to it, I would try some compounding material on a fender to see how it looks. Not a lot of work and very satisfying if it works for you. I have found that 3M Compounding is the best and you can buy it on Amazon for about $35 a bottle.

Steve

[TWrenn]

As Jim mentioned above, the key to a "decent rattle can paint job" is absolutely appliance epoxy! Far better than the "standard" rattle can paints you see all over the place. Read the can carefully! When you're staring at a row of 500 of em it's often overwhelming if not confusing. But this epoxy is as close to a regular body shop job as it gets.

[jiminbartow]

Steven, Austin said there were “a lot of cracks in the paint”, as well as scratches. For it to look decent and even professional, it would be best to wet sand those cracks and scratches out as much as possible and fill any left over remnants with a good coat of fresh paint then, when totally dry, wet sand smooth so as to bridge the cracks Since it was done improperly before, there are probably alot of impurities such as bugs and dirt that need to be addressed as well. Just compounding will not do the job properly. Speaking of which, I agree 3M products are very good, but in my 54 years of painting, I have never found a better compound than Meguiar’s. Their paste wax is fantastic as well. Jim Patrick

PS. Cracks are usually caused by applying the wrong type of paint over an underlying paint, such as applying lacquer over enamel. Lacquer is a hot paint that will melt the enamel…However, enamel can be applied over lacquer because lacquer is so hard and the enamel cannot soften the lacquer. Your paint is probably so old and cured out that this will not be an issue. I’m sure the Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy can go over any type of paint without getting a bad reaction, but it is always best to try a small area on top of a fender to make sure the old finish is compatible with the new.

[TWrenn]

Again I agree with Jim as to the quality of Meguiars. I have though since switched to Wizards, they have a fantastic polish called "Shine Master" and also a detailer spray called "Mist N Shine" which really works well and holds up great. Smells like bubble gum! They also have various "strengths" of scratch removers that I also swear by. Just one's choice really. Figured I'd throw that out there for discussion is all.

[SteveK]

I was just keying off the "a little bit shinier" comment. Nothing other than a professional paint job could come close to what JIm has suggested with the Appliance Epoxy. I also use a lot of Meguiar's products and their all great.

[1925 Touring]

Here are a few pictures of the cracks and stuff that i was talking about. The paint has some 'orange peel' in it as well.
My goal is just make the car a little nicer, im not really all that worried with the cracks. If i do end up painting it someday, it will be red. The car used to be a fire cheifs car when it was new, there's stilll some red left under the radiator shroud, and is wearing through where the door latches are. It also has a hole right in the middle of the windshield that is used to mount a spotlight (which i do have) but i must admit, looks kinda out of place on a 'regular' black car. we also have a TT firetruck that is red, and if it was was painted like that I think that would be pretty neat!
I bought some of that meguiars compound, like in the image above, but it didn't help me much. The pictures were before i tried the compound.

[1925 Touring]

More pictures

[JohnM]

It has a nice satin look. I wouldn't be ashamed of that at all!

[jiminbartow]

That does look a lot like lacquer was painted on top of enamel, creating those cracks. Everything I suggested I still stand behind. Sand the finish to smooth the surface, mask off and paint with Gloss Black Appliance Epoxy. The difference will be stunning.

[dinosbunny]

First, use a grease and wax remover, do not try to sand first. Second, wet sand using a 400 grit paper until you get a uniformed dull finish. third, any bare or pitted spots use a rustoleum fill primer, spot the area, wet sand and repeat until it feels nice. fourth, touch primer area with spray paint and wet sand with 400 until dull finish. Last, Get Rustoleum Turbo Spray paint, probably 4 cans, makes a wide fan easy to use, dont spray to heavy, check a you tube video. If you want later you can apply a clear coat if you want. dont forget to mask off all areas for overspray, use a tack rag before painting. everything here should cost you less than $100. good luck.

[SteveK]

A few other options you might try prior to tackling your red paint job; the real easy one would be to try some of the new ceramic sprays on the paint to see if that works for you (a one year or so fix) and the next option would be to spray it with some rattle can clearcoat which would last for a number of years. You should find a small spot to try each on and see which you like best. Unfortunately to make it look real good you will have to do what others have suggested which is sand it down and repaint.

[Allan]

You guys must have been kissed by the fairies if painting over the top of that paintwork will work. We have nothing that know of which will last painted on over a suspect substrate like that shown in the photos. Something is going on under the black coat, and putting another coat over the top is not likely to fix that. There is something which is incompatible in the layers underneath. I could use epoxy enamel to get a clean and clear finish, but I would not expect it last. Enamels are most forgiving, but even they have limitations.

Allan from down under.