[Tassem]

“All Good things must come to an end!”

Sounds like something Murphy would’ve said. Well whoever said it, they’re right. What happened? I managed to marr the Verna’s beautiful derriere. How did it happen? Could be Carelessness, Callousness, Cockiness. Call it what you may. The result remains. The white bottom was not so white anymore.

See for yourself.



So now, what do we do about it? Call the showroom of course. Minutes later, I’m educated that the bumper costs a ridiculous 1500 rupees. You heard it right. This Million Rupee car had a bumper that will bend, but wont dent your wallet. What’s the catch though? There’s always a gray area somewhere. Well it turns out there is a gray area. The entire bumper in fact is gray. So what’s the cost for paint then, you ask. Well, it’s in the ballpark of 4-5k. So there you go. 6-7k sounds about right. Murphy’s happy again.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way”

Well not quite. I had the will to reverse into the parking spot. But there was no way. And boy did I learn. Now that I know the only way is to paint the darn thing, might as well get it over with. My wife wanted me to wait till I banged it up further and the get it painted. It pains me that 1- She was ok to live with this ghastly abomination on the car. And 2 – She expected me to do more damage with my imbecile driving! That just won’t do!

“If it’s worth doing. It’s worth doing it yourself!”

Me: Looking at the bumper and scratching my head “We need to go to Comm Street.”
Her: Lighting up. “Are you finally taking me shopping there?”
Me: No.
Her: Visibly unhappy. “Then?”
Me: Still looking at the bumper “I need to get Paint.”
Her: Surely Agitated. “Now?, I thought you were taking it tomorrow.”
Me: Ignoring the fact that she referred to the car as ‘IT’. “No, I’m going to try painting it myself.”

You don’t need to hear the rest of the conversation. Let’s just say that I won this battle. Of course she got to do her shopping as well.

Having a white car has its advantages and disadvantages. Advantage is that white is an easily available color of paint. Disadvantage is that there’s a million different shades of white out there. Nevertheless, the ‘Crystal White’ as Hyundai likes to call it, is a pretty straightforward shade of white. Not like the stupid ‘Desert Brown’ of Maruti, which I can swear is pink! Or Cinnamon Green or Sassy Grass Green and what not! I’m surprised we haven’t seen any ‘Blue Balls’ or ‘Purple Nurples’ yet.

Anyways. I got a can of spray paint in white. I went looking for Bosny or ComPaint. I have experience with both of these. But Comm Street after eight is not the place or time to be picky. You grab what you get, and you get the hell out. Simple. What did I grab? A can of Magic. And some sandpaper in two grit grades. I had everything else at home.

Early Sunday morning and I set out with my arsenal.



You can see the Can of Paint, Sandpaper, Scissors, Piece of Cardboard with a small window cut out, some light Rubbing Polish, Cloth and of course, some Masking Tape. What you don’t see is a bottle of thinner and some rag and lots of newspaper.

While painting is simple, it’s extremely easy to mess it up. Before Proceeding, Keep these things in mind. If you already know it – READ IT AGAIN!

• Make sure all surfaces to be painted are free of dust, dirt, grease etc.
• Cover everything within 1 meter of the area to be painted. The more you cover, the better. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.
• Always paint in a well ventilated, dust free area.
• DO NOT paint near open flames or where there's a risk of sparks flying. Save the ciggy for later.
• Wear gloves and eye protection.
• Make sure everything you need during the job are within easy reach.
• Sand the area properly using the correct grit paper. Sanding will ensure that the paint sticks to the surface. Else, though it will appear painted, peeling/chipping may occur. So do it perfectly. Do not remove too much paint though. Start with a lower grade grit and move up till the area is smooth.
• Paint a small area first and see if everything is as it should be. Especially color.
• DO NOT paint in a place where there's risk of tripping over on stuff. Find a nice, roomy ventilated space.
• ALWAYS paint in one direction. This ensures consistency and better finish.
• DO NOT spray sporadically or hold the spray for long onto one particular area. Be fluidic . If you miss an area or if it’s too thin, it will be covered in the next coat. So don’t fret.
• Shake the can well before each coat. Clean the nozzle after each coat. Failing to do so will cause partially solidified paint drops to stick to the painted surface.
• DO NOT inhale the fumes. Take frequent breaks in between. It’s good for you and gives time for the paint to dry. Just remember not to overdo it.
• Always hold the spray canister at the greatest possible distance and ensure thin, even coats. It’s always better to get less paint transfer and use multiple coats for a perfect finish than to hurry it up and have paint running to develop into bubbles and ugly splotches
• Use the cardboard with the window cut out, if you need to paint small targeted areas. Hold the cardboard near the area to be painted and the paint can at the normal distance.
• Give ample time for each coat to dry. DO NOT touch to see if its dry. Depending on the paint, it may take from a couple of hours to a day or two for the paint to dry. It also depends on the climate. You get the drift.
• After each coat, look for deformities, missed areas etc. Missed areas can be given a short extra blast and deformities can be sanded to perfection. ALWAYS be careful not to overdo it.
• If you’ve got paint on an area you didn’t wish to paint, it usually means you skimped out on the masking part. Anyways, use thinner to clean the area immediately.
• While painting, if you find dust or fibres sticking to the paint, DO NOT try to clean it immediately. The paint has a characteristic adherence that will cause it to stretch if its cleaned before drying. Most such stickies will come off once you rub it after the paint has dried.
• Each coat should be a full coat to maintain consistency. DO NOT paint the area in installments as the coats may dry to appear in different shades.
• Monitor how the paint responds to different holds, distances etc and use it to perfect the job.
• Once all the coats have been completed, give it a couple of days to dry completely. Paint may appear dry on the outside, but will not completely for at least 12 hours. Leave it for a few days and then apply the clear.
• Once the painting has been completed, give it a couple of coats of clear, following the same guidelines. Just cause its transparent doesn’t mean you can slack.
• If not done properly, Clear coats will ruin all you work. If done properly, they will preserve and showcase the finish for long.

Here’s a part shot of one of the areas being covered. There was a small scratch here. This will also serve as a test before I paint the larger area. I do not have WIP pics because I was alone and did not want to handle the camera while painting.



Here’s a pic before some rubbing, polishing and touching up.



Here's the current pics. You can see the cubes where I’ve painted. I’ve left them so for now, so that they can dry completely. Once done, I will rub and polish the area after matching the color further. Also, it will tell me if the paint holds. I will put up more pics after I complete next week.






Total damage: Rs. 180 for the can of paint. Rs.60 for the sand paper. Both of these have more than 90% left unused. So it’ll last me a long time!

I must say I’m very happy with the outcome. Especially since it cost me less than a fraction of the company claimed amount. Sure it’s not perfect yet. But it’s better than driving around in a scratched up car. And unless you go looking for it or I show it to you. There’s no way you’ll notice it.

“All’s well that ends well!” Murphy can go to hell.

[mayankk]

Nice!!

youre so lucky its white.
Any other color, and its a literal hair pulling exercise of paint-remove-buff-repaint-slight buff endlessly!!!

[vigsom]

wonderful ; I once tried doing a swift pearl white using com paint but it was a shoddy job

great effort which has paid off ; so what next?a paint booth maybe?

[Tassem]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Nice!!
youre so lucky its white.
Any other color, and its a literal hair pulling exercise of paint-remove-buff-repaint-slight buff endlessly!!!

I feel silver/gray is the easiest to paint. My previous car was black and it was a royal pain to paint at home.

Originally Posted by vigsom

wonderful ; I once tried doing a swift pearl white using com paint but it was a shoddy job

great effort which has paid off ; so what next?a paint booth maybe?

Thanks, I just hope I wont have to paint too often! btw I feel com paint is good. But my personal favorite is Bosny. However the results are always dependent more on the prep work than the final paint itself. Perhaps its time to revisit the swift?

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Tassem

My wife wanted me to wait till I banged it up further and the get it painted. It pains me that 1- She was ok to live with this ghastly abomination on the car. And 2 – She expected me to do more damage with my imbecile driving! That just won’t do!

Hilarious!

A very well executed mini-project!

Loved your narration and the pics. Thanks for sharing the tips, Dos and & Donts. They are quite helpful. Would definitely give it a try.

Drive safe!

[vasanthn21]

Very informative post. Admire your patience and knowledge. I am not sure I would have the patience do all this myself, even if I knew how to do it!

[dadu]

Well firstly what you have in the blue bottle is a Formula 1, Car polish, i.e. Synthetic polish (wax like) for the clear coat, its not a rubbing compound, get formula 1 scratch out a fine rubbing compound, comes in similar yellow bottle.


Or you can goto com-paint wesite and order the the rubbing compound(and paint too). They have detailed video for painting scratches with instructions, use that for a better touch-up job, you can try again by wiping this out and keeping a bigger area or just use a small brush to touchup.

[mempheS.D]

Hahah! Awesome job. I loved the last, "Murphy can go to hell!". I need to look for some CANDY WHITE as Skoda calls it.

[Tassem]

Originally Posted by dadu

Well firstly what you have in the blue bottle is a Formula 1, Car polish, i.e. Synthetic polish (wax like) for the clear coat, its not a rubbing compound, get formula 1 scratch out a fine rubbing compound, comes in similar yellow bottle.

Or you can goto com-paint wesite and order the the rubbing compound(and paint too). They have detailed video for painting scratches with instructions, use that for a better touch-up job, you can try again by wiping this out and keeping a bigger area or just use a small brush to touchup.

Do you feel rubbing compound will be a better bet than sandpaper? I assumed that since there were flakes of the bumper sticking out, paper would be apt. The polish was for finishing. I'll check the websites out. If they offer shipping, it'll save a lot of trouble.

[njayshree]

That is a such a great narration and so detailed a description !! I bet you spend more time writing this post than actually the paint job.

Just loved the post !

Jayshree

[mayankjha1806]

Excellent work, This looks like even i can do it now. You said Black is a pain, why? I would think Black is a color which could be easily matched (Not many variants of Black you see).

Another question, would you recommend doing it only on plastic (like bumpers etc) or someone can try it on metal body as well?

[ghodlur]

@Taseem,

Sorry for being critical but the patches look sore on the rear as they are shade different from the original one(reminds me of the chinese writings on most of the Mumbai buildings). Were the scratches too deep that you could not live with it? I can understand by your posts about your obsession with Verna's rear but I felt you reacted too early.

But your attempt at the DIY is worth commendable. . I am sure you will extra careful with your driving now.

[junkishya]

Hey Tassem, Your DIY is really commendable. More than the spray painting part, patching the newspapers in the surrounding areas is more painful and requires patience .. + getting the RIGHT shade is very important for such DIY jobs ...

For such small patches, you should probably go to some small time denter / painter. There are quite a few good (small time) guys in Hyderabad who will do such small patches for as low as 700 - 1000 Rs. Once repainted, there's no easy way to tell if the bumper was patched.

Have seen couple of Istaa and Taj Hotel cars coming to a small time painter near my place for denting / painting work. The guy does a fantastic job. There would be people like these even in Bangalore ..

My brother, who also owns older Verna, tells me that Adwait Hyundai has spray painting booth for such small dents and is relatively cheaper than other service centres.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by Tassem

Do you feel rubbing compound will be a better bet than sandpaper? I assumed that since there were flakes of the bumper sticking out, paper would be apt. The polish was for finishing. I'll check the websites out. If they offer shipping, it'll save a lot of trouble.

Its like this, lightly use sandpaper to bring the surface to a level -> Spray paint -> Let it dry for 48hrs -> use rubbing compound -> use polish for a shine.

Butlike someone rightly said, its looking like a patch work, use a larger area and do a single coat by coat spray, wait between coats for colour matching. Acutally com-paint has a detailed instructions and yes they ship too. See the video to get the hand movements etc right.

Also look at

this video

for colour blending technique, a small box is a no-no.

[Tassem]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Excellent work, This looks like even i can do it now. You said Black is a pain, why? I would think Black is a color which could be easily matched (Not many variants of Black you see).

Another question, would you recommend doing it only on plastic (like bumpers etc) or someone can try it on metal body as well?

I'm happy you're inspired! Jet Black is easier than the rest. But there are several metallic shades which is a pain to mix. Also, black fades the easiest and once you paint, it tends to stick out like a sore thumb. Even professionals have a tough time. I learnt this when I got my lancer painted.

The primary difference in painting different surfaces is usually in the primer. Metal surfaces require a different primer than plastic. But the basics remain the same.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

@Taseem,

Sorry for being critical but the patches look sore on the rear as they are shade different from the original one(reminds me of the chinese writings on most of the Mumbai buildings). Were the scratches too deep that you could not live with it? I can understand by your posts about your obsession with Verna's rear but I felt you reacted too early.

But your attempt at the DIY is worth commendable. . I am sure you will extra careful with your driving now.

Lol, why sorry? Criticism is the only way we improve. As I mentioned earlier, this is just the first stage. I want it to dry properly for a couple of days. And since I get time only on the weekends, I'll have to wait till saturday before I get to it again.

However, in all honesty, you will not notice the patches even if I left it this way. I didn't mention this bit but the area below the second reverse sensor is painted as well. Now that I've said it, you won't be able to miss it even if you tried. But leaving the scratches as it is was impossible. It looked fugly! Its like wearing a white shirt with a stain!

But I will be perfecting it this weekend. Since its too pretty to have patches. Invisible or not. You're absolutely right about the obsession with the rear! We're all born equal!

Originally Posted by junkishya

Hey Tassem, Your DIY is really commendable. More than the spray painting part, patching the newspapers in the surrounding areas is more painful and requires patience .. + getting the RIGHT shade is very important for such DIY jobs ...

For such small patches, you should probably go to some small time denter / painter. There are quite a few good (small time) guys in Hyderabad who will do such small patches for as low as 700 - 1000 Rs. Once repainted, there's no easy way to tell if the bumper was patched.

Have seen couple of Istaa and Taj Hotel cars coming to a small time painter near my place for denting / painting work. The guy does a fantastic job. There would be people like these even in Bangalore ..

My brother, who also owns older Verna, tells me that Adwait Hyundai has spray painting booth for such small dents and is relatively cheaper than other service centers.

Well there are a ton of painters I can approach. I had done a lot of research before getting the lancer done up. And the job was simply awesome. But there is something about doing it yourself that's more satisfying. Even if the job is not perfect. Plus nobody will do it with the same care and affection as the owner. Its the same with washing. And I wasn't ready to have some painter's dirty mitts all over the Verna's rear just yet! lol.