First time doing heavy-ish body work - Need some advice
 

When I bought my 40th, it had some dings/rash but nothing over the top. Due to a recent hit and run, I am having to do some pretty heavy repair (deep gauges mostly in the rear bumper and some on the body as well as dents in the front right fender) I've sanded the bumper down with 80 grit and applied resin/hardening compound which has taken care of most of the damage, but there still a couple of deeper gauges which I'm gonna puddy/glaze...after that the usual steps of course, sand, primer, sand, clear coat, sand...pain. And that is my issue.

I went to a body shop simply out of curiosity and was quoted a comical $1200 for the rear bumper alone...I'm confident that this job will come out nice, but I've never used a spray can on a car to paint (because all of my paint work has been minor touch up) and I'm not sure where to go to find my paint with it being a 40th.

I checked out some threads on here where other owners have had really poor experiences with mixers, so I'm hesitant to go that route.

Does Nissan carry spray cans? If so, do I simply order from parts counter?

Bigger - any tips on how to properly use a can to get the best results?

Nissan doesn't, you'll have to use a different website. As for advice, follow the instructions, make sure you shake the crap out of the can

Let the cans sit in a bucket of warm water for a while before you start spraying if it's cold outside.

hey Zeuce,

imho if it was my bumper, i would get it professionally done or buy used bumper off the forum. there should be a few 40th owners that are willing to part with their parts if they already aftermarket kits. With that being said, i still think this is a "do-able" project.

i also own a 40th Z and i found that finding the correct paint match for our cars are nearly impossible. Ive had some good luck with automotivetouchup.com with spray can paint. I know other members that've gone through this website has had bad and good experiences with their paint. I was one of the lucky ones. I painted my carbon signal TS style lip (FRP material) with great results. I want to say my paint job was 8/10 and my body work (bondo, sanding, primer) was a 7/10. Here's a link of my project...

http://www.the370z.com/exterior-inte...-progress.html

My advice is to concentrate more on the body work than the paint, Im not saying that paint is not important but any imperfections with body work WILL come through the paint. As for painting the bumper, it may difficult to blend the paint with "spray can." I say this because, painting with spray can does not give you a constant spray pressure as a spray gun would. Making sure your spray tip is always clear and not clogged.

Another thing to keep in mind, when placing down your clear coat, is to use a 2K clear. It has a two part hardener and seal which will give your paint job and heavier coat. This stuff is super toxic for your lungs so i suggest you use the recommended protective gear.

I know others can chime in, about this, good luck

Everyone -thanks for the awesome advice...and I messed up on my post clearcoat over the paint, but this is my second day of bodywork...I'm making sure that it's as smooth as I can possibly get it before the paint (which I don't even have yet)

I wish I had taken before pictures but I was in a rush to remove the wounds

Better yet, don't paint in cold weather if you can get around it. Also do a spray out test to make sure the paint is going to match before doing the actual piece.

not sure which part of the clearcoat you screwed up, but if it felt dusty on the surface chances are you used too light of a coat.

i use a very rich coat for clearcoat and polish out the top after drying for 2-3days to bring out the luster. dont worry if you have a little bit of a run on your first few tries. those can be easily wetsanded and polished out later to a nice flat shiny surface.

Thankfully I do have a garage that I keep warm...I am going to begin taking pictures from this point on to document so that maybe it can guide others (if I'm succesful) and warn others against my almost certain follies.

However, I did get a slight confidence boost when the guy who runs the body shop at my local Nissan dealership told me I was doing a good job and was stupified when I told him I had only spent about 30 bucks on materials so far

I cant wait to see the progress. Keep us posted!