How to: Fix/Repair faded flaking damaged Clear Coat Paint - Part 1 

This was my Grandparents exact car. You bought it from my uncle Ron. So many memories in this thing. Thanks for taking rehabing this!

Quick tip. Prior to painting at any temp unless it's 120°F out I put my paint cans 80% submerged in very hot water 15min +/- prior to painting. It thins the paint inside and allows good pressure to build. 😉

I painted an entire car including clear coat with rattle cans. It had bad fading and peeling all over. In it's condition it was only worth about $2000. I sold it today for $6000. The paint job wasn't perfect but it looked 100x better than it did before. Was a lot of work but ended up being a fun project. I learned a lot. I used your video as a guide as well as a bunch of other ones. Thanks

It's not often you hear Tchaikovsky in the background of an auto repair video. Then followed by the Blue Danube. Love it!

I now understand why getting a paint job is very expensive. This is a lot of work and takes very special equipment, talent, patience, and labor. Thanks for sharing. This was an awesome and fun video to watch.

this guy speaks sooo good better than a shop teacher! so much pleasure to listen to him.

Nice work. I was in the collision industry (specializing in paint) for 10+ years. A little advice, if you want it: 1) always use primer filler over areas where you've sanded through layers of paint. I noticed you didn't do that on the hood. A few weeks or months after the paint job, you'll probably start to see "mapping" or "bullseyes" of the layers as the new paint shrinks down. It's not as noticeable right after painting. Using the 800 wet was good, though, to prevent sand scratch swelling, which also happens as the paint shrinks down tight on the substrate surface. 2) Tack off the color (it should be dry enough to do so) just before starting the 1st coat of clear. I think a lot of the junk in the clear could have been avoided. Tack off the paper masking as well, as any dust collected on the masking will blow off and can land back in the fresh paint because of the powerful blast of air from the gun. 3) Forget tack coats of clear. Two wet coats. You could make the first coat a little more dry, but not that much. You need to get enough clear on in two coats to provide enough UV protection for the color. Keep in mind that wet sanding and buffing the clear will remove some of that UV protection, so the idea is to lay the clear on heavy enough to still provide UV protection even if you do have to cut and buff. Also, where'd you get that Planet Color clear? That is the darkest clear I've ever seen come out of the can. Some clears are yellowish, but if a professional painter came across that, they'd never use it. That dark of a color out of the can could mean there's a problem with the clear. Barrett Jackson clears, primers, and colors, are just repackaged Dimension products. Even DC5020 is a very transparent clear coat when poured out. At the prices I'm seeing online for the Barrett Jackson clear kits, though, I wonder if it's discontinued, or if it's Finish 1 clear coat. FC720 maybe. When I worked for SW, though, they told us it was repackaged Dimension.

The paint leaking out of the can is usually a result of the company that made your paint not installing the proper nozzle for the can. It the stem of the spray nozzle is too loose it will gush and splatter everywhere. I usually keep all my old tips from previous cans just in case the wrong nozzle or a worn out nozzle is in the can. Always clean them with Acetone and blow them out with compressed air. Also heating up the can after you fix the nozzle will allow the paint to flow beautifully and flow out better. I hope this helps. We have all had that frustration from paint can splatter.

This video was exactly what I needed. I appreciate the whole video with the ups and downs that you dealt with. I was planning on doing some touch up on one of my vehicles. Thanks for keeping it real.

One thing I’ve learned from not having a paint booth is to create your own! Cheap tarps from harbor freight hung from the ceiling on three sides ( four if painting in a shed or barn ) and a clean shop floor is a must ! Place a few box fans on low 50:27 in front of garage door blowing air out of shop and put cheap ac filters over them to catch any overspray so your not blowing it outside and onto other things! Next find a way to filter the air coming in from the man door into your spray area! I used an old screen door and zip tied it to my tarps that are stretched tight. That’s the other tip make sure your tarps or drop cloths, whatever your using to create a temporary booth is secure enough that if there was a blast of wind from outside that it’s not going to blow against the vehicle your painting! Last tip I have is to set up your booth after you have prepped the vehicle!! Otherwise you will have dust from sanding all over your sides and floor and the blast even from spray cans can dislodge the dust particles and wreak havoc! I roll up my tarps and leave them hanging from ceiling and when I’m sanding anything I have my shop fan blowing as much dust out of my shop as possible! Another tip, if you have a compressor when u roll vehicle outside use the blower nozzle on compressor to blow out crevices prior to washing and that way you get more dust out of hidden area!

I'll soon be painting a car I did major rust repair on, this is my first time so this video was REALLY helpful. I've watched a lot of RU-vid videos over several months and tried to find something like this but got buried under so many pro autobody shop videos that live in a different reality than the DIYer, although many will be titled something like, 'Paint your car yourself', or 'Fix peeling clearcoat in a matter of minutes!'. I've wasted many hours of time. You start watching a supposed DIY video for newbies but the guy is in a state of the art paint booth using SATA guns and stuff like clear base, expensive blending agents and paint mixes and saying things like 'I used 10-15% more reducer' with no explanation, or not filming a few key steps but not telling you that let alone what he did, etc. And most of these guys can't teach at all, like they give no thought to what they're going to say before turning on the camera or maybe have the gist of an idea and just start talking and assume it's all going to come out good. Sorry for the rant! Again, great video and great instruction. Thanks again for making content for the other 99% of us.

Awesome video. Great editing. Like the gentle music. Great narration. Good job explaining everything. The paint and body shop I worked in years ago, we used Dawn or Joy soap while wet sanding, made the sand paper last longer and made clean up eaiser. Great job!

great video! and most comments are helpful to learn more info also. its not that everything you did was perfect thats important, its your detailed information and the goal you had in mind with the outcome! you turned a 350$ car into a 3500$ car. its not a show car but now a gem for an older car for a first time driver or a low budget ride that looks good and a no rust. in my experience as a do it my selfer, most of the "pro" body men and painters want us to think its impossible to do any of this at any level without them and their "years of experience" not to say we can do equal work. but "goodnuf" is ok and we get better the more we do it too. thanks for doing these

Great job dude and great detailed advice. I was feeling your pain with the leaking can!

Regardless of how well you paint it’s always good to go over with wet sanding to make sure it’s smooth and consistent the attention to detail makes a great paint job

All things considered, you did a fantastic job for a DIYer. Be cautious, sometimes neighbors report you, and it's not good. Occasionally, I don't think you will have a problem. I did this type of work for 22yrs and there are so many new products out now, I would be a rookie. Great job, enjoy your efforts.

One of the best "paint your car at home" videos on RU-vid and I have watched many. The best part about this video is that you're not trying to shill one brand's product for doing x or y, just a very matter of fact description on how to obtain something resembling factory paint with rattle cans. I really enjoyed this video as well because It really covered all of the different problems/hurdles that come up with doing paint correction at home; missing clear coat, missing paint, a mixture of both, and how to correct without doing an entire panel. Thanks for making this, and please continue to make more. You truly have the DIY/Pro balance in a sweet spot!

I don’t even need to paint my damn car but I watched this entire thing

I do appreciate your work. Not many people are up the task of trying anything out of their comfort zone (video games or whatever is on the phone) great job 👍

You do nice work...Got new door seals for my Toyota and went to your video to see how...I like getting a look at how things are attached ect, before I tear into it....removing the dash was a big hit to...the vent clips where a mystery.....Keep them coming

Thank you for the effort to show us your ways of doing this. Excellent video

You had a couple small mistakes but for someone working out of their garage you did a great job. Nice brother

The background music makes this video absolutely excellent. Thank you for sharing this!!!

Absolutely fantastic video in all aspects! I’m getting ready to refinish my wife’s 09 Q7 and I’m thinking I’m in for a very similar routine as you’ve shown here. Could be that the clear is still intact on my project but I now feel I’m ready if more is required. Thanks Bud - will definitely go through your channel and upcoming vids. Again, super job!

You are so easy to follow. It’s like automotive Sesame Street, thank you for explaining everything you do🤘🏼

I'm in the process of repairing a rust spot on my car and using body filler. Now I'm up to the primer and paint work, this video helps a lot. Thank you =)

Going to attempt to repaint the hood of my "salsa red pearl" Sienna, and this is just the kind info I was looking for, even down to the paint color. (The hood looks so bad, I figured I didnt have much to lose by trying, having never done any car paint before.) You made this look doable for a complete noob, no special equipment required. Thank you.

You are a hard and diligent worker!!!!! You will be a success with paint or with anything else you try! Good job. Great attitude!

Pro tip here,work your way to the center of hood and then do the other side of the hood and then the other side fenders, that way you don't have dry edges.This is a must on single stage paint. Good job and video

Nice work. Studying this to attempt to repair my paint on my 2011 challenger.

Hi there mate from Australia. Thank you for sharing your 'talents' with us all. I'm looking at a Ford Falcon today with the same issues, I'll give her a go. Love your work on the Honda, you brought her back!, Really nice work! Thanks again.

I love your energy and how detailed your video is.

For blending clearcoat lines like you did on your A pillars, put the paper on upside down (tape at the bottom, paper toward the roof) then lay it back over itself so it creates a rolled edge. Still can’t spray super heavy toward that edge but you won’t be left with a hard line.

To get rid of the orange peel without having to wet sand it afterwards : You just either add more thinner or spray thinner only on the clear and it smoothens it down.

Great video! Thank You for taking time to show mess ups and corrections!

I never watch long videos, this one I enjoyed every last minute and learned so much. Got yourself another sub brother! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I hope you don't mind a suggestion. Next time, you should try putting an HVAC filter in one door and seal around it, then put a fan blowing out the other door. Also, you should keep your floor wet to prevent dust from being kicked up as you walk around the car.

i wish i had a garage to do this

This is so satisfying to watch. I love seeing a restoration. ❤

i watched this like multiple times already!.. it guided me on my project man. thank you!

Those rattle cans got too cold or something. Nice video, thanks for the insight! I have a 2000 Toyota Tundra with the same peeling clearcoat problem, typical for early Toyotas.

EK90s look great on G1 Legend, going to have my G1 to sorted out soon.

I really enjoyed the choice of music and presentation of this video! Thx for the info!

thank you for showing the whole process and taking your time with explaining

In auto body school my teacher always says “Forget the tack coat for clearcoat, spray it how you would want it to look.” So in other words if you spray the clear thick, it will come out the gun smooth and glossy. You just have to be very careful with runs. There is a happy medium between wet glossy clear and runny clear. It takes practice but once you master it, you wont even have to wet sand your clear after you shoot it. All you will have to do is spot sand your dirt nibs and thats when you get a super professional result. 👍 Good luck man! Edit: I forgot. If you do get runs in your clear, you can either scrape them flat with a razor blade, wetsand, and buff OR you can just wetsand them out but thats the more risky method.

Perfect timing, planning to respray my G1 Legend too!

You gotta Love this Man’s Do It Yourself Attitude.

All points explained very well.I wish you all the best for your business guys 👍👌

If you plan to reuse a can of spray paint ,when your finished with it turn the can up side down and spray this ensures only air comes out and cleans your nozzle

Try covering your blend areas with an open piece of paper (not sealed with tape) to create a taper from overspray. Remove the paper before you put on the blender 👍 great video

good video and explanation , now I fell confident to paint my 4runner!!

well done! brilliant work and very well explained right through 👍

Looks great! Thanks

It's always a good idea to have plastic hanging all around the walls and screen the area with the garage doors open wide that way you really can't get very many contaminants into the garage, and a lot of the contaminants will stick to the plastic. Also on a runs you might want to follow it, just slowly keep following it down until you get to the bottom and it will disappear so that you don't have to do any wet sanding on the runs.

I have a 2013 hyundai with a very similar roof and hood. Thank you for this video!

Great tutorial and amazing choice of music. Thank you for sharing.

Don't start painting in the middle of the hood. Start at the edge and work to the middle, then on the second half, start in the middle and work your way to the edge. Looks like you need a bigger nozzle for clear on your spray gun.

If you're just removing clear coat; I recommend 3M maroon or grey Scoth-brite scuff pads

What a smart guy! Good on you for figuring this out. Great video!

Very interesting and useful video. Thanks for sharing your experience in car painting.

Good stuff. I have some clear coat that keeps peeling on sections of my 4Runner, this helps give me some ideas as I don’t want to sand and completely repaint vs salvaging and re-clear coating. There is just no easy solution. Appreciate you documenting your work. BTW, I love that Land Cruiser!

Dude, this is the best DIY video I have ever seen. You had me cracking up at times. Expecily the helper that works for 15 animal crackers an hour😂. 👍

Thank you for this video. Very detailed, amazing work!

Thanks m8👍 Looking for some tips since someone keyed tons of cars in my neighbourhood including mine.. Gonna keep sanding some more before filling /priming 👍 Your videos are very helpfull.

Thanks 6th Gear, you're awesome for putting the good the bad and the ugly on here - definitely a big help for us DYI'ers trying to do the same!

Looks pretty good. If you make your spray pattern smaller with that gun and move in closer your finish will have less orange peel. And your first coat more glossy and let it dry more so your next one's will stick to it. Hopefully ths will inspire you to get a better finish so you don't have to work so hard and have to buff as much

I really enjoyed this Chris Fix video! Thank you!

Nice wheels. Give that dude a raise. Thanks for the video!

Moral of the story is don't buy paint from ebay. I immediately knew the problem when you said it had paint on nozzle. People test color and return paint. So many unethical people on eBay and else where.

This guy is like the chrisfix for paint restoration, very informative and helpful 👌🏼

Great movie! Finally, someone showed that not everything turns out perfectly.

I absolutely love those rims, they have that style.

I don't think orange peel is that big of a deal, better than developing rust over time. You did a fantastic job, I'm hoping to redo my Camry this summer. I don't have a garage so I'll probably just use an easy up and take my chances at it not being perfect.

When laying your clear, get closer to the panel and increase your overlap. Also, use a slow activator to give the clear more time to lay and flow out.

About to watch but I can already tell I love those wheels! Suit the car perfectly...

I have golf MK II with same issues, you helped me a lot! thx!

Thats all well an good but wat about moister under the primer ?? I would have taking that back to bare metal an do the job right..

This is so satisfying to watch and learn.

Hose behind back and over shoulder really helps keep it clear while giving you ample reach over hood and roof of vehicle.

For the blending areas to go better search "back taping" or "Back masking". Your skill is certainly above average, but this will really improve your game. When you wet sand use your dominant hand, and with your other hold either a water bottle with a tiny hole and allow that to drip over your sanding area, OR you can hold a micro fiber shop towel loaded with water, and use a bucket at your feet to recharge it, and squeeze and drip water where you want it.

Hey another little trick that works great is when you have spots down to bare metal make a small paint shield to only paint where bare metal is it helps build paint thicker to match existing paint also to when masking long bare metal sections roll your tape like a straw makes paint edge softer so you don't have a hard edge to remove

I think this is quite a commendable job for what you did it with dude well done don’t knock yourself to hard .nice one 👍

this video is complete comedy! Definition of DIY, i love it! great job :)

Fantastic job. Btw every body shop I’ve worked in would cut and buff each vehicle after spraying. This removed the imperfections in the clear. Even in a down draft booth something always falls on the clear.

Most of your orange peel is likely due to having a too high distance while spraying in all layers. Your color coat was already very rough and you might have benefited from having your color harden out, sand it with 800 and put a wet coat of color on top of that. With a metallic, wet sanding color is usually a no-no, so you would have to put on quite a bit of paint on top of where you sanded. No sense in keeping on painting without correction once you see your surface is so incredibly rough. For the clear with the spray gun, you can reduce your pressure just a bit so you can slow down the gun a bit and spray closer, so putting down a nice wet coat without runs is easier to do. Watch "Paint Society" for some great tips on how to prevent this bad of an orange peel with distance, pressure and fan settings on your gun.

getting ready to try and repaint my 2007 Volvo S60R, thanks for the great video!

Wow nice work. Great information to do the complete job. Thank you

I understand your desire for wanting to take the tape off before the paint dries but you're taking a big chance on dropping additional dirt into the clear and having it stick. More dirt is more work. I know you know that. Good video though. I like your tip about the tiger striping.

Quick tip, dont forget to change the timing chain on it, my sister had an acura legend, and it got totalled after the timing chain flew apart, the valves hit the pistons, and that was the end of that car

love your vibe/energy, keep it up!

Hey thank you for the video very instructive and you keep it all very simple.

What pressure where you spraying at? To me it look like you gun was surging an thats got to do with pressure your compressor is the wrong size its working to hard .an sorry mate just trying to help dont do a tack coat an leave it go straigjt back over it it look heaps dry.

This guys sounds like Chris Fixx brother.

Very nice little car. I have a 91 legend coupe in same color. I love the color

Those Acura Legends are very reliable cars. Take care of them and they take care of you. Great video!

Dude, don’t ruin your clay bar on areas you are going to paint. Just use soft scrub or bar keeper helper cleaner on those areas with loose paint. It will lift up a lot of rotten clear coat and also lift up most oxidation and dirt from the exposed paint and make it look a lot better. Another tip, use an old credit card as a scraper to remove the white rotten clearcoat bubbly areas. Use warm soapy water with the credit card scrapper. The plastic card won’t scratch the paint. Works great!

Chris Fix his Soapy water 🤣🤣

Awesome work I know this is a old video but just going to throw it out there might want to throw some reducer in the clear to help it melt in better , it’s tricky on how much to put but you were getting dry spray pretty bad , I’m amazed on how many things went wrong while you were working but you made the best of it awesome job !! Everthing still looks great God bless

Thanks for leaving in the bloopers, and showing how to work around them!

Mate nothing to do with a booth if its hot use a medium or slow thiner an also tack coat between colour coates