Need advice on paint repair

[Jim]

Hey guys,Someone took a knife or something and made a 10 cut in the quarter panel of my buds durango.The clear is cut down to the paint,Can someone offer a decent fix without shooting the whole quarter?thanks,jim /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif

 

[Osh]

Why screw around. Just bite the bullet and do it the right way. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/foreheadslap.gif

 

[Jim]

I've painted before but haven't done any repairs and really hated to practice feathering paint and clear on his truck but,I'd really like to help him out.Any help on how to do a decent job would be appreciated.

 

[rex]

You already know how to do bodywork so after you're in your scuff coat of primer sand it with 320-400dry or 600wet.I like to 600da the rest of the panel(and stay off edges and don't break thru the clear) and the grey scuffy it with a hose to wash off the dust in the scratches and abrade the edges.600wet will work but 800 or 1000 is better but I don't like to wetsand,it can cause problems with pearl or metallic tracking around the blend.Squirt a little sealer over your primer and then base the sealer.The hard part will be if it's a funky color or high metallic,they can be trickier to blend out than a solid color.Basically you just put a coat over the sealer,extend the next one out farther,and extend the 3rd out a little more.Once it flashes blow 2 coats of clear over the whole panel.Don't bother trying to blend the clear and buff the edge out because it'll bite you in time and leave a frosted line on the blend.Nice to see you back man.

 

[Jim]

I knew I could count on ya Rex! Here's the way I understand it,600-800 the whole panel,grey scuff the edges,Since the clear cut has a lip,sand it down to smooth,fill it,prime and seal,base to cover the sealer,base a little wider,base even wider,clear the panel,sand and buff or try to match factory peel.
With a 10 in cut, after the repair,how far out should i be with the last base coat?/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif

 

[rex]

I prefer to do my bodywork before prepping the rest of the panel but you can do it as you said,just cover the prepped area so primer overspray doesn't settle on it.Feather out the scratch though,don't just try to scrape in some putty.If it's shallow a few coats of primer and a blocking will take care of it.Some Dodge trucks have a thick white/grey primer on them and it's thick,I'll put a swipe of 2part putty in these if it's that deep and then use your primer like for bondo.By the way,what color is it and where exactly is the scratch?I like to have 18" past the sealer to lose a blend in the 3 colorcoats but that's leaving a good 6'" for the original color to remain.Depending on the color and where the spot is you might have to get into the rear door,forget the tailgate,you can lose the color where the 1/4 wraps around to it.Let me know.

 

[Jim]

I don't know the color code yet but,i hate to say, it's like a pewter color,I'm afraid it's pearl or mettalic.I haven't even seen it yet,it's actually on his chicks truck.Sounds like this is gonna be fun...Not
!For you it's just another job,for me,this is gonna be a challenge.The things you do for friends huh?Any tips you could give would be highly appreciated!