£38 paint kit, is there enough for this ?

[BongoBongo123]

One word of warning about using steel wool is that if any strands find their way on to good paintwork they will turn rusty very quickly which can stain the surface underneath. The conventional method is to use wet and dry abrasives which are completely harmless when wet. Keep up the good work .

Good tip, yes I blew them all away and have gone over the bonnet to reduce the thickness of the edges of the overspray today with just dry tissue paper so it is now just a waiting game and looking at weather for a very low wind day.

Preferably without small insects waiting to get stuck in the paint! Are you using 2-pack lacquer. I wasn't much impressed with the ordinary lacquer I got from Halfords. I had much better results with 2-pack (admittedly with spray gun and compressor).

Hycote primer being used, which I understand is quite good.You make a good case for taking the bonnet off and doing it indoors. How hard is that ? It might be a good idea.

edited: If I am seeing rightly it is 4 bolts and disconnecting the washers YES ! That must surely be the sensible approach. Thanks for mentioning it.

Then I can sort it for tomorrow no waiting around. What an amateur I am.

It might not be the easiest of things to put back on myself though. Would need a second pair of hands but surely means better spray job likely hood.. I can do it in conservatory. (not a nice looking one so a bit of spray won't hurt it) Just put a mask on and keep back door open a bit.

[mikeonb4c]

Preferably without small insects waiting to get stuck in the paint! Are you using 2-pack lacquer. I wasn't much impressed with the ordinary lacquer I got from Halfords. I had much better results with 2-pack (admittedly with spray gun and compressor).

Hycote primer being used, which I understand is quite good.You make a good case for taking the bonnet off and doing it indoors. How hard is that ? It might be a good idea.

edited: If I am seeing rightly it is 4 bolts and disconnecting the washers YES ! That must surely be the sensible approach. Thanks for mentioning it.

Then I can sort it for tomorrow no waiting around. What an amateur I am.

It might not be the easiest of things to put back on myself though. Would need a second pair of hands but surely means better spray job likely hood.. I can do it in conservatory. (not a nice looking one so a bit of spray won't hurt it) Just put a mask on and keep back door open a bit.

I wonder if removing it could be more hassle than it appears. I could be wrong but......hopefully someone else can confirm either way.

You can usually tell if the air is looking reasonably insect free (cool and dry day best I think, also time of day may have a bearing, and whether you're near lots of vegetation). At least with cellulose spray the danger period is relatively short.

[Simon Jones]

If you mark the positions of the bolts on the hinges it should be possible to put it back in pretty much the same place.

[BongoBongo123]

If you mark the positions of the bolts on the hinges it should be possible to put it back in pretty much the same place.

That seems sensible, not in a crazy rush right now so will pick my time.

[BongoBongo123]

Dead still today and got my top coats started (after making about 4 primer coats silky smooth to the touch)... clouds looming look a bit dodgy I did it with bonnet on instead. Take my chances. The paint I got is not quite spot on (despite very vigourous shaking of can, still a tad blue looking relative to the NEAT GREEN 5S I have) so I have ordered a can from Ian/Fury shop and hope it is a better match for the last top few layers.

At least it has had a good thick coat of paint after this lot !

[mikeonb4c]

Gotcha !

Found out my Neat Green 5S paint is much bluer than my more green hue metallic Neat Green. That is what one could call a spanner in the works.

Question is do I now pay £26.00 for this one with no guarantee of it being right, any information Ian ? Happy to pay up if it is the right colour but how could I know till I spray a bit ?

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/merchandise4.htm#paint

It would seem that there is more than one MAZDA NEAT GREEN 5S, GULP !

Not an ideal situation, I now have a 1/2 primed bonnet.

At least my primer will now have a proper curing period, lol.

I just ordered a 400ml can of Neat Green 4S and one of Silent Silver 4Z for £28.47 delivered from:

https://www.paints4u.com

...and it will be interesting to see if the stuff matches OK (for what I need its not a disaster if it doesn't match perfectly but...). I already have a can or two of lacquer so didn't want the bundles that include lacquer.

[BongoBongo123]

Gotcha !

Found out my Neat Green 5S paint is much bluer than my more green hue metallic Neat Green. That is what one could call a spanner in the works.

Question is do I now pay £26.00 for this one with no guarantee of it being right, any information Ian ? Happy to pay up if it is the right colour but how could I know till I spray a bit ?

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/merchandise4.htm#paint

It would seem that there is more than one MAZDA NEAT GREEN 5S, GULP !

Not an ideal situation, I now have a 1/2 primed bonnet.

At least my primer will now have a proper curing period, lol.

I just ordered a 400ml can of Neat Green 4S and one of Silent Silver 4Z for £28.47 delivered from:

https://www.paints4u.com

...and it will be interesting to see if the stuff matches OK (for what I need its not a disaster if it doesn't match perfectly but...). I already have a can or two of lacquer so didn't want the bundles that include lacquer.

Hi Mike I have used their touch up and it is a very good match so as long as it is the same stuff you should be fine.

I was thinking to use them but their kits are £2.00 more (and Ian sells the spray on it's own now, support the forum etc. spread the money a bit, lol.) and I have lacquer, primer and what not coming out of my ears. This stuff is looking better now it has dried and it actually looks quite decent I managed an ok job so far. Quite pleased. Covered with plastic at the moment due to a few tiny spots of rain, luckily the coat had dried. Looking quite smooth : ) I will do 1 more coat of this stuff and await Ian's and put a layer or 2 if the match is a touch better. Having spray paint is always handy and I have another spot of whitening lacquer above the wind screen and the AFT that needs doing as well. (I am sure this is high concentration screen wash that has eroded the lacquer over years so do consider reducing the potency of the wash to preserve paint, I sure will, I will keep it to 4:1 dilution from now on.)

Always worth having a bash if you are not completely inept, I found this video handy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB_MtpaMYaY

Though he had it easy indoors. Still helpful to get a feel of the motion. I sprayed on some newspaper to get a feel for the can action/gauging distance before starting on the bonnet. I clear the nozzle after each coat as well after the shaking process which I keep doing for 3 mins every time I put the can down to be certain the mix is right. Just have to be meticulous with the process and it comes out pretty ok. Surprisingly ok.

Whatever the result, it cannot look worse than my white, scorched, flaking lacquer !

I will have before and after pics once job complete. The lacquering will be left for another day maybe Tuesday depending on wind of course, after the Neat Green has dried for at least 24 hours, will wait and see when the other can turns up. It will always be used on other places so in the end saves money to have another can. Gotta try things within your skill level or you never know.

[BongoBongo123]

The fundamentals of this job is thinking and testing before acting.

I am not building more layers as there is enough of the NEAT GREEN spray I have now on there to protect. If I build up greater layers it may end up being too thick so I will call it a day and move onwards with what will hopefully be a closer match. Just have to do this slow and steady and think about what iI am doing before jumping in.

So far so good.

Thanks for all the good advice.

[mikeonb4c]

Excellent and thanks for the PM BB123

[BongoBongo123]

Got a great colour match through the Bongo Fury shop (pricey though !) Another little thing I have learnt that others may benefit from.

Never stop... when sweeping across a panel never let the eye be distracted by a place which has a little under spray, commit ! Otherwise you can get a slightly banded effect at any places where you hesitate. Also go over and beyond any edges do not sweep back too early otherwise you get a very slight extra build up on the edges where you have rested slightly.

I even suggest taking as far as saying to yourself :"Don't stop... Don't Stop..... Don't stop... slowly.. as you spray.

This will be useful for me to come back to later as well.

So far happier than I thought I would be but I have yet to lacquer it, that is the bit that needs to try and blend so it remains to be seen what effect I can achieve. I suspect it will be a matter of blending gentle over some period of time and progressively.

Last base coat layer is on and it is well protected 4 layers of under coat, 2 layers of almost right neat green lol and 3 layers of actually correctly matched neat green.

[BongoBongo123]

Neither am I getting a particularly "That's nice and glossy" feel from the lacquer I have. looks suspiciously matt-ish to me. Do be careful as there could be a desire to lay it on thick which I think would be quite a bad plan. 3 layers of fairly finely layered lacquer and I am done today. I am flicking some "Blend-In" spray off the edges as well as suggested by Stuc. Seems to look quite ok but the lacquer is somewhat "lacklustre".

So one more light coat in 20 mins just so it is sealed and I will leave well alone till it is fully dried and assess the situation tomorrow.

Maybe once it is all hardened it shines up a bit with waxing and a microfibre clothing. (After a proper period of drying, I reckon on at least 1 week)

One thing is sure it is already better than I could have imagined I would have done it.

[BongoBongo123]

Just a few thoughts and info to add:

The lacquer I am using was included in the original Neat Green (not Ian's) spray kit.
The 5S Neat Green (and lacquer) that did not match well with my personal 5S paint was from here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-spray-p ... 4164ff0608

It seems rather un-glossy (uneven), my technique? Maybe. (Though I used the same to spray the undercoat and base coat on and that looked very nice)

Given a can of lacquer can cost between £5 and £19.00 this could be much better quality (untested):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOP-QUALITY-2 ... 0863227257

Will await to harden properly and with then wax/polish up and can provide some before and after shots later on.

[BongoBongo123]

"Pro-Matic clear lacquer - Very good gloss finish."... BS.

It is rubbish. Unless I am missing something and the gloss will magically appear after a waxing ?

There was a significantly smoother and better (maybe even glossier !) finish on the base coat.

I suspect you need you go for the very high quality gloss to get a real shine to it. I might think about it for later on if the wax does not do the trick.

[mikeonb4c]

"Pro-Matic clear lacquer - Very good gloss finish."... BS.

It is rubbish. Unless I am missing something and the gloss will magically appear after a waxing ?

There was a significantly smoother and better (maybe even glossier !) finish on the base coat.

I suspect you need you go for the very high quality gloss to get a real shine to it. I might think about it for later on if the wax does not do the trick.

I suspect 2 pack lacquer (which you can get in a spray can but only good for one use) should give the wet/gloss look you require but maybe a paint expert like Stuc can comment?

[BongoBongo123]

A little weathering and maybe some waxing will probably have it reasonable? Not sure though, not impressed. I would steer clear of spray "kits" the end result will be highly dependent on quality of lacquer.

Fact is there has to be a difference between a £4.00 and £18.00 can of lacquer. My wife being an artist can spend £85.00 on 1 small tube of paint so it would make a lot of sense.

Also found this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clear-Lacquer-A ... B00BFDEOTY

I think if you use cheap lacquer you get a bad finish. It makes no sense to use cheap lacquer as the final coat. I will get this good stuff and redo the top layer of the bonnet when I sort the bit above the windscreen. Will report back on the quality.

That lacquer was hopeless, at best a rough - coarse - matt protective layer of acrylic (that gives a white sheen from an angle). What is the point of doing all those layers and prep to end up with a truly rubbish lacquering ?

Learn from my error here !

Lesson learnt for myself now never ever buy cheap lacquer for a self spray.