> has anyone used an air brush to touch up paint? i've got
> more than one car that has a rough or damaged area or two,
> and i thought that might give better control than a regular
> spray gun.
I think the quality of the paint job, with a hobby / artist style air brush
is going to be down to the skill of the operator and the color match of the
paint.
I have seen a skilled painter at an LBC shop do engine bay touch up work
with an air brush and it was a very good paint repair. The particular TR4A
had a leaky brake master that ruined all of the paint on the engine bay side
of the driver's footwell. The old paint was removed, down to bare metal,
contaminates removed with paint prep chemicals, primer applied, sanded
smooth, area re-cleaned and re-preped, and sprayed with the top cop of
matching BRG paint. The owner had some BRG paint left over from the
restoration from years past so it was a perfect color match. The repaired
area was very well done.
The same painter also would routinely touch up bonnets where the paint would
rub off after years of bonnet rubbing against the bonnet buffer pads.
Again, the repairs were well done.
Of course, as I do not want to proclaim this as a miracle touch up
procedure. Both the area below the brake master and the sides of the
bonnets are concealed in normal use. If you didn't pop the bonnet you would
never have known the paint needed touching up to begin with, so there is
little change you could spot the repair either with the bonnet shut. The
shadows created by the master cylinders also would help to conceal the paint
repairs...
But the repaired areas were still very well done, and I have a good critical
eye for that kind of work. Needless to say any paint repair usually looks
better than no paint or peeling paint that is the result of leaky brake
fluid!
So if the area you are thinking about doing is fairly concealed and already
pretty bad, have a go at it. Paint can be removed, and if the paint is
peeling or gone to begin with, you probably cannot make it any worse than it
already is.
Kai
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Kai M. Radicke
Wishbone Classics
* British Car Parts *
www.wbclassics.com
Ph: 215.945.7250
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