Aerosol painting tips
Ed Evans equips himself with quality materials to perfect the art
Ihad long ago concluded that trying to spray sections of a vehicle using aerosols would always end up in tears, and that the real way to do a body job was to save yourself the time and trouble and let a professional tackle it. The advantages of a pro job include correct paint thickness, no blemishes, a good colour match and a job that should last well and be warranted. Of course, aerosol painting is much cheaper and there’s a certain pleasure in having done the job yourself if the results are acceptable, though it’s not the way you’d repair your smart Range Rover Sport, or is it?
I chatted with Land Rover enthusiast, Jason Mycock, of Jayco paints in Walsall. After he’d told me about Jayco’s products and his own recommended techniques I decided to give aerosol painting another go on the basis that if it all goes pear-shaped, my local body shop can put it right. Next day a selection of primers, top coats and miscellaneous preparation materials arrived at my workshop. The plan was to try it all out, see if a worthy job can be made, and report back in LRM.
My Range Rover Sport’s body remains corrosion free after 14 years and 140,000 miles, except for some bubbling around a rear wheel arch. It’s painted in Zermatt silver metallic, one of the most difficult shades on which to achieve an accurate match – it’s to do with the way the particles lay when the paint is blown on. So, rather than risk a mismatch on a prominent part of the body, I decided to first test the aerosol on a small, out of the way, panel. The tow hitch plastic cover in the rear bumper surround had dropped off recently and the new one was supplied in black plastic – painting this to match the body would be an ideal test case.
The trouble with metallic
1 The rear left door had been resprayed before I bought the car. And you can see from this angle, that it’s a darker shade, especially at the bottom.