I recently picked up a used chrome gas cap assembly to retrofit on my base MINI. Part of the assembly is a plastic cone piece that I need to paint to match my MINI (BRG!).

I bought a can of BRG spray touch-up paint, figuring for such a small piece that is mostly hidden most of time, it will be a close enough match. How should I go about painting it though - sand down to plastic, prime it, then paint it? Sand only a little and then paint? Is it necessary to sand at all?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

Original paint actually makes very good primer for subsequent coats, as long as you prep it properly.

Wet-sand it just a little bit to scuff up the surface (you don't want to go all the way through the paint, just get it to a uniform matte/satin finish). Then paint it with the new BRG.

 

agree - if the old paint is holding on then it is fine to paint over it.

best bet is to check the specifics for the paint you bought - try checking them out on the web. As said usually if you knock down all the gloss you are pretty much on your way, but you also need to develop enough sctrach for your new paint to physically grip the old. 600 grit is typical . . here's AN example http://www.automotivetouchup.com/spr...directions.htm

if you DO over sand and break thru to bare material, then you will need to prime first but any decent automotive primer will work ... I often use rust-o-leum

BTW there are many places where you can get the proper BRG - the MINI shade - in a rattle can. If you want the best match then you'd be wanting to duplicate the paint that's on the car and that means applying base coat / clear coat. Again, you can get this in rattle cans. The instructions link I gave is a source I've used many times for just such cans . . .

 

Thanks for all the help! I already have some 2000 grit sandpaper lying around - you think that would be too fine for this?

This time around I got my paint from an eBay seller "spraycansunlimited" (had some eBay credits to burn). I haven't used it yet. I'll update this post on how good the match is after I sand and paint.

 

2000 is final finish stuff ... for paint bite I stay with 600 wet or 800 dry .. for a couple of bucks I'd buy paper and go no finer than 1000

BUT - this is within the recommendations of the products I usually stick with

your best bet is to get the spec sheet for the product .... but I just dug around with this supplier and got no where . . . maybe there's some info on the can?

I'd spray a test card . . . if you have a scrap of metal sheet, prime it then paint it with color. Or, get a stiff piece of cardboard with a gloss finish on it - even a post card or greeting card will work .... and spray that. You want something that the paint will dry on top of, and not soak in. Ideally if there is a light colored part and a dark part it will show how the paint might look different over different base colors. A proper test card usually has three bands of grey ranging from light to darker for this purpose. Then you can test for # of coats to achieve coverage.

I paint for fun - automotive paint that is - and even did some time helping out with some VOTEC auto paint and body work classes in the Norfolk area.

 

Okay - I'll just pick up some 600 or 800 grit to be safe.

The can says "Omni-Pak" MasterBlend EZ Touch, and it has a Krylon logo on it. However, I think all of that just refers to machinery the vendor is using to mix and prepare the spray can. It is supposed to be a match for BMW 895 BRG - we'll see how well it does match. Couldn't find any more details on what they recommend in terms of preparation.

I haven't heard of the paint test cards before, but it makes perfect sense. Where could one get these?

 

an auto paint store . . . look in the yellow pages ... they are hiding in those little off the main line strip malls and warehouse lines of shops. They provide paint to the body shops around town that are not large enough to have their own mixing system.

Krylon MasterBlend search comes up with a machine to put anything you want into a rattlecan . . . . so I agree with you. Problem in my mind is it appears they are selling you (sold you) one stage paint but MINI has always been a base/clear system. In your application it won't matter much cuz you have a stand alone part. But for a repair???? Makes me question .... ummmm .... let's say .. the target market . . .

 

Omni is a good paint. One thing to consider is what color you are spraying over (original color of part). That will skew the final finish somewhat, especially if you are going over a darker color. If your part came from a black car, I'd scuff it with scotchbrite, and use a grey primer / sealer for good color match. I'm no pro, just a hobbyist, but this has worked for me.

 

Came from a light grey one, so I should be good to go. It'll be at least a few weeks until I get to it, but I'll post pictures once I do.

 

Very cool, can't wait to see it. I'm expecting one very shortly from another member here through the marketplace. My car is also BRG (white top / mirrors), but I had thought about painting the recess white when I have my gun set up to spray my Crownspokes. I don't know if anyone has ever done that.

 

If you don't think the match is close enough (bmw and mini colors do vary) waymotorworks has rattle cans that match mini codes....one more option.
I go a can a while back....good match.