sanded, primed, painted...now what?
 

Hi everyone,
I need some general body work advice. Last week I did some body work on some common rust areas on the Blazers: rocker panel by front tire, front corner of the back door and inside the back doors. They turned out pretty well I think (for my first stab at this). My question is...now what? Do I need to wet sand the entire area to smooth out the paint and blend with the old? The paint used was sandlewood metallic bought from the dealer. They told me I do not need a clear coat though I am skeptical. Is straight paint enough? I'd hate to have gone through all this work only to have to redo it in a few years. Admittedly the blend is not seamless but I am more concerned with protecting the paint. This is really two questions in one...How do I finish what I have started...

(sorry the images are not the best. The flash seems to have accentuated the difference between the old paint and the new. They aren't that bad)

not bad for your first go round
 

I would definatley wet sand it personally, it will help with the blending. I would also hit it with a clear. Thats just my two cents. I am not a professional painter but have a buddy who works for a major company that has helped me paint a few vehicles and thats what we did.

Lookings freaking sweet...

When painting with metallic paints I always put 3-4 coats of clear over the top then you can cut & polish at a later date when cured,never heard of just leaving metallic paints uncleard.
When you want to blend new paint into old you need to colour your patches [first like you have done] then do a light flick onto the old areas around the patch,do this a couple of times & take the flick wider each time then put your clear over the top[clear hole panel]
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply's guys. Can I go to a generic paint store...Sherwin Williams maybe? and get a generic clear coat or does this have to be a matched dealer item. I was told that the only thing to keep in mind is the chemistry (don't use an enamel clear on a lacquer paint for example) What is your opinion on this and where would you recommend I pick up some clear.

okay on the part INSIDE the door jamb you do not need clear coat since it does not see a lot of sun if any at all. the area OUTSIDE on the rocker needs clear UNLESS the dealer sold you single stage touch up paint, which means the clear coat is in the paint itself. if that is the case you are fine wet sand if you want but if you have to clear coat the outside you will need to sand it back down with about 600 grit paper and shoot a thin coat of color over it then clear it about 20--45 mins later read the directions on the paint and clear coat.
and as long as its enamel paint and clear and so on any paint store that sells automotive paint will do just fine

Just to add to the wet sanding part, use wet/dry sand paper thats is around 800-1000 grit, you want to keep it wet (use a wet rag the entire time your sanding, and use light rubbing storkes with a BLOCK sander, this way you dont get uneven finger lines in the paint. Rub a couple of light strokes then wipe with soaking wet rag, wet sanding goes a long way, so be carefull.

This will make it very smooth.

Good luck, Jimmy