Just saw the before/after on a fender I did last month and wow

I painted this rusted-out 2010 Civic fender in my backyard back in March and it looked perfect, but after 8 weeks of sun it's already fading and flaking near the edges. Turns out I skimped on the primer coat, thinking a thick base layer would cover it has anyone else had a factory finish fail like this after a few months?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.elliot23d ago

Oh man, is it really that bad though? I mean, fading and a little edge flaking after two months sounds annoying but I bet from 10 feet away it still looks way better than that rusty mess you started with. A bad primer job will definitely show up over time but unless the paint is literally falling off in sheets, I'd just hit those spots with a rattle can and call it a day. Honestly, factory finishes fail from factory defects all the time, so a backyard job holding up for two months isn't the worst result (especially if you didn't even use proper automotive primer).

raymitchell23d ago

My cousin tried painting his old F-150 with house paint and a roller once... said the same thing about how it looked fine from ten feet. Thing is, after about three months the whole hood started peeling like a sunburn and he ended up having to sand the whole thing down again. Two months of decent looks on a rattle can job is actually pretty solid compared to that disaster.