Refinishing TSi2 driver—need help with paint selection and application process

[kleriq]

I had some pretty bad sky marks that were ruining my confidence, plus one or two scratches that had gone all the way to the metal. I decided to sand them out and repaint. I had Testor’s black gloss enamel left over from a previous paint fill, but it’s not a great match and even when airbrushed it seems to be way thicker than the factory paint. Trying to sand it down before the clear coat just took it right off, even after letting it cure for 48 hours.

 

After stripping off the first attempt, I tried thinning down the enamel and applying the clear coat immediately after letting it flash. This was slightly better but I overlapped the clear coat too thickly, and trying to sand out the runs in the clear coat took me back to step 1.
 

Can anyone advise me on technique or materials? golfpaint.com claims to have a perfect color match, but they only seem to sell single-stage touch-up paint. I’m fine doing a clearcoat—I’ve been using Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel in a rattle can, but it seems a little thick and I obviously can’t thin it out. At least it dries really quick.

 

(And yes, I know about Continental Golf. I don’t want to be without my driver for a week or two.)

 

Edited July 20 by kleriq
Adding note about Continental Golf

[spinnywedge]

I’ve never tried to do it as well as you, but I’ve filled sky marks with touch up pens, then used some car compound and polish to finish once the paint dried. It’s usually not 100% perfect, but the compound has always made a nice difference on any clear coat marks.

[Ger21]

99% of a quality paint job is in the prep. I see scratch marks under the paint, which means you need to sand with a finer grit, and possibly fill with a primer. Also looks like some dust/debris got into the finish. Get a tack cloth and make sure everything is perfectly clean and dust free.

Also, be aware that any standard rattle can paint is going to be much less durable than a factory finish

[kleriq]

@Ger21 I didn’t post the intermediate pic, but I sanded all the scratches down pretty well with 400-grit. I even got out the Dremel to take out a nick in the titanium. I’ve attached another angle that will hopefully show off the prep work better. The clearcoat is a mess because I scuffed the base coat before applying.

 

I did a deep YouTube dive on auto paint before and during this project. It seemed like 800 grit was sufficient prep for base coat, and anything finer might impede adhesion. Did I interpret that wrong?

 

As for paint choice, I just ordered the color matched enamel from golfpaint.com for my next attempt. I didn’t want to buy a whole can of 2K clearcoat just for this project, so I’m using the Rustoleum rattlecan.

 

Edited July 21 by kleriq

[Ger21]

1 hour ago, kleriq said:

I did a deep YouTube dive on auto paint before and during this project. It seemed like 800 grit was sufficient prep for base coat, and anything finer might impede adhesion. Did I interpret that wrong?

I would wet sand with a 600grit at a minimum. If you are seeing scratches through the paint, the sandpaper you used was too course.

[kleriq]

52 minutes ago, Ger21 said:

I would wet sand with a 600grit at a minimum.

So here’s my current plan:

• Sand the whole head down with 400 grit to knock down the failed clear coat.
• Wet sand the whole head with 1000 grit, then 2500 grit.
• Spray the exposed metal with 2 coats of enamel from golfpaint.com.
• Clear coat.

Does that seem reasonable?

[Ger21]

You don't need to go to 1000 grit. 600grit wet on the bare metal should be fine. But you do need to remove and scratches caused be previous sanding.

Typically, a primer would help to fill in some of the scratches. Since you are not using primer, i would spray two light coats, then wet sand with 800 grit, to remove any scratches or imperfections, then one final top coat. If the wet sanding does not go through the color, you can clear coat over the sanded surface.