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Owned by Aaron

Make it Match
325
5.0 (3)
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Auto painting made simple. Learn pro techniques, share projects, and level up your skills together.

Private business support for automotive shop owners focused on customers, profit, teams, systems, and growth.

88 contributions to Make it Match
Fixing this hood
Ok I have just finished painting the car and all the panels. Some things I had to do over, some just clear and others I sanded down to the plastic and started over with adhesion promotion. Its time for me to fix this hood and while it probably just fine with a wet sand that won't remove the few tiger stripes I see in it. This was one of the earlier parts I painted and I have gotten better since I painted this part. I have enough material to start re do it starting woth sealer but is that necessary? Can I just sand down to the base and start with base then clear and call it good?
Fixing this hood
2 likes • 23h
You’re on the right track. There’s nothing wrong with sanding the existing finish, and it looks like it’s fully clear-coated. Sand it with 600-grit, then apply your base coat over it. Just be careful not to sand through the clear coat into the layer underneath. If you do, it’s best to apply a sealer before spraying more base coat.
1 like • 20h
Yeah, that would be the safest way forward and a great place to start
👋 Welcome to Make It Match!
Glad you're here! Whether you're just getting started with automotive painting or you've been spraying for years, this community is built to help you learn, improve, and connect with other painters who enjoy the craft. Take a minute to introduce yourself by leaving a comment below. We'd love to get to know you! Tell us: ✅ Your full name ✅ Where you're based ✅ A little about your background ✅ What brought you to Make It Match (or what you're hoping to learn) ✅ What's one paint job you've seen that you'll never forget? Everyone starts somewhere, and introductions are a great way to meet other members. Welcome aboard! 🎉
0 likes • 2d
@David Delahoussaye Welcome! Glad you're here 😎
0 likes • 23h
Welcome! Hope you learn lots!
Too much orange peel and a lot of dust! How to proceed?
Hi Aaron, i need your help. I finally managed to paint my 2005 Honda Civic. Unfortunately i have a lot of dust in the clear and some panels have a little bit too much of a peel. It is not as uniform as i want it. The pictures are hiding the flaws ;). My first thought was to sand and buff everything, but then i read your advice about Flow Coating and i'm curious if this ist the way to go for me. I like a factory orange peel look because it's a daily driver. I don't need it super flat. If flow coating is the right choice, how should i approach it? Can i disassemble the panels, sand them flat and flow coat them all individually? I felt a little bit overwhelmed when i sprayed the whole car and i would gain a lot of confidence doing it one by one. And is it a bad idea to coat the doors while they are laying flat for better self leveling of the clear? Or will this look unnatural? Thank you :)
Too much orange peel and a lot of dust! How to proceed?
1 like • 23h
I’d start by wet sanding and buffing it. The finish doesn’t look that bad in the pictures, and you may get a better result that way than by flow coating. Flow coating works best in a very clean, controlled environment, like a downdraft paint booth, where you can keep dust and contamination to a minimum.
Wet bed question
I am doing a small repair and blending the metallic paint into the rest of the fender using a wet bed. First time using this technique. The physics of the wet bed makes sense for the first coat because the metallics land in the clear base of the wet bed rather than as dry overspray. However, how does the wet bed help the second coat if you don’t respray the wet bed. Since this may be the final color coat, doesn’t it dictate the final look? Aren’t you back to no wet bed for the second coat and faced with the same blending problem with the metallics are the edges not laying out correctly? Do you limit yourself to one coat with the wet bed? Thanks
0 likes • 23h
Great question! The wet bed goes down before your first coat of base, but you don’t need to reapply it between coats of color. You can build coverage and work through your blend over that initial application, so you’re not limited to one coat. The purpose of the wet bed is really just to fill in sanding scratches so the top coat of metallic or pearl doesn't pick up and settle into those scratches, resulting in them being seen. That assumes you’re continuing with base coat without sanding in between. If you sand the area and then plan to clear directly over it, that’s a different situation.
Color my world / El Guapo gets the blues
Over the last week and a half, I've been working on my 1986 F150 called El Guapo. Previously, I had sprayed the insides of the doors and underside of the hood. The hood came out okay, but I'm not completely happy with the doors. For a first time painting, though, I expect some hiccups. I just consider it part of the process. On Thursday, I was able to mask the cab and paint the door jambs and firewall. I had mixed all the Shadow Blue Metallic paint that I had (it was two batches produced 13 yrs apart), and the new mix is slightly lighter than the paint I sprayed the doors and hood with, so I'll get to scuff and repaint the insides of the doors. Yesterday, I was going to spray the bed and tailgate, and got everything masked and hung, but I screwed up the sealer on the tailgate, creating a huge run under the letters, so I just stopped there and went on with the bed. I got it sprayed with sealer, and all was going well until the second coat of base, when I wound up with a big run along the passenger side. I remembered Aaron video about fixing mistakes so I didn't panic, I just let it dry for 20 min or so, and then got the soft sander with some 800 and lightly sanded it smooth, fixed a few nibs, and then covered it with another coat of base and a dust coat for the entire bed. Three coats of clear finished it off and made sure I'd have enough to cut and buff later. Overall, I think it came out pretty good. I've got a sag in the clear and a huge run on the driver side, but I know it will clean up, and I know I've got plenty of clear on there. For my first time painting a vehicle, I'm happy with it, and more importanly, the wife is happy with it. Now, I just need to get the doors back on the cab, and get the cab, doors, tailgate, fenders, hood, cowl panel and stone guard painted.
Color my world / El Guapo gets the blues
0 likes • 10d
I’m glad the video helped you stay calm and work through that run - your approach was exactly right. Looking forward to seeing the continued progress - thanks for sharing!
0 likes • 4d
Looks like it’s coming along nicely! And even better, things are getting a little easier. Looking forward to seeing more!
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Aaron Jokela
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@aaron-jokela-2838
Hi, I'm Aaron 👋

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Joined Aug 23, 2025
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