What is dry spray on car paint?

A rough, dull, gritty finish is dry spray. The paint was already half dry when it reached the panel, so it landed as separate specks instead of a wet film. The causes include the gun too far away, air pressure too high, the wrong thinner, or spraying in heat.

What kind of repair does it need?

It depends which coat it is in and whether your car is metallic. Light dry spray can be flatted, compounded and polished. Coarse texture is sanded and repainted. Metallic finishes must always be rubbed down and repainted.

Class of work Flatted and polished, or painted again if it goes deep.

Depth decides it. If there is enough good clear coat above the fault, it is sanded flat and polished. If levelling it would go through the clear, or the fault is in the colour, the panel is painted again.

What to do next

Take it back to the shop that painted it and use the words dry spray. Paid work must be done with care and skill. In Australia that right comes from the Australian Consumer Law, on top of any warranty the shop gives. Photograph it in direct sun, from an angle where the roughness shows.

Sources

  1. PPG GBpaint makercompressed air pressure too high, gun held too far from the surface during spraying…
  2. Axaltapaint makerSpray gun too far from surface while applying.
  3. Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading)governmentExpress warranties, warranties against defects, and extended warranties can be offered to you in addition to your automatic legal rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
  4. Sherwin-Williams Automotivepaint makera minimum film thickness of the clearcoat (2 mils) is required to maintain adequate ultraviolet protection

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