Blending, Advice please

[Polish Painter]

I dont do a lot of blending , but when I do I usually repair damage, base color and clear panel. Question , I need to repair a bumper ( two spots hit with BB ) area in center of bumper. In this case, with area so small should I repair , spot in color ,clear and melt edges. Also the color is yellow , another option could I use Single stage and melt edges with reducer. I know there is more than one way to skin a cat. Just looking for advice from experienced blenders . Thanks.

[pane2k]

i would repair area, spot in color and clear entire panel.
Finish repair/primer off with 500. Sand the rest of the bumper with 1200 or finer and clear.
I dont like to blend clear unless its necessary, like a quarter going into a roof etc.

[isprayum]

just about same for me

[Len]

The repair can depend on the shape of the bumper, color of the paint and type of paint but when I do this type of repair I almost always color the spot, blend the color into the surrounding material then clear the entire panel. Blending a clear or single stage color onto an original color can be tricky and can easily result in a less than desireable result. Your chance of a better repair are much better clearing the entire panel.

[Andy]

I agree with the above. Another point -- you'll spend less time clearing the whole bumper than screwing around and trying to blend. But if it's just a quick job and you don't care what it looks like, you could just touch it in with a small artists brush. It won't look great but it will pass the 20 ft test.;)

[88GT]

I agree as well, especially if you haven't blended much. The shape of the bumper and location of repair does have alot to do with it. Normally the only time I blend a bumper is when the repair is on the side and I can burn in the clear where it rounds off going to the large surface.