I bashed one of my rear arches and cracked it. I tried repairing it with body filler but it really needs to be taken off and done properly with some fibreglass and resin. I'm OK with that (especially as the patch will not be visible and the outside face is OK) but I'm not sure how to go about painting for a reasonable finish.

Currently the arches are blue gel coat, but Stuart Taylor weren't able to tell me what RAL colour they are because they apparently used several.

I tried to patch up the paint by getting spray cans from Halfrauds but inevitably the match wasn't that close, so the whole thing needs doing. Also, despite primer and several coats, it doesn't seem that durable.

Since my front arches are black, I thought black rears would look OK. What's my best option for painting (bearing in mind that a new set of arches is £140 ish +P&P from Aries, the new ST distributor)?

Thanks for any (useful) suggestions

I asked in my local paint suppliers last year something similar and they told me to use an etch primer to obtain a good fix.
Why not paint them black, but I would do the front as well because you will find it very difficult to match.

[Edited on 16/5/07 by Schrodinger]

go to a proper paint supplier, they can (in my case at Brown Brothers in Crewe) photograph the colour with a special camera and match it that way.

hth
Steve

Rub them down with 800 paper and apply a good coat of acid etch primer. Flat this back with 1200 paper and then apply 2-3 coats of a good quality paint from your local paint factor. They will put your chosen colour into aerosol cans with a plasticiser designed for grp. Flat back and apply some laquer if you fancy, if not just polish.
Voila!

Thanks for the tips, guys