mate asked me to sort a few rusting patches up on his 10 year old van
stone chips in the bonnet was the first to be painted today. rust ground out, and filled 2 weeks ago

painted today with some paint mixed at halfords (he bought them in the holts minimix cans)

here's the result...

Description

not a great photo
didn't realise the original paint would have discoloured that much!
the original paint is quite dull, do will a polishing help get the panels a bit nearer?

t-cut? rubbing compund? what would i use? whats the options?

i've got the sides and the back door to do too, don't REALLY want a full spray on my hands
any ideas? lol

Theres white and then theres white. IIRC there used to be something like 115 different shades of Ford Diamond white, but the aftermarket people used to say there was just 1. The difference was noticeable though if you sprayed the aftermarket one on and it diidn't match. You could try t-cut, but after that its either spray the loy or try blending across.

i know the van's mercedes arctic white, and i can only find one paint code for it.
today i used cans mixed in halfords that my mate bought, so i can't be blamed but after speaking to the guys in halfords myself the other day, i wouldn't be surprised if they mixed it wrong... too much blue perhaps.
got a litre on its way to me, from a seller on ebay i've dealt with before, fingers crossed its a better match.
starting to think i'll find myself doing the whole thing. i'm already doing all the doors (2 front, 2 sliding, and one tail gate) and the bonnet, so i guess that just leaves 2 back panels and the two front wings...

hmm, fingers crossed lol i'll try a tiny patch tomorrow before commiting spraying a whoole panel

May be cheaper in the long run to take it to a proper paintshop who can verify the real colour and mix to match...