I spray painted my old moldings after I took them off and for some reason after I put clear coating on them, they turned gray! why could this be? spray painted the clear coat too quick? (about 10-15 mins after painting them black) I thought it was still supposed to be tacky when I clear coat it... or maybe the type of paint I used?

I have been researching the hell outta painting stuff yourself using a spray paint can. Ideally I'm looking to color match my grey bumpers/rocker panels...

So armed with what I had been able to reasearch online, off to the auto paint supply store I went...

I started talking to the owner and he was really helpful. I explained to him that I didn't have access to a gun, and I'm eventually getting an M-Tech body kit that would cover/replace the parts I want to paint, so forking out the $$$ for a professional job would be pointless at this time. I just wanted to do something to the grey to hold me over. I took him out to show him my car and his reaction was "why the hell did they do that?" My thoughts exactly, but I digress...

Anyways..... he then went on to explain that the paint that they sell in the spray paint can was acrylic enamel so I would not be able to add a clearcoat on top of the base. I asked him why, and he said something about the chemicals not reacting with each other in a good way. In all my research, I never heard anyone mention this. Not once. He said I could do it if I wanted, but he couldn't guarantee the results, and it would more than likely turn out like crap. This is something he does for a living and I admit I have zero experience painting automotive stuff, so I believed him.

What sort of paint did you use? Is your black base by chance acryllic enamel? If so, this may be the cause.... but then again, I'm certainly no expert. Hopefully someone will be able to chime in with the answer because I am interested to know as well.

Good luck.

dont use enamel it sucks.

buy some base coat laquer in a can and get laquer clear coat. I recently painted my m3 mirrors (which came out perfect) with this stuff. I ordered it from automotivetouchup.com ... highly recommend it.

but it looks like you are past that point. I think whats happening is you put too much clear on in one coat. it makes the final coat hazy, and in your case...gray. what you should do now is try using some rubbing compound to buff it. polishin compound will not work! make sure you get some medium duty strength.

if this doesnt work, i suggest you strip it down to the base, spray a coat of laquer then clear coat in 4-5 coats.