body paint

Something very strange happened to the area of my car that needed to be painted. When I purchased the car the previous owner told me I should drain the tank because the gas was 'old'. I drained the gas by pumping it out of the gas fill. A little gas splattered and immediately dissolved a small area of paint. Obviously whatever paint was used was not 'good' auto paint. I've been looking for the right paint for months - not a real high priority. When I at last got the paint, I put tape all around the top edge of the tank and, using a brush, painted all of it. Like I said above, the paint was a perfect match. The side of the tank that had no damage came out great. The side with the damage is a different story. As it dried, the paint sort of curdled. After letting it dry, I sanded it down and tried again. The same thing happened. I can't believe whatever the gas did has lasted more than 8 months. Anyway, I can't figure out what to do now. I've decided to just leave it alone since it does, at least, match.Unless somebody has a suggestion.
 
Ken!, Welcome to the wonderful world of restoration painting! I wish I knew why your paint dissolves in gasoline. Obviously, it's soluble by gasoline. I doubt if many paints are. In fact I think most paints are not. As far as it curdling or as it sometimes known, crazing, I'm assuming that you used primer beforehand, yeah? No? Primer "Insulates" the new paint from the body steel. Also, If you sand with too fine a grit on your sandpaper now and then paint won't stick properly. But I don't think that's the case here. More likely the surface of the steel is contaminated with something and no paint in the world will stick without primer.
Terry
 
Thanks Terry, They sold me a base coat spray paint that I was suppose to use on the area where the paint was destroyed. I made an effort to clean the area and then put some painters tape all around it to protect the good paint. Then I sprayed the paint. It made a real mess and didn't seem to dry. I ended up wiping it off. As I said above, a few coats of brushed on the paint at least looks good when you're a few feet away.
 
I attempted to sand the bare metal but it obviously did no good. Can you recommend something that will work to allow the paint to adhere properly?
 
You shouldn't have sanded down to bare metal, only to the primer at the most.

With all due respect, it sounds like you haven't painted before and don't completely understand what the steps are.
I am assuming you didn't wipe it down. You have to wipe it down to remove oils and contaminants whenever you paint or prime. If not, you get results like you have with fish eyes and bad adhesion. Sanding down to bare metal isn't a substitution for this step. I use this product but there are others.
https://www.autobodybarn.com/excel-auto-body-products-final-clean-gallon-90101.php

The other question I have is what grit sandpaper did you use?

If it were me I would either sand the old paint and spray another coat or I would seal it with some epoxy then spray the color.

Just speaking from my experience of over 40 years.
 
Thanks Chrs1961815, No I've never done any auto painting before. As I mentioned in an earlier post, when I emptied the gas tank, through the fill, a small amount of gas dripped onto the paint and immediately dissolved it. The area was not much bigger than a few square inches. That happened almost 10 months ago. I eventually was able to buy some custom matched paint that was perfect. I used it to paint over the small damaged area. As it dried it became very irregular. I sanded it down (first course sandpaper and finished with fine) and repainted. Apparently, whatever the gas did to the metal was still in the bare metal because, once again. the paint dried 'rough'. I did this a third time and it looks a little better. But, I'd really like to make it as it should be. I painted the entire top of the gas tank and the area on the other side of the fill is perfect. Do you think if I sand it down to the metal again and use the Excel auto body final clean it will clean up the original damage in the metal to the point where I can paint without ending up with the same problem?
 
Another alternative to expensive paint matching are the little Testers bottles of enamel for $1.99 at Hobby Lobby. You laugh but I painted my cabriolet Duchess & Lombard blue, and inthe Testers colors I found were within 1-2 shades of the Model A colors. You can mix them to get a closer match
 
Prep is always the key to a good paint job. Before I paint or prime a panel I always wipe with acetone, then wax and grease remover. I fear though that this will ruin your remaining "original" paint since it seemed pretty delicate if it washed away with gasoline.

You could try soapy water, but it would have to be well rinsed and super dry before repainting, this introduces the possibility of flash rusting if your down to bare metal.

Did you apply the paint with a brush? was this a two part paint or a single stage paint?
If you apply auto paint too thick, it can crack. 2 part paints are chemically reactive. if you applied a paint such as this with a brush and very heavily the paint could dry unevenly and try to twist it self off the panel. Provide as many photos as you can, before and after the repair if possible. Lets see if we can get you fixed up.

It's not impossible to paint with a brush, In fact I've even painted a throw away car with a roller kind of as a gag,but it looked way better that I thought it would. It will require some elbow grease to reach a desired finished,brusher,sprayed or rolled :)

What would this repair be worth to you if done professionally? if you have the paint already you may be able to find someone willing to put in a few hours for a better repair.
 
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