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so I've done some work over Easter and i cut and polished the boot and it turned up well but unfortunately isn't doesn't last too long before it fades back.. ill eventually wrap my car so paint at the moment isn't all that flash.

I also used some two part filler on the beaver panel and filled the smashed bit. i then resprayed with colour match paint and clear coat. I've done about 5 coats of the clear coat and gave it a cut and polish but it doesn't have the shine of the other panels and stands out.. I was wondering if this was normal for spray can jobs or am i missing something?

Getting paint to shine and match the rest of it takes quite a bit or work, and skill.

Assuming you've sprayed correctly (which is actually pretty hard to do with a spray can..) (not too close, not too far, not too wet, not too dry, etc)

it sounds as though you haven't sanded the paint, is this correct?

for a smooth and shiny finish you generally wetsand the paint (the yanks call it "colorsanding" for some stupid reason)

Basically you use special sandpaper, pretty fine stuff, and you wet the panel and the paper and rub it.

When I painted the reflectors on my car I sprayed them with colour, I think about 3 or 4 coats. Let it set for a few days, then wetsanded with I think 800grit paper.
I then painted 2 more coats, let them cure, then wetsanded with 1500, then 2000 grit, lightly. Then one more light coat of paint went on.

After all that I think I then did 2 coats of clear, which I didnt wetsand.

The result was close to the OEM paint near the part, not perfect, but close enough to not notice. (granted, it was my first proper paint job, and more importantly... on a small part so it's a lot harder to see flaws)




basically, i'd suggest you jump onto google and read up on painting cars (even painting model cars shares a lot of techniques.... just smaller)

as for the faded paint on the rest of the car, all I can suggest is to wax the car after polishing. I won't stop it fading, but it will slow it down a bit.

NA paint was a single stage non-clearcoated paint, red, and whites, seem to have suffered the most from fading and peeling respectively.