Trouble with touch up spray

[Garfield2]

Bought a 1996 Buick Park Avenue with Dark Cherry Metalflake / with clear coat.

Had a ding in the right front hood, perhaps a steel post or something fell on it at the former owners place. Other than that it has a great paint finish (save the rocker panels)... although a lot of swirls.

I started to fix this up as such: Used my wifes flat pliers for her glass work and pulled the tip of the front of the hood back up a bit to get it off the driver's side headlight. Then used some body putty to put in a small amount where the paint was missing.. about the size of small fingernail file in size. Let it dry and then sanded it smooth.

Then I got the appropriate Dupli-Color spray paint for touch up. It is a Dark Cherry with CC to be applied later.

It looked pretty good, but I had some overspary on the factory paint/CC and I tried to get that off. Used Scratch X by KIT and some other scratch removers to try and get it off.. Just sort of polished everything, and nothing really blended in too well. I even bought a clay bar with spray and tried that but not good there either.

Then I used laquer thinner and removed the overspray but it showed a defenite "look" about it that the paint underneat just looked a lot better. The laquer thinner did not harm the original paint or clear coat just removed the stuff I sparyed on. Got fed up with trying to blend it in and removed most of what I had done down to the part where the original putty was starting to show. Then I masked everything off to a small area where I wanted the spray to be and not oversray.

Now when I sprayed the coat looks dull and not shiny like it did originally. This has been a most frustraing project.

Any ideas to pass along? Do I remove the line of the mask by using a polishing compund, and do I do it AFTER I apply the clear coat to my newly put on paint? Do I buff the paint before putting on the clear coat?

Please pass the belt sander and 40 grit.. I'll fix that stubborn spot!

[2Kpkave]

did you try aplying primer after you fill it? I am no painter, but what I can remember from being a detailer back in the day is:
1) fill it.
2) prime it.
3) wet sand it. get advice from a paint store on what grit.
4) paint it. if it matches good. clear coat it.
5) may need another wet sand to make it like glass.
6) buff it. depending on what grit of paper you used determines what to buff it with.
7) wait at least a week or two to wax it with the rest of your car.

[Garfield2]

I gave it another sand, and it was like glass... FROSTED glass Now I will need to add another bit of spray paint to correct the frosty mug look. I wanted some protection but it looks like it sure could use some better-than-me help.