Any help from any of you experience guys on touching and flatting is appreciated.
I also used silvo (like brasso) for some of the finishing stages and that helped, but ultimately wasn't that aggressive.
I know the ship has sailed on the touch up work, and it looks pretty good i think.
But one thing i noticed is that it seems a lot of the problem spots were clear coat issues, and a coat of poly or acrylic clear coat, brushed on, would have fixed it. This stuff has crazy self repairing properties, or it just flows really well, and tends to smooth itself out, erasing brush strokes and texture underneath.
With this in mind, i have had success with touching up using a thin color coat (sometimes you need to thin the paint so it flows) with clear over it. With the color coat protected like this, it is possible to get away with easier to use but less durable paints like water based acrylic. If it binds to the surface ok (use a primer if necessary), then the clear coat provides the durability. A plus is that acrylic is way easier to mix colors on your own, and clean up and smell are much more reasonable.
Another thought--try to limit the sanding to the smallest possible area. Resist expanding the problem spot. Or, you could try a rust converter that leaves a primer layer. This stuff neutralizes the rust, and you just need to brush off the loose stuff first, eg with aluminum foil. Then apply the converter, wait, and paint.
This is the clear coat I use, a synthetic resin varnish, or basically a polyurethane. It is an impact resistant type, so I guess that means it retains a bit of flexibility so it doesn't crack, and is marketed for coating toys, which get thrown around. Requires solvents to clean, but not much (see background). I apply it with either a very soft artist's brush or a sponge brush. With this stuff you have to work hard to get brush stroke marks.
