Re: 1985 bomber bringing the color back ?
I hate to ask this, but how attached are you to the metal flake? It sounds like some of the flake was exposed through the sanding and the only way to correct this is to be able to get the same metal flake powder (which given the age of the boat is pretty unlikely) and repair. The way I've done this is to spray a clear tack coat over an area, blow the metal flake powder into the tacky clear coat and re-spray several coats of clear until a good build up is achieved. Repairs can be done, but you need to use natural break lines on the hull to visually minimize the transition between the repair and surrounding area. Unfortunately based on the pics you posted, you would have to re-do the entire side for a "perfect" blend.
If you're really attached to the flake appearance you may have to choose a new color and flake and re-do the hull (both sides unless you can find a really close match). This is much more of a task than re-painting in a solid color. Option #3 would be to simply spray some buildup coats of clear over the dull areas, wetsand, buff and hope for the best. The color probably won't look completely uniform, but at least it would be shiny
