Should I wet sand my base coat b4 clearing??

[Duffinatur]

Hi all,

Tonight I sprayed 4 coats of silver. (pic in my gallery) I'm very happy with the shade and the paint I chose covered very well, but not very happy with the surface texture. it feels like primer before block sanding. I'm sure it was my lack of practice/inexperience with two stage paints. I was also very conservative with the coats because its been quite a few years since I painted silver. It seems as if I didn't get the middle coats "wet" enough. But i'm also not sure if this would be normal with silver colors.

I was thinking I could sand the base coat, but I tried a small spot on a previously painted interior panel and wasn't sure if I liked the result. Or if can use a mild scuff pad to knock off any high spots, will it leave any scratches that would show through the clear? I can load a lot of clear on this thing if needed.

Everyone here on club cobra has been very helpful, even when I make a stupid mistake or question, and I always search through the forums for my answers first, but this is a very important part of my build. (The one that gave me the most anxiety as well). Any suggestions?


2nd question:
Should I paint my stripes before clearing, or after, and then maybe clearing again? I've also thought about semi flat black stripes (1/2 flat - 1/2 gloss paint mix) has anyone tried this? I've seen it mentioned here in the forums.

thanks all!!

Duff

[CobraDan]

Don't sand unless you have a run or problem your pressure was to low if the paint was not smooth. I painted my car with base coat-clear coat also and I never painted a car before. I painted the white wide enough down the center first for the stripe then taper masked off the stripe and painted my yellow body coat followed by the clear-coat. A buffer does wonders for a paint job.

[Duffinatur]

Thanks CobraDan,

The rough texture wasn't as bad as my sleep deprived mind said it was. Mostly it was overspray and was limited to the top surfaces. A spray bottle and a few sheets of 2000 grit paper took care of it. I let the paper due the work and didn't apply hardly any pressure.


I had one run right next to my tailight and wetsanded it out with 1500 grit. Then I loaded my spraygun and upped the pressure. It worked great, and I liked the results better than my first couple of coats! I have enough to give the car one more coat so I may do that this afternoon and see if I can improve my base coat finish.

I'm thinking I may do the stripes tomorrow, lol

Duff

[Duffinatur]

Hi All,

I was able to lay a fifth basecoat using more pressure at my spraygun, a little improved technique, and I added a little black to the shade for a darker siver. The finish is smooth, semi shiny, and even.

Many kudos to the folks that have posted about doing doing thier own paint, your post and replies were very informative and very helpful.

It was a near perfect day for painting this morning, 74deg. a little cloudy but little humidity and only a slight breeze. I got a little worried when I opened my garage and it was pouring rain after being locked inside all day. I let the garage air out for a few minutes then closed it back up.

My goal is to drive to a friends house on the 4th of July. I may not have my interior completed but the car will be functional (lights, gauges, seatbelts, door latches, etc.)

Duff

[FUNFER2]

You don't need 4 coats of base. The base should look dull, dry and flat, the clear, is what makes it shinny. With a lot more practice, your color coat should be flat, no orange peal at all, and put at least 4 coats (even 5) of clear on it if you plan on wet sanding and polishing. This step can take off two coats of the clear and leave two coats of clear on the car for buffing out minor scratches later in it's life. I put 5 on mine and the paint looks very deep.

With the stripes. It depends on the painters preference. I like painting the stripes first, then putting on a light coat of clear. That way, if you get any of the other body color under the tape, you can wipe it off with some wax and grease remover very easily. Then, cover the entire car with more clear coats.

I hope I've made my painting process clear (hehe, "clear")

(also, make sure you use a tack cloth in between coats and wrap yourself with plastic like a condom, if you're a hairy beast like Sasquatch !!!
It makes me so,oooo when I get hair in the paint. And, please turn around if you have to sneeze unless you like the old "splash graphics")!

[cobred]

If you sand a metallic base coat you have to recoat it with more base coat before clearing or you will have stripes in the metallic. (not the kind you want). You should talk to the paint supplier because all the paints have a window of working time when you can and cant apply more paint.
In other words, normally after you spray the base you let it dry an hour or 2 but no more then 24 hours before you clear it. After 24 hours you have to sand it and apply more base, let itdry, then clear it. This is to have the correct chemical bond between the base and clear.
Instructions vary from different paint brands so that is why I would check. I would hate for you to make a mistake that would be hard and costly to fix.

[Duffinatur]

Thanks, Kevin,

I know that if I a professional painter, or even a little more experienced I wouldn't need 4 base coats, but I'm far out of practice and would say I've been reduced in rank to amatuer status, so I wanted to be sure of my coverage. My primer was touched up in a few spots and those had a lighter shade than the rest of the car and these were very light coats, so I was worried about transperancy. On my last coat I was able to up my gun pressure and put a proper "wet" coat on thanks to CobraDan's advice. There might be a spot or two that isn't perfect, but I'll live with it.

I've followed the re-coat window instructions as well, so that means I'll be striping and then clear coating most of the rest of the night. I had planned on at least 5 coats as well, maybe more, depends on how much time and material is left in my garage and me.

Thanks guys, I'll post another update late tonight.

DUFF

[Duffinatur]

hi guys,

I skipped the wet sanding of the clear coat so I could drive the car for the July 4th weekend. I finally had a blast driving my car, if only for a first weekend. (new pic in my gallery) It had a unique look and I was told by more than a few of my buddies that are "car guys" that I should just leave it as is as they liked the satin looking finish. Not too sure they weren't pulling my leg a little.

So here it is a week and a half later and I'm tearing off all of the shiny parts: roll bar, lights, windscreen, etc. for the full wet sanding treatment of the clear. I stand back and I come to the realization that I'm just not that happy with the job I did. I realize that I'm probably being a little picky, and seeing every tiny flaw as a gaping hole or cavernous scratch. There are a few light areas but I would have to point them out.

I ordered a new trunk from Shell Valley, (original didn't fit) so I have to paint that anyway, and I have a few nicks in the channels of the doors and hood where I didn't wait long enough before trying to set them in. So being a little disappointed in my handy work and with a few flaws due for repair anyway, why not just go ahead and re-paint anyway??

I really appreciate the good advice from the forums here and I really don't mind if anyone says " I told you so." I take the advice here when I can, but with my business (RV supplier) being so slow, I really have to cut my spending. This means I must do as much myself as possible. It's kind of a pride thing at this point, other than advise, and a little help from a neighbor to set my windshield, I've done the entire car solo.

So I'll post again when I get the repaint completed.

Thanks all
Duff

[CobraDan]

After applying the basecoat at the proper air pressure and then the clear it really should not need to be sanded as it should look just like a new car coming out of the showroom, again if the clear came out dull you where not shooting with enough air pressure. If you want that really deep shine for the show circuit then you would get out the 2000 grit sandpaper and wet sand and then polish the surface to that brilliant shine but the surface would have already been shiny. With all your extra coats of base and clear your paint job is already too thick and if you didn’t apply the paint in the time constraints of the manufacturer for the best adhesion and later when the paint starts falling off down the line you will really wish you had bitten the bullet and paid for a professional paint job. After my paint job by myself I knew why other than the paints high cost, why a professional paint job with the enormous man hours invested and even more man hours as a none professional painter the prices quoted are so high. Since you would already have to sand for adhesion to re-paint I think you might be better off trying to save your original paint job.

[Duffinatur]

Dan,

I have indeed enlisted a friend for some help. He owns a body shop here in town and although I don't want to take advantage of his generosity or his friendship, (he knows my funds are currently very limited) he's mentoring me a little as a fan of Cobras. He gave me the same advice about possibly working with the paint I have, what would be fixed and what would still show. He also reminded me that if I'm not happy with it I should think about re-doing it. I worked too hard on the rest of the car to settle for a sub par paint job. I'm the one who has to live with it. My funds are short but I'm long on time, location and materials for body prepping, so that is why I decided to re-do the paint. I really like the idea of doing it myself even if it takes a little more time to get it the way I want it. I'll take it down to the primer just to be safe, and maybe by the time I get there I'll figure out a way to have a pro shoot it for me, or help me do it.

With that being said: Thank you for the advice, I used it and it worked better than what I was doing.

[Duffinatur]

Thanks for the answers to my questions and your comments.

I stripped the old paint job to the primer and started over. This last weekend I finished the clear coat, nearly 2.5 gallons, although I lost count of the number of coats. I anticipated wet sanding and polishing the final finish for the finish I want and this coming weekend I'll begin that process. The last few coats went on a with a little more difficulty because I was getting pretty tired of holding the spray gun, but knowing I was sanding and polishing anyway, a few small patches of orange peel doesn't really bother me that much. There are a few pictures in my gallery.

Thanks again, and I hope to be complete enough to attend Run-N-Gun.

Duff