Paint Questions?

[Mark2]

I recently painted my 3 hole bomex lip after patching up some scratches and I have some questions.

- When spraying a metallic base coat, after it dries can I wetsand any imperfections out of it before clearcoating it?
- I filled some imperfections with a body filler and then hand sanded the repair flat. After I painted I could see the area outlined in my paint job. Should I have block sanded the area to make it more level?
- I noticed a fair amount of sanding scratches in my paint job that I couldn't see before I painted the part. Before spraying the primer, what progression of sand paper should I use for the smoothest finish (ie. starting with something aggressive and then working my way up to a finer grit)?

Overall the job was pretty good but I'm planning on disassembling the car and painting it over the winter and I want it to be perfect. I'm using these small jobs as practice for the big job I have ahead of me. The car is an 89 turbo hardtop with the black ruby colour. I plan on changing it to a black with a gold flake.

Thanks guys!

 

[SupraLover]

Wet sanding is usually done for cars that are NOT using a clear coat, primarily for removing Orange Peel, then the area that was wet sanded is buffed out with wax/compound. Since the car is buffed out afterwards, you wouldnt spray a clear-coat over the wax/compound. I guess if your not buffing out the wet sanded area you could clear-coat it, but as you know, the wet sanding dulls the gloss (hence the buff out), and you would be spraying over that. Try a small area like you did and see if you like the outcome. Hope this helps

 

[kotu100]

yes you can sand before clearcoat, wetsand with at LEAST 1000grit, i use 1500


yes, the body filler should have been completly level before you painted it. if you can still see the repair, you'll still see it after clear.

sanding before paint should be done at LEAST 400grit, then sand the primer down with 800grit.


supralover dont give info if you have no fuckin idea what you're talkin about....
wetsanding is done on ALL different paint, and single, dual, and three stage paint. wetsanding the basecoat is to give you less work when you have to cut n buff the clear. the basecoat only gets wetsanded NOT buffed out.
of course wet-sanding dulls the gloss of the basecoat... the gloss comes from the clearcoat.

 

[Mark2]

yes you can sand before clearcoat, wetsand with at LEAST 1000grit, i use 1500


yes, the body filler should have been completly level before you painted it. if you can still see the repair, you'll still see it after clear.

sanding before paint should be done at LEAST 400grit, then sand the primer down with 800grit.


supralover dont give info if you have no fuckin idea what you're talkin about....
wetsanding is done on ALL different paint, and single, dual, and three stage paint. wetsanding the basecoat is to give you less work when you have to cut n buff the clear. the basecoat only gets wetsanded NOT buffed out.
of course wet-sanding dulls the gloss of the basecoat... the gloss comes from the clearcoat.

Thanks Kotu100, that's exactly what I was looking for. Should I use a flexible sanding block for smoothing out my repairs. I know when I do the sanding by hand it does not always come out perfectly flat......it feels flat but once I paint I can see the repair.

Thanks

 

[kotu100]

Thanks Kotu100, that's exactly what I was looking for. Should I use a flexible sanding block for smoothing out my repairs. I know when I do the sanding by hand it does not always come out perfectly flat......it feels flat but once I paint I can see the repair.

Thanks

i use a 3m hard rubber sanding block, or if i use the hook-it velcro stuff, its a hard plastic sanding block.
the hard rubber one i use for doing contours in the body, or around body lines. i try to use the hardest longest one i can to get the smoothest line on straight panels. don't be afraid to keep adding filler if you're not sure you have enough.
you can also use this stuff called polyester putty, its like a softer body filler. put a thin coat of this all over the repair and the immediate area surrounding it. i find this the easiest way to get a smooth transition.
also when you prime over the filler, be sure to wetsand it with some 1000 grit to make sure its smooth and straight.

good luck! oh and post some pictures, everyone loves those

 

[Mark2]

i use a 3m hard rubber sanding block, or if i use the hook-it velcro stuff, its a hard plastic sanding block.
the hard rubber one i use for doing contours in the body, or around body lines. i try to use the hardest longest one i can to get the smoothest line on straight panels. don't be afraid to keep adding filler if you're not sure you have enough.
you can also use this stuff called polyester putty, its like a softer body filler. put a thin coat of this all over the repair and the immediate area surrounding it. i find this the easiest way to get a smooth transition.
also when you prime over the filler, be sure to wetsand it with some 1000 grit to make sure its smooth and straight.

good luck! oh and post some pictures, everyone loves those

Excellent information, thanks a lot! Once I'm done I'll post some pics but I work slow so it may take a while.

 

[rayall01]

Hey kotu! come do my bodywork for me, it'll make up for you boning us on Saturday!:biglaugh:

 

[kotu100]

Hey kotu! come do my bodywork for me, it'll make up for you boning us on Saturday!:biglaugh:

haha u wish, i still gotta finish mine 1st.

 

[Bruno Molly]

...Repairing metallic paint blemishes....depending on how deep the scratches are and how visible your bodywork is will determine how much sanding you will need to do, and if you will need to add more filler. I usually take a Razor blade and fill dimples if I missed something...knock it down with 22o grit, 400, 600, prime, wetsand primer with 600-800 grit then Basecoat. If you trying to say fix a spot on a bumper you can't just Spray that spot with metallic it will surely come out uneven...what you do is Fan a Large area and let the flake sort of "Land" in place naturally..Do this with the Booth Fan OFF...Keep doing that until the area looks natural with a Florescent light or Bright LED light. (This is how I have done this for over 20 years....There are other ways) Then the Cut and Buff depends on how much Peel you got, or how many Bugs you need to sand out from spraying at night. I have photos of my old mini trucks that have all wound up in Trucking and Minitrucking Magazine... Oh, and your paint jobs also depend on your spray gun too. Professional grade guns get Results that you shouldn't have to Cut and Buff as Much when your'e done... I use SATAJET, and DEVILBISS and Iwata Airbrushes. This is not to downplay anyone elses ideas or thoughts but just my 2 cents on how I do it. If you paint for Living I recommend SATAJET...If you just Paint for Hobby or don't need to get your money back from job after Job, I would use an Iwata high end gun or Devilbiss high end. They spray just as good as SATAJETS.... My SATA RP paid for itself on the 1st paint job I did with it. 68 Chevelle,and It came out like Glass and all I did was unmask it and hand the customer his Keys as he was drooling!
BM

 

[Mark2]

...Repairing metallic paint blemishes....depending on how deep the scratches are and how visible your bodywork is will determine how much sanding you will need to do, and if you will need to add more filler. I usually take a Razor blade and fill dimples if I missed something...knock it down with 22o grit, 400, 600, prime, wetsand primer with 600-800 grit then Basecoat. If you trying to say fix a spot on a bumper you can't just Spray that spot with metallic it will surely come out uneven...what you do is Fan a Large area and let the flake sort of "Land" in place naturally..Do this with the Booth Fan OFF...Keep doing that until the area looks natural with a Florescent light or Bright LED light. (This is how I have done this for over 20 years....There are other ways) Then the Cut and Buff depends on how much Peel you got, or how many Bugs you need to sand out from spraying at night. I have photos of my old mini trucks that have all wound up in Trucking and Minitrucking Magazine... Oh, and your paint jobs also depend on your spray gun too. Professional grade guns get Results that you shouldn't have to Cut and Buff as Much when your'e done... I use SATAJET, and DEVILBISS and Iwata Airbrushes. This is not to downplay anyone elses ideas or thoughts but just my 2 cents on how I do it. If you paint for Living I recommend SATAJET...If you just Paint for Hobby or don't need to get your money back from job after Job, I would use an Iwata high end gun or Devilbiss high end. They spray just as good as SATAJETS.... My SATA RP paid for itself on the 1st paint job I did with it. 68 Chevelle,and It came out like Glass and all I did was unmask it and hand the customer his Keys as he was drooling!
BM

Awesome that answers another question I was going to ask, and that relates to paint guns. Thanks for the information I really appreciate it!