Blending base/clear on repair

[Vettra]

I am undertaking something I haven't done before. That is doing a repair on a fairing that was dropped. I have the fiberglass smooth and ready to paint.

I won't be painting the entire fairing, just the section that was damaged. I will be blending into the good paint. Is there anything I should be addressing before I proceed? Better to ask before than try to fix afterward.

THX,
C

 

[TAZ]

Hey C,

What color is the fairing. One or two colors.

Anyway to post a pic? This way we can see 'where' the spot it.
I'm assuming you already have the spot primed and sanded?

 

[Maylar]

Standard painter's advice follows...

If the base is metalic or any kind of 3-part (candy, etc) do the whole piece. There's no way to get a seamless blend. If it's a solid color AND YOU HAVE AN EXACT MATCH PAINT, you can blend the base color but you really want to clear the entire fairing. Urethane clears do not "blend", they always leave a line where the new clear overlaps (exception noted below).

By "exact match" I mean YOU painted the fairing the first time and have leftover paint from that batch. Or, you know what brand and paint code was used and you can duplicate it exactly. Anything less than that and you're kidding yourself. Trust me on that. A fairing only needs 1/2 pint of paint to do the whole thing, I wouldn't risk a mismatch for that.

You need to sand the blended area to whatever scratch the base needs for adhesion, typically 800 or 600. Make sure you check for a real matte finish with no scratches that the new clear won't hide.

On blending clear:

I use Glasurit 155 clear ($$), one of the best in the world. Glasurit sells something called "blending clear" that's essentially a very hot reducer. After clearing the repair area with 155 you spray a VERY light mist of this stuff around the outer edge of the new clear and it "melts" the new clear into the fine scratch around it. It's the only way I've been able to clear a blended area without it showing.

Questions?

 

[Vettra]

Thanks Scott & Dave for advice- I may go ahead and paint the entire color. The fairing is 2 tone. The customee gave me the paint codes so the colors matched up very well. I did notice that the metal flake size was off by just a bit.

It is the fairing from the same bike I just repainted a side bag from (see image below). So what do you think about- Just repainting the entire color green. Then scuffing the clear over the gold. Then clearocating the entire fairing. (or) should I repaing everything as in the case of the side bag?

 

[TAZ]

I would wetsand the complete fairing, then either just spot the green or spray the complete green (complete if you can't blend that good or the color is a little off), then I would clearcoat the complete fairing (not that big anyway)

 

[Vettra]

Thanks- that sounds like a good plan.

 

[TAZ]

Hey C, I'll tell you what, If you can bring up that fairing early tomorrow, I'll give you a quick hand in doing that spot job for you. You just bring the basecoat, and the other 'paint' materials.
Heck, we'll even make a How-To out of it for the forum.

:bounce:

Figure 8:30. You should be able to take her home about 10:30-11
Timeframe is pending the customer I have coming in tomorrow.

Let me know though tonight or early tomorrow AM

 

[Vettra]

It is fully attached to the bike- I guess I'll just ride it over in the morn.

 

[TAZ]

Whether you come up or just paint the fairing there, I would definitely removing it from the bike if there is alot of paintwork on it. If it's just a small spot on the edge, you can just spot it on the bike...that's why I mentioned I wanted to take a look at a pic so I could see if you should spot the base and clear, or spot the base and reclear the complete fairing, or spray all the green and reclear the complete fairing.
I wouldn't ride a customer's bike up here...especially with the cold and nasty weather!

:cheers:

I have to meet up with that customer at 9. I'll just plan on going in then.

 

[Vettra]

I know you can't tell much from photos but blending in the paint and clear on this fairing turned out well. Thanks for all assistance on this project.

 

[TAZ]

Great to hear everything came out good for you

:bigokay:

 

[Vettra]

Those that have read some of my earlier posts might have noticed that I had a "phobia" when it came to the clear coat. My biggest issue was severe orange peel. Well I finally got over that. What I found was that I was not getting enough pressure to the gun. The hose I was using was not the right ID. Great for an airbrush- not so much for full size guns. Once I fixed that issue, it is going on like glass. I am howvever getting a few tiny fisheyes. I believe I have a good filter in my line, I'll have to check it.

I know this isn't a big deal to you long time pros but I am very happy to get over that clear coat obsticle.

Thanks to all that gave advice.

 

[Brian Dee]

That's great Vettra. Sometimes these little things will drive you crazy. As far as the fish eyes. Your hose maybe contaminated. Even though you are using a filter. i have dedicated air hoses just for my guns. I had one that was given to me. Which was used for air grinders. The guy wanted to use full pressure,so just hooked directly to the comp. So all the gunk in the comp ened up in the air line. I didn't get fish eyes,I got craters. so that ended up in the dumper. Just a thought for you. Drain your comp weekely to.

 

[Vettra]

Thanks Brian- I would never have thought of that.

 

[TAZ]

Those that have read some of my earlier posts might have noticed that I had a "phobia" when it came to the clear coat. My biggest issue was severe orange peel. Well I finally got over that. What I found was that I was not getting enough pressure to the gun. The hose I was using was not the right ID. Great for an airbrush- not so much for full size guns. Once I fixed that issue, it is going on like glass. I am howvever getting a few tiny fisheyes. I believe I have a good filter in my line, I'll have to check it.

I know this isn't a big deal to you long time pros but I am very happy to get over that clear coat obsticle.

Thanks to all that gave advice.

Glad to hear it's working out for you. Must have been using 1/4" hose. Like you said, great for airbrushes. Surprised you didn't blow the thing up!!
I put a tip up about fish-eyes. Maybe you can put it to use.

Also, check out a filter you can use on the end of your gun. I call them 'filter balls'. They're cheap insurance. Used them for years. You can buy them at your local auto body supplier.

 

[Vettra]

Great tip Scott. That is one of those things that is obvious... once you know it. I actually have a fresh filter ball at the end of my air line so I still need to diagnose where the tiny fisheyes are coming from. On another note- I just used for the first time a clear other than the Kustom Shop that I had been using. With this one I have a slow hardener. This actually laid down smoother than what I was first using.
I know that the illusion of depth in the paint is created by how the original paint is laid down along with the clear. How many layers of clear can be used before the positive effects turn negative?

THX,
C

 

[TAZ]

I normally put about 4 coats on. You can put more than this on, but with some brand clears, you may end up with solvent pop. I wouldn't go more than 4 with any clear as this would be plenty for anything you are doing. If you have some thick graphics, just resand the next day or two and reclear.
Probably the slower hardener let the clear flow out better. Gotta watch the slow hardeners as this leave more dry time for things to happen (fish-eyes, bugs, dust...).
Possibly try a slower reducer, and regular hardener. If you are doing small parts, you can just use a medium reducer which will help the clear flow better.

 

[Vettra]

Thanks- Oddly enough the slow hardener was all my supplier had left in stock that day. Figured I would try it if nothing more than for the experience. Thanks for info on the amount of CC coats. I also tried your tip on fixing fisheyes.
C