flames over factory clear

[halloflame]

great site gents...
new to site, so excuse if this has been asked before, just learning the navigation..

I have been seeing more and more customers with factory paint asking for flames...I have had good luck with just scuffing and laying either pearl in clear, or tinted clear for the best adhesion to the base clear.. I have had some problems with de-lamination when re-masking for drop shadows and other airbrush details after the clear has cured....also edging is not as fine as I would like it

Is there something I'm missing. Using PPG Omni clear.. should I be starting from basecoat and flaming in basecoat to acheive the best performance?

thanks

 

[rex]

I wouldn't rebase the car but I would use basecoat to flame it with.I know a few people that use Omni clear and they say for the money it's great stuff.When you say you're scuffing it do you mean scuffpad?A wet grey scotchbrite is cool but you need to make sure it's completely scuffed up.I find it's actually quicker to 800 it with a DA and then run the edges and slide over the sanded area with the scuffpad.I believe it gives you a better prepped surface to prevent tape form pulling the paint.It sounds like you're not getting enough scratches to hold the paint enough.I'm a firm believer in untaping as soon as possible too,the drier the paint gets the more chance of the edge getting sharp and jagged,but you have to be careful if the paint's flashed off a bit because it can roll off the fineline tape and roll over on the fresh stuff.

 

[halloflame]

I've been using Omni for the past 6 mos now and I find the quality/gloss superb.
have been using a "600" grit wet, but maybe not enough...will have to use a bit more elbow, but i'm a bit hesitant not knowing the thickness of the factory clears..

thanks

 

[TAZ]

I agree totally with Rex,
Sounds like the surface is not prepped good enough.
I go as far as sanding the surface with 600 DA before flamework and clearing.
All my sanding is dry until I get to the part where I need to buff, then I 2000 wetsand.

 

[rex]

You might want to try the DA sanding.i prefer wetsanding but the paper can dull fast and then you need to dry it off to see the progress.With dry sanding it hazes out the spots sanded and is much easier to see what's not sanded.All you need is a good even scratching of the surface,but flimsy panels like hoods give under the sandpaper and don't get sanded as easily as the hard spots.The dry method shows you what's what just blowing off the dust.Stay back off the hard edges though cause you'll cut through to base fast,that's what the grey scuffy's for.