Question as to what clearcoat can mask

[Satyr]

I'm a first time painted and have just sanded, primed and base coated a hood of mine. Now that I have finished the base coats (3 in total), I am noticing that the paint is not as smooth as the other panels of the car. Granted, I realize that clearcoating will play a large role in that, but I was wondering if it will mask it entirely or not? The newly painted surface is smooth enough where I don't think it needs wetsanding, but I want to make sure the piece will be as smooth as the other panels once cleared and buffed.

So, when a surface is freshly basecoated is it still a bit textured rather than a glassy finish? Will the clearcoat transform it into that glassy feel?

Thanks for the help

 

[TAZ]

You are on the right track, but you need to clearcoat asap. Basecoat is 'normally' fairly smooth, but if not, you can make up for it with the clearcoat. You need to clearcoat asap though. Some paints only allow a certain amount of time before you 'might' have problems with delaminiation.

So....don't compare the already clearcoated surface with the newly painted basecoat. These will be night and day. It's the clearcoat, and possibly the wetsand and buff that will bring all the panels together.

:luck:

 

[Satyr]

TAZ, I appreciate your response.
I cleared it with a few coats and it feels smooth but still looks "bumpy" under my spot lights. I forgot to mention that this surface was unpainted fiberglass (underhood). I plan to repaint the top of the hood tomorrow once given the freshly painted under section time to cure completely. I waited a whole day before clearing, which I now know was not the proper thing to do.

Could you give me an idea of how much time I should leave in between coats of base and then clear? I am working with PPG base and ACME clear with medium hardener (4:1). Also, I have read that flash times between my clear coats can be from 5-30 mins. The can says 3-5 mins...is that correct? As for polishing after clearing, what's the proper procedure for it? Is wetsanding required?

Being the top of the hood, I need it to come out as perfect as possible...so I am trying to iron out any problems I might have ahead of time. I apologize for the winded response and all the questions...just trying to pick up as much as possible in a short time.

Thanks again for your help.

EDIT: Here are some pics. You can see the underside (freshly painted and very shiney) compared to the top side (factory paint and smoother in appearance).












Any tips as to what needs to be changed? I appreciate it.

 

[TAZ]

From what I can see, it appears that you just put the clear on too dry. I think you were spraying it thinking that it would all flow out together and be nice and flat.
You pretty much should be spraying so that what you see is what you get approach. When you do the topside, I would suggest masking up the underside. Then laying the hood so it's flat as possible when you add the base and clear. Lay some nice wet cost...but be aware that there is a pretty fine line between a nice wet look and a look with runs and possibly even solvent pop.
Set your gun so it's almost wide open (the fluid control), and the fan should be about a 10 fan pattern. Be sure and hold the gun about 6" away and move accordingly. Do an overlap pattern.

When spraying basecoat. Spray it, and let it sit for a few minutes, then spray another. Spay until covered. Let the base sit for about 5-10 minutes. Then do your clear. Make your first coat of clear pretty wet. This gives the next 2 coats a great foundation to flow into. If you put a dry first coat of clear, then it's hard to get the next two flat and glossy.

One other thing...before you mask up the underside, add some tape over those holes for the vents (from the underside). If you just 'mask' up the underside with paper and leave the holes open, when you spray the topside, all the overspray will go into the holes and completely cover the underside of the hood with overspray.

Hope this helps!

 

[Satyr]

TAZ,
I again really appreciate your response. I am going to give your suggestions a try tonight, hopefully being able to shoot the clear on properly.

I will get the pics up later tonight as well, after it's all done. Will be late, but I want to get it tried out tonight.

Thanks again for your guidance!

 

[TAZ]

Good luck to you. Hope it came out great!

 

[Satyr]

TAZ,

Things got a little crazy last night with my body filler and I had to start from scratch. I was able to bondo all the rock ships/imperfections in the hood, get the filler, primer and sealer on last night. I just got done with my 2nd clear coat and am heading back out to do a third. I have to say there is already a great improvement in the look of this side of the hood compared to the underside. You were exactly right..my clear coats were WAY too light. I put a nice wet coat to start with and have followed with a slightly lighter (but not much) coat. The comparison is night and day to me. There are still things I know professionals could do better but I am very happy with the outcome so far considering I am using a $52 spray gun and have absolutely no experience with a sprayer at all.

Pics will come in a few hours. Off to my third coat.

Thanks again,
Chris

 

[TAZ]

Great...glad to hear. As long as you get it fairly slick, you can always 1500 the heck out of it and buff it, and it'll look better than factory!
:cheers:

 

[Satyr]

Okay, I have some 1500 sandpaper...is it too early to wet sand? I've received mixed reviews when I researched this.
Also, I have never wetsanded before and don't want to go too far...how can I tell if I am doing it properly or being too aggressive?

Thanks

 

[TAZ]

Use lot's of water (use a spray bottle). Tri-fold the paper. Put the paper in the palm of your hand and spray both the surface and the paper. Then go to town. COMPLETELY, get all orange peel out along with any pits, dirt...

Use a squeegee to check how you are doing every once in a while. You may want to check it out quite a bit at the beginning to see how long and how much you have to sand to get an area dull.

The key here is to get the surface COMPLETELY dull.

Do not run OVER bodylines and edges, just sand UP to them by using the edge of your palm.

Once you get it completely dull, you are ready to buff!

TIP. Mix about 10 drops of dish soap with the water in your water bottle.

TIP: you can use a 4" bondo spreader to use as the squeegee, but a #M black rubber squeegee works best.

 

[hoss]

i've started using the 3m snap it, i believe, velcro backed DA pads. i dry sand it w/ those and man i can see the imperfections dissapear quick and i can keep a good eye on it w/o having to squeegee all the time. it's a great way to get the surface flat and then finish up w/ 2000 grit wet by hand. make sure you practice before doing it, but it's cut my sand buff time in half.

as i said, this is probably an advanced skill, so practice on something that doesn't matter.