Painting Question

[simon.mitchell]

Just sprayed the first of the colour coats onto my Plus 2 today - looks pretty good too if a bit 'orange peely'. The question I have is how flat should I try to get the paint in between coats? Should I be aiming to make the finish as smooth as possible before applying the next coat - and if so what grade of wet & dry should I use - or should I put all of the paint on and then flat it down at the end?

Thanks
Simon

[types26/36]

Simon,
I am no expert in body repairs although I have done my fair share over the years,
what I DO KNOW is spend AS MUTCH TIME ON THE PREPARATION as possible, the actual spraying accounts for probably 10% of the job and the more effort put into the preparation is the deceiding factor if the job ends up as excellent/good/fair or rubbish!
If you are not happy with the finish before final spraying you will NOT be with the final result, trying to cover pin holes/orange peel or any other imperfection with paint just does not work and you will reget it later, my advice is rub, fill, rub, fill and some! Rub down with 400 grit between coats and when you think you are ready for the final couple of coats use 1000/1500 grit, others may disagree but their choice.
Rgds Brian

[shiples]

I would continue to recoat and color sand the final surface. But that's what I would do using the materials I normally use. If I were you, I'd be consulting with the manufacturer or retailer of your paint. The manufacturer generally supplies a "system" of paint products. I use Dupont acrylic enamel, primer, and sealer. When I'm ready to paint, I go to the store, discuss my project, and learn the recommended procedures for each product. Temperatures, thinners, and air pressure will affect your finish. My failures have generally been the result of not following the manufacturer's instructions.

[brassringfarm]

Simon - If the orange peel is very visible and pronounced, then I'd recommend sanding it down now before putting any clear coats onto the paint. Further coats will not fill in the low areas, if my experience is at all typical. I painted my own Elan and had minimal orange peel after 2 color and 2 clear coats. I was able to use my random orbit air-powered sander with 1200 grit wet/dry disks to remove all orange peel pretty easily. I used a thick pad between the paper and the disk so that it would go around curves without gouging. It worked great. As soon as I had a uniform surface, I then used some 3000 grit disks - which brought some shine back. Hitting it then with polishing compound brought the finish up nicely. If you're planning on clear coating the paint, there would be no need to polish the color coat. You probably don't have to use the 3000 grit disks - 1200 is probably good enough. If the orange peel is real bad - then I agree with Brian that you may need to go to 600 or 400 grit disks.

Further questions? Write me at [email protected], please.

Paul Zimmerman
65 S2

[simon.mitchell]

Thanks very much for the advice guys. I decided after a bit of experimentation to flat the car back with 600 wet/dry by hand and it took off the orange peel without too much effort. I've put on two coats so far and will continue, sanding in between coats with progressively finer paper until I'm happy with the result. I think that the problem was caused by my dodgy painting technique as much as anything else, but at least I can see improvements now..

Putting on the paint is definately one of the high points of the project so far!

Cheers,
Simon

[PETER GILGRIST]

[SIZE=14]Having spent many years in this fine motor trade ,buying ,selling,restoring driving and crashing then restoring again bodywork has to be the biggest cause of headaches and problems particularly on fiberglass cars.
The problems you have got with orangepeel effect is more often than not due to spraying with to high pressure,if using cellulose(not really recomended with fiberglass)to hot temperature causing paint to dry to quick and not flowing.
Fixing the problem flat with 600 wet and dry recoat when dry flat back with 1500 wet and dry ensure your paper does not start to clogg and use plenty of water,next beg,steal or borrow proper buffing machine and polish paint with G3 farecla liquid this should leave you with a glass like finish.
At the end of the day there is no substitute for lots of hard work and time but in the end it is always worth the extra effort.and always spend a bit more on better quality products.[SIZE=7]