Hey guys, I had alot of road rash on the bottom of my sideskirts. Since its not visible really I decided I would paint them myself and if it turns out too horrible just get it professionally done after. so 2 weeks ago I went to a paint shop and they told me exactly how to do it. Scuff it, Layer of primer, 2 layers of base then layer of clear coat. Heres the deal though, Everytie I wold put on a base or clear coat the paint would look amazing, even fresher then the rest of my car, BUT as soon as it dried it was dull and no sparkles. So the part I painted is the exact color but has absolutely NO sparkle! Which is really confusing since even when I just put on clear coat it sparkled!
I briefly talked to someone about it and they said that I just need to buff it and told me a need an electric buffer from walmart/homedepot and some sand paper(I believe wet sand it)
I looked everyone on here but couldnt find in a sticky or first few pages instructions on how to do this. Im not too worried about messing it up because its on the very bottom of my car, and if it is really bad ill just get it professionally done and it was a learning experience. Can someone point me in the right direction that has step by step everything I need.
Also, will I be able to use that buffer to 'buff' the rest of my car with some polish?
Please tell us what brand and formulation of paint you used, and how it was applied. It will also help if we know what the weather was like on paint day... cloudy and cool? Hot and humid? Be as specific as you can because as you now know, it's easy to have a less than perfect result; there are a lot of possible reasons why.
I did it inside my garage at night, at probably around 60 degrees and low humidity(arizona). The primer is SEM flexible primer surfacer spray, the base says R-M diamont polyester basecoat and written in GM 19 WA933L (then it was put into a spray bottle). The clearcoat is Krylon tough coat 01000 Clear Gloss Topcoat. I know that 'spray' bottles are the best choice but for the small inconspicious area it should be good neough quality (as long as I can get it to actually sparkle)
The process was prep the area, then put the primer on. Wait an hour and then scuff the primer smooth. Clean it off then do a layer of basecoat slighlty bigger than the primer layer. WAit 30 min and do another basecoat layer. Wait 30 min(might have been an hour) and then do clear coat layer a little bigger than base coat layer.
OK. First off, at 60 degrees the primer wasn't even close to "dry", regardless what the label says. I'm unfamiliar with the Krylon clear... is it a lacquer, acrylic or synthetic enamel? I think a lot of your "die back"... lack of sparkle... stems from both not allowing each paint to dry enough before you put the next stuff on; this traps solvents between the coats: and quite possibly a chemical incompatibility in all 3 of the products you're spraying. Try this... sand the panels lightly until they are uniformly dull with 800 grit wet sandpaper... be VERY careful not to cut through the last paint you applied. When they are dry (at least 2 hours at 60F or above), spray a wet coat of your color, then walk away. If you have "sparkle" the next morning... congratulations! You're done. Next time they get blasted looking, simply repeat the primer/color and it's back to fresh.
OK. First off, at 60 degrees the primer wasn't even close to "dry", regardless what the label says. I'm unfamiliar with the Krylon clear... is it a lacquer, acrylic or synthetic enamel? I think a lot of your "die back"... lack of sparkle... stems from both not allowing each paint to dry enough before you put the next stuff on; this traps solvents between the coats: and quite possibly a chemical incompatibility in all 3 of the products you're spraying. Try this... sand the panels lightly until they are uniformly dull with 800 grit wet sandpaper... be VERY careful not to cut through the last paint you applied. When they are dry (at least 2 hours at 60F or above), spray a wet coat of your color, then walk away. If you have "sparkle" the next morning... congratulations! You're done. Next time they get blasted looking, simply repeat the primer/color and it's back to fresh.
I was recommended to wetsand with 2000 grade wetsand and then buff with rotary. I just bought all the supplied! Should I try your idea first or this one?
For your idea, you siad wait for it to dry 2 hours after wetsanding it? Woulding I just need to dry it with a cloth since its not a paint or anything. And just to be clear you are saying to spray it with my basecoat RIGHT AFTER wetsanding and it drying, without any primer before or clear coat after.
Buff it if you wish... that may bring up the shine but I think it will look "mottled" due to that trapped solvents thing I mentioned. And yes, allow the moisture from the wet sanding to evaporate for awhile even if you wipe the panel dry. Water is a "solvent" just like the thinners in the paint. If your panel surface is still damp, when you apply topcoats the water will react with the paint to make it "blush"... turn cloudy, or milky white.
And yes again to spraying color on a dry dull surface with no additional primer. If you sand carefully and do not cut through the last coat you put on, you will be painting on a fresh and totally dry (both moisture AND solvents) substrate. Your color should remain sparkly as it dries because there will be no interference from what's underneath.
On power buffing your car... I suggest a clay bar, lots of hand rubbing and your favorite wax. It is easy to be over aggressive with a power buffer and cut through the paint exposing the primer underneath. If you want to learn to power buff, start with the lawn mower. Or your wife's 1984 Civic. Or your neighbor's son's LeBaron. You WILL mess up with a rotary buffer until you have some hours behind the tool. Start on something less precious than your Vette.
Buff it if you wish... that may bring up the shine but I think it will look "mottled" due to that trapped solvents thing I mentioned. And yes, allow the moisture from the wet sanding to evaporate for awhile even if you wipe the panel dry. Water is a "solvent" just like the thinners in the paint. If your panel surface is still damp, when you apply topcoats the water will react with the paint to make it "blush"... turn cloudy, or milky white.
And yes again to spraying color on a dry dull surface with no additional primer. If you sand carefully and do not cut through the last coat you put on, you will be painting on a fresh and totally dry (both moisture AND solvents) substrate. Your color should remain sparkly as it dries because there will be no interference from what's underneath.
Ok, I understand. Last question about your method is, if I sand it down with the 800, wouldnt it be "scratchy" and not smooth before I paint, and even after... hence why people use primers and then smoothen it out before applying basecoat? Im not experienced in painting so have no idea, but thats just what seems logical.
The secret to bodywork is to make an ever smaller series of scratches in the surface, then fill them with something. Consider the sandblast pockmarks in your car to be large scratches. You filled them with the primer, then sanded. Those sand scratches were filled by the topcoat paint. Any scratches not filled by the body color would have been filled by the clear. 800 grit scratches are small enough to be filled by a single wet coat of topcoat which should leave the surface smooth and shiny. Hope that makes sense.?
The secret to bodywork is to make an ever smaller series of scratches in the surface, then fill them with something. Consider the sandblast pockmarks in your car to be large scratches. You filled them with the primer, then sanded. Those sand scratches were filled by the topcoat paint. Any scratches not filled by the body color would have been filled by the clear. 800 grit scratches are small enough to be filled by a single wet coat of topcoat which should leave the surface smooth and shiny. Hope that makes sense.?
Ahh makes complete sense! I have 2000 grit, Will have to go tmrw and get some 800 when the stores open.
So your saying even at a low speed and little pressure, I shouldn't 'wax my car' with the rotary?
Corvette Store
Just painted small spot, now what?
