Final paint coat texture

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cheese9988

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Ok so I am experimenting with the paint sprayer on my hood, to me that is the easiest thing to work and sand back down if I screw up. I put down the primer and sanded it down it came out ok. I put the final coat on it, and put a second coat on. When I went to look at it there is a textured look to the paint. Does the paint look smooth once it has been sanded down with very fine sand paper, or did I do something wrong? Paint was mixed with hardener and right amount of thinner.
 
ya I think the primer was either not sanded down right or it wasn't sprayed on correctly. I painted a clean peice of sheet metal and the paint came out like glass so I assume it has something to do with the primer. The primer is extemely rough after it is sprayed and I assumed you just sand it down. So I did and painted over it.
 
if it is what is commonly referred to as "orange peel", then it can be a product of cheap paint and a quick job. To get rid of orange peel, you have to wetsand, and buff the outer coat. However it could be like you said also, a rough undercoat.
 
What grit would you recommend me wetsand it with, 1000 grit?
 
I'm leaning toward the quick job theory. I would rather rub out five runs than a whole car.

Your paint should look "wet". Look while you're spraying from different angles, with good lighting. What you see is what you get. If you Orange Peel a whole car, you have to sand the shit out of the whole car, and possibly respray if you sand too deeply. That sucks, and is a waste of paint. If you are just practicing on your hood, then don't cut yourself short, position the hood vertically so you can practice the wet coat while fighting gravity. Read the can and allow the proper flash time between coats.

Learn how to adjust your gun properly.

That is all.
 
hmm, by runs you mean make the paint a little more runny? I tried sanding it down with 2000 grit in a spot to see what would happen and then polished it, doesn't look real good. I'll sand it smooth again and retry. Also with the primer, when it gets put on should that look smooth or only after I sand it, because it isn't smooth when it goes on, its kinda tacky.
 
Run- Making the piece you are painting so wet that the paint starts sagging, or a drip forms a line and runs downward. A vertical paint line that is thicker than the rest of the paint job.

Light application= Rough to touch, not pretty, looks kinda like an orange peel. Texture
Medium= Smooth application, wet enough to "lay out" and make a perfectly smooth surfact(bugs and dust aside)
Heavy= Like medium, but with a few sags and paint lines running downward on vertical panels.
Real Heavy= Waste of paint. Runs everywhere.


You want to do the least work possible to get a nice looking paint job. I shoot for medium. It takes a while to aquire the eye for spraying, but you'll get it. If I could not get the paint perfect, I'm aim for the heavy side slightly. It's much easier to rub out a couple runs than to wetsand your ass off on a light paintjob.


To conserve paint, and slow down how much paint you apply at one time:

Your gun should have a twist valve to control air flow. Crank that baby wide open unless you know what you are doing. This is seperate from your regulator and tank pressure. Just the gun.

It should also have a fluid flow adjustment. Close this valve completely. When you pull the trigger, no paint will come out. OK, now you open that valve about 1 turn(360 degrees). Grab a test panel. Turn that adjuster a little at a time until you can apply enough paint to finish a panel before it dries, and not totally saturate your piece if you move too slow. I have mine set so that my hand only moves the gun 8-12 inches per second. Overlap your passes by about half the width of the path.

That's a starting point. I am very sure that my way may not be the fastest, or the best, but it sounds like you need to crawl before you walk.

Fun isn't it? Don't be intimidated. Practice makes perfect. :)
 
Thanks man, looks a little better now, did a door and has a small amount of orange peel but I can see my reflection which is better. I'll try a little sanding later to see what happens with that.
 
Just did the hood after sanding it down, came out great. I will post some pics at some point! Thanks again! :worthy:
 
cool.

Just remember, if you apply enough paint the first time, your sanding time will be cut by 304983%

Wet sanding and buffing still looks much nicer than spraying alone.

You have another option too. You can use single stage paint as your base coat. Let it sit for a few days, wetsand, then recoat with a clear. Clear coat is thicker, and gives you that "under glass" look.

I love base/clears.

I am now at the point where I want to do triple stage, which I have already.

Triple stage is base/color/clear, maybe more.

Like a pearl color. You have base color, pearl effect, then clear.

Or a candy color. Base black, silver metallic second coat. Third coat is candy blue in an "intercoat". Fourth coat(several coats) is clear.

It is so much fun at the spraying stage. The bodywork is the shitty part.

They call it bodywork, not bodyvacation. :lol:
 
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