i've put like 5 or 6 coats of clear on my bumper after i painted, and it's still kinda dull. how do i bring out more gloss?

yes i wet sanded the top coat before i sprayed the clear. used 800g

 

Why did you west sand the base? was there a problem? 3 or 4 coats of clear are plenty, you chance spidering with too much material. Try wet sanding and buffing the clear coat, are you getting a lot of orange peel or just dull? one more ?, what type of gun did you use and what size tip?

 

i wet sanded the top coat. and i thought you were supposed to do that to make the clear stick and make it smooth and glossy

dull and some orange peel

and i just used rattle can.

 

rattle can clear is junk. if your painting when its cooling off or humid, it will turn kinda foggy or milky colored. autozone sells quarts of pre-mixed duplicolor clear & metallic clear for around $20.oo a can. i bought a $10.oo spray gun at harbor freight & 4 qts to go over my base coat. it came out nice i think. 800 grit wet sand is kinda rough IMO.

 

800... 1200. maybe 2000.... then buff with a wool bonnet with compound, you can do it by hand, but it would take a long time

follow up with a fine finishing glaze for even more gloss

 

oops, I just saw you sanded the base... (it's not called a top coat is it goes on top, it's called base for a reason)

usually sanding base is bad news, but if you do the steps I outlined, you might be ok. was this on your white GTA? the good news is white is a very forgiving color.

 

i used rattle can because the color of my car is a pearl white, and i can't get a color remixed for it because they can't match it. plus if they could, it would be 400 bucks a pint. also i don't have spray guns or an air compressor. i just wanted to do this to make my bumper less ugly because lots of the paint had chipped off.

but yea it's a white color. would i be able to sand off the clear, and add a couple more coats of paint to it and redo?

 

the problem with rattle can is is that it is a 1K product, base clear is a 2 K product. Diiferance being you can add reducer and hardner to the 2k, you will need to wet sand and try to get the luster up, use 1400 paper and then a high speed wheel with cutting compound, then try 3M perfect-it glaze to finish. The problem is the drying time on the rattle can and the fact that you cant manipulate the product for the enviorment you are spraying in, you have no control over the flash time. Reducer, hardner and accelerator all help in the process, did you use an adhesion product (like Bulldog) on the bumper before you sprayed? I always say painting is a science not a hobby, but everyone has the right to try it, you can work this out it will just take lots of elbow grease. Just wet sand it evenly and then use the buffer, be sure not to burn the paint, good luck; it will turn out okay just keep at it. Here is a pic of what the wet sanding will look like then a pic after the compound

 

pick a spot, try sanding what you already have done with finer sandpaper and the buff. if it doesn't work, start over.

the problem with rattlecan is it doesn't go on thick enough to stand up to buffing.

if you do have to start over...since you are not messing with metallic, don't bother with the clear. Just put on several coats 8-10) of the color, sand the orange peel out with 800, 1200, 2000, and then buff. you don't need clear unless you are protecting metallics from tiger striping

 

start over meaning removing all the paint again? yikes lol..didn't know i made such a big mistake.

guess i'll try buffing first and seeing how that turns out. then we'll see

 

I would try the wet sanding and buffing first, just my opinion

 

Where did you get quoted at 400 a pint for base? Thats incredibly excessive. There are body shops in NY, (namely mine, which could do your whole bumper for that cost. Go to a good automotive paint supply store, make sure they have a 5 or 7 angle camera, and have them mix a 2k base in an aerosol can. It'll cost a bit, but not 400 bucks! Then ask them for a product called jammin clear, its a high solids aerosol clear that is wet sandable. Put the base on uniformly and lightly, then put the clear on with about 3 coats. Sand with steps above, buff to high shine and depth. Done.

 

i do think your paint estimate is way off. I just paid $20 for a pint of prospray black. Very good quality

 

I believe his paint is a three stage process(tri-coat) with a tinted midcoat. Matching is really difficult and panel painting is ill-advised. Expensive yes, but not $400 pint expensive. Save your money and get it repaired by a professional.

 

3 stage paint is expensive. 10+ years ago when I painted my GTA, it cost me $900 JUST for base, mid and clear coat (Keeping in mind that my father owns a body shop, so these prices were at cost). I'm sure prices have gone up considerably in the last 10 years too.

 

He never said that, it will be a bitch to match

 

sure i did.

and i'm just painting it because it looked so much worse before. i got a color that is very very close to the white itself, but it just won't have pearl in it. and that's ok with me because i know i'll get the whole car repainted at some point.

i'll just go ahead and try sanding, buffing and respraying and see what happens.

 

I did not know it was a Tri-coat, that is quite the problem to match since it is a tinted base coat. I would either wet sand and buff and go with it as is. The other choice is to start over, if you are repainting and can live with it just rub it out.

 

What's your paint code.

Edit: I searched your previous threads. And now know you have a cadillac variant of pearl white. Find a body shop that uses Lesonal or Sikkens for base and clear. Ask for their paint reps phone number. Call them and order your "tri-coat" paint, which will show up at your door in one can. Possibly two if you buy reducer as well. (Sikkens premixes all bases in a single coat formula.) Good luck.

 

Three stage paint in one can? Do tell.

 

AS shiny as it is, I would not wet sand it unless there is orange peel or fish-eyed look...
Instead, rub this in with a damp cloth and spray bottle with water to keep it wet while rubbing.. then buff with foam pad. (this will make a very high gloss)
this product will take a 1200 grit sanded surface all the way up to a high gloss..
https://www.meguiars.com/professiona...20-m8532-32-oz


And if you want it like new, then follow up this and buff with foam:
https://www.meguiars.com/professiona...-glossy-finish

 

This thread was dead 8 years ago. Pretty sure his bumper is toast at this point since he spray bombed it.

 

really ? wow how do you do it

 

I do it by reading, it was taught to me by a person called a teacher. If you look on the left side of your screen you will see dates. These indicate how long ago someone posted on that particular thread. In this case we are looking at 10-11-2011, or as others know it as October 11, 2011 indicating this is an old thread.

 

really? woooowww