I'm trying to get into painting a little bit. My dad just got a $150 paint gun, and we are starting to play around. Our first project was the door of an 89 S-10 Blazer. we took it off, bondo'd primer'd (2 coats) and painted (2 coats). The problem is that the paint looks good, nice and smoothe ... but its really hazey. it did not glossy at all. We are not looking for any professional job, just something that will look decent next the quarter panels.

I guess i am asking, What are the secrets to getting a paint job to look good??? Multiple sprays, mult. clear coats, wet sanding, etc ... please fill me in.

Also, there's 1 quarter panel on my bird that doesnt have the same shine as all the others. It actually doesnt even come close! What do i need to do to it to get a nice gloss???

Thanks

KZad

 

well im not no pro but u said u got a hazy look to it and u said u painted 2 coats. did u even put any clear on it? becuz if u put just the base coat or paint on it it will look hazy becuz there is no clear on it what so ever. now im not sayin im a notiall but i think thats why its hazy. becuz when my car was gettin painted i noticed that when my friend was paintin it with just the base coat it was hazy and had no gloss to it what so ever and once he put the layers of clear on it , it made a worlds of different and added a nice bright gloss to the paint. so maybe u should shoot on sum clear coat and im sure ur supose to spray the sealer, primer, base coat and then clear and with the base and clear u spray the base coat on and if ur doin layers of base then u spray the layers of base coat on while each layer is still wet but not too wet, im not sure on how wet and what not , but then after the base coats you can spray on the clear on the wet base coats. now maybe some one with more knowlage could fill u in on this . i gave u all i knew about paintin and i learned all that in like a month. later

 

Basecoat paint has no need to be glossy since a clear is going over it for gloss. Enamel paint w/o a ('wet look') hardener will also come on the duller side of glossy. Laquer also comes out somewhat semi-gloss.

This is enamel (with a basecoat stabilizer in it)..

 

All Metallic Paints need Clear over it for shine and overall protection from fading etc... Solid color paints ie (white, black, blue, green, red) do not need Clear, actually some people do use clear on solid colors too try and get a better shine but, if you wet sand the paint well with 1000 grit and a stiff foam pad then wet sand again with 1200 grit using the palm of your hand then buffing it with a wool pad and synthetic buffing compound followed by a foam pad and 3m's perfect-it foam pad polishing glaze you'll see a great shine! The shine comes out from color sanding and buffing, remember to remove all of the orange peel in the paint when wet sanding and use a light to check your work. Also, make sure you wet sand every inch of the panels. Hope this helps.

 

But also remember every time that you wet sand you are removing paint. making the paint les durable. The basecoat clear you can not even compair to just wet sanding. come on that is like compairing apples to oranges. go with basecoat/clear it is going to take a lot of practice but like your mama always told you practice makes perfect!!! the clear also gives you a hell of a lot more protection.

 

EVERY quality paint job requires wet sanding no matter what paint system is used ie ( basecoat clearcoat/ solid color basecoat etc). That's why it's important to put enough clear or solid base color on so you won't sand through the paint. When spraying the basecoat/ clearcoat system, you only put enough coats of the base color on until the desired color is achieved (usually about 3 coats) after that I put on at least 4 very light mystings of the clear which I call 1 coat followed by 3-4 more coats sprayed on gradually in heavyer layers. There's a technique to spraying metallics and clear that you'll have to learn. If sprayed to heavy the clear will leave a yellowish puddle look in the paint and can also move the metallic around causing blotchyness. Between each coat, use a spotlight to check the paint for flaws and adjust your spraying technique. Wet sanding just removes the high spots in the paint called orange peel and makes the surface even for buffing. If you see a car thats just been painted and looks shiney and hasn't been wet sanded, Just wait until after it's been properly wet sanded and you'll see a Huge difference.