just got done spraying the clear... kind of

there's bunch of trash in the horizontal parts. Not sure where it's coming from, but I guess it's typical of a garage paint job. on the last coat, these things started appearing. Not sure if they are bubbles or drips, I think drips from the gun. I hope so. I'm going to wait a day or two, sand them down, and then apply another coat or two of clear over the top of them and hope new ones don't appear. If they do, I'll have to just sand them and polish it out the best I can. there should be plenty of clear on the roof and hood to do that

this has been frustrating, lots of little things have gone wrong, including finding some spots that I didn't get dents out completly, that only showed up when I sprayed clear. that's frustrating because I thought I did everything right, including using high build primer and long snading block to block down the car

 

basically, in the spots that didn't get the drips and trash, I think it looks great. hardly any orange peel. I jsut hope this is something I can fix

 

Anything can be fixed. There will always be "dirt". For a garage job, it looks like you're doing fine.

 

thanks, I needed that

couple pics from today

 

With no experience, I can only watch, read and learn--taking the defects out of the clear is a whole different task, from what I've read. The learning goes on.
I've customized a couple of nice motorbikes, concentrating on details so hard for so long that when it's all together it's difficult to see the whole bike--you keep looking at tiny details while others are praising your work. One, a Triumph 650, I sat on the floor so long working on that when I finally started it and timed it, I grabbed the exhaust to pull myself up out of habit--that handprint burned into the new chrome permanently--ouch. I think your paint looks excellent--you'll work it out.

 

Without seeing it in person, it appears that you've done a fine job of distributing the metallic. I don't see striping or blotching. It'll need some finish work for sure, but it appears the hardest part is over. You're on track.

 

I had some similar runs/dirt when i sprayed my car. I had a buddy who paints cars come over to look at it, and he waited till the clear was pretty much cured (95%) and then put blue painters tape on the clear around the drips, and then scraped the runs off with a brand new razor blade. It got the runs down to almost level with the good clear so it would much easier to sand the runs/dirt out. Your clear has WAY less peel than mine I'm gonna sand my clear down then lay more clear one of these days....

 

here's some better pics, ones that don't show the negatives. if it wasn't for the trash and drips, I'd be tempted to not touch it as far as sanding and buffing goes. not a lot of orange peel there

 

check out these pics. I clear coated my taillights after I sanded them with 800 grit paper. I think they turned out fantastic!

 

Looks very good.

 

Wow Mark! Those lenses look way better than new!

 

Yeah they look like just drips. Did it only happen on the horizontal panels, where the gun would be over the work? Like sail said, use a razor blade to cut it down level. put a piece of tape on the two corners of the blade, then hold the blade vertically (perpendicular to the panel) then with very light pressure let it drag across the drip spots. it should turn white. if it doesn't the clear isn't dry enough. then just keep dragging it lightly until you can't see and feel the spots. then block wetsand with 1000, 1500, 2000, then buff.
BTW those taillight do look better than brand new already, wait till you buff em. Yea buddy!

 

Taillights look amazing Mark. Nice work.

 

thanks to everyone who suggested the razor blade trick, it worked like a charm. I used one of these to avoid the temptation to flex the blade, and it gave me better grip and control. got it at wal mart with a pack of replacement blades

 

I would probably never attempt an at home paint job, but I must say you are doing fantastic work. I always admire someone who pays such close attention to detail and preparation. I myself can become very impatient at times, and it is always nice to step back and take example from others who go about doing things the proper way, not necessarily the PAINLESS way.

The whole car is looking great, but I must say those taillights look amazing! I am watching...

 

looking like your cars gonna be amazing mark, nice job, wish i had the time/money to do mine up nice

 

Mark the tail lights look amazing! I wonder if the clear coat in the aerosol would work as well? You are really doing a nice job on your car

 

I would doubt an aerosol system would be thick enough to give it that depth. I really laid it on and let it flatten


ok, update time
sanding down the car now. going to go 600, 1200, 2000, and then polish

Questions for Haps or anybody else, can you tell me what compounding system you prefer? I've use 3M, but I also hear good things about the meguiar's M105/205 system

I have a makita buffer, so I'm in good shape there

 

looking good.

 

Only ever used the 3M Finesse It system. I really like it.

Edit: Make sure to take up those edges. Don't want to burn through if you haven't had a great deal of time with the buffer.

 

I used it with the 58, but I'm still fairly new.

how much overlap of the edge do you give it? right on the crease?

 

1/4" or so. Less if the peel is really bad.

 

thanks!

 

No problem. I think it'll look great.

 

just as an experiment, I just tried this with a new wool pad I already had

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Automotive-...2583644&sr=8-1

wow! it looked great! do great it showed some flaws I didn't even see earlier.

how does the perfect-it system differ from the finesse it system?

 

Not sure. I'll have a look.

 

If you go here, you'll see the Perfect It series is "the best" but I'm not sure why. In addition, I'm not sure of the steps.

 

by the way, I wasn't ignoring you with what you suggested, I just tried something I already had on the shelf. Still interested in the finesse system if it suits my needs more

 

thanks for that! I was impressed at the results with the wool pad. a few seconds, and I had a HIGH shine

 

I've never wasted time taping edges. just make sure the pad spins away from the edge

 

I got in that habit when I did the 58. when you get near an edge, go over the cliff, not into it

 

I couldn't help myself... I took a few shortcuts and broke out the buffer. this is after 400 grit, then 1200 grit on an electric sander, and then buffed with compound. No wet sanding, no polish



it's not perfect, but it's encouraging

 

Looks great! You can see the cord from the light!

 

Yeah it always buffs so much easier when it's that fresh looking good can't wait to see the whole car done.

 

No worries. I must tell you I was in my paint cabinet today and noticed that I'm using the Perfect It rather than the Finesse It system. Wool pad with the Rubbing Compound, black foam pad with the Glaze. Works wonders.

 

cool, The 05973 was recommended to me when I was shooting lacquer on the 58, nice to know it's good for clear too, because I like it

 

car looks great, gonna look show quality when its done

 

Looks like you'll be ready for that meet in October.

 

i hope so! I'm a teacher, and go back to work soon. once that happens, it will be hard to find much time to work on the car.

no big updates, just black sanding the dust and drips out of the clear. I might be ready to start buffing by the end of the week

 

It looks great! Just a slight thought...you used a 1.5 tip for the clear right? Im no expert at all, but do you think that because the tip was 1.5 it caused some drips? I think I see most people say they use 1.3 to 1.5 ish for base and a 1.3 or so for clear?

 

the clear I was using called for a 1.4 tip, but it sprayed beautifully with the 1.5 LVLP

I found the problem, and it was with the cleaning of the gun, I need to break the gun gun down totally and clean it part by part before I spray anything else. With the cap off, and pushing thinner or reducer through the gun, it was spitting instead of spraying. It didn't look that much different when the cap was on, but I'm sure that has something to do with the problem. I still stand by the quality of the gun, but apparently not the quality of my ablilty to keep it clean

 

yeah You need to break down the entire gun between every coat really... and once a gun is used for primer... Its pretty much a primer gun forever LOL

 

live and learn... I don't see how people break down the guns between coats if you are recoating with flash time of 10 minutes. I was waiting 30, and I still felt rushed

 

I got pretty good at breaking the gun down, it's like anything if you do it enough it becomes easier. having a second pair of hands really helps for stuff like that

 

In between coats is a bit much. Certainly at the end of each use.

 

if it's spitting it may just be from not having the tip tight enough. with the gun all together and the top off with some thinner or something in it, pull the trigger so just air comes out of the tip. if you see bubbles in the thinner in the cup then the tip's not tight enough and that would be why it's spitting

 

it was spitting when the cap was off it totally. when the gun was new it had more of a controlled spray when the tip was off it. I'm assuming since the pattern changed something is blocked on the inside.

 

Aha! Significant Other just got her Principal's Cert., schedules 1 hour per week to talk and laugh with me.
How do I link to that October meet? See you there with my shameful old paint.

 

Cap and tip are two different parts. I'm talking about the tip, which is behind the cap. The cap comes off by hand, then you need a wrench to take off the tip. make sure the tip is nice and tight with a wrench

 

Nice work Mark.