After spraying your project

[ianmayco68]

Hi all , as some will know I have just started spraying my project  , I’m spraying it Rioja red pearl which is a polyester paint . So what’s best to use to buff the paint out after putting the clear coat on ? I’ve watched a few videos but most are American and probably years old but they don’t actually name the compounds they use and I haven’t got a clue were to start , I’ve found a sealey variable speed buffer on eBay and I know I need the waffle pads for polishing, so what compounds have people used to buff and then polish the new paint out ? Any links to products or companies that sell what I need would be much appreciated , as I want her to look good when it’s done .

cheers Ian 

[monkie]

I use the Farecla G3 products. I get them online from Autopaints Brighton. They are very helpful.

[Eightpot]

Polyester paint or polyurethane? 

The compound you use will depend a bit on what paint you've used and what the finish is like.

If you've got a perfect gun finish you could use a farecla g10, but if you've got it that good you probably wouldn't be buffing it at all..

Farecla G3 is a good first stage abrasive, or I've been using Saitlab 10.

Remember mist it with water as you go, and don't let too much heat build up- keep it moving.

You will get a lot of paste sprayed everywhere - cover bits you aren't polishing, wipe it all off straight away, some dry to a very hard residue which is a swine to remove, especially if it gets into plastic trim like wheel arch spats.

[ianmayco68]

Cheers both , I think where I’ve got confused in looking for a compound specifically for buffing. Polyester Eightpot , it’s a 3 stage paint basecoat, pearl then lacquer, trucks totally stripped will spray each part then buff the seen surface . Would you advise a wet sanding with 2000 grit paper 1st ? 

Cheers Ian

[Eightpot]

You'll have to see how the finish comes out first.  

If you have a lot of 'orange peel' then you might want to use some 2000 or 1500 first (but don't sand in areas the polisher cant reach).

If your finish just needs dust and spider legs knocking out of it and a bit more shine or to polish some dry spots you don't need to sand. 

Metalic/pearl is going to be a lot harder to do panel by panel. If you do it that way, lay the panels out in the same orientation, stand in the same place, get the gun at the same angle - or each panel will look slightly different. You may find that overall the job will look neater if you paint the backs of the doors etc off the car, then hang them on the car to paint it all in one go. 

[FridgeFreezer]

Rover Rioja Red pearl? I did my Mk1 Golf that colour, gets my vote!

[Scotts90]

3M and Menzerna are good products. As mentioned farecla is messy, the clean up process can take just as long as the compounding. Best advice is to achieve as good a gun finish as possible to limit any refinishing by machine, easier said than done when not carried out in a proper booth...but still achievable.

I prefer 3M fastcut plus or fastcut XL as this has far less spatter and dusting. If your finding a lot of dust in your coats then you'll struggle to knock this off by machine and may need to break out the wet-n-dry. 

[ianmayco68]

8 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Rover Rioja Red pearl? I did my Mk1 Golf that colour, gets my vote!

Thank you , hope I can do it justice . 

Cheers Eightpot, I’d read about getting shadows and not looking the same in a diy guide I found , so the plan was I’ve got a good sized table and room to hang doors and the like from a beam if need be  , so I was going to lay the parts out and stand at the bottom of each panel (as it is on the truck) and spray right to left .

Cheers Scott, I’m hoping to get a good finish that hopefully only needs polishing, the epoxy primer I’ve used seems good stuff never heard of it before , you can get a real smooth finish with a bit of wet and dry .

[Scotts90]

Using a half decent gun does help, and patience! Waiting for coats to flash off when you're relying on ambient temp can lead to the temptation to load another coat on too soon. I really enjoy spraying, it gives enormous satisfaction when it all turns out well!

good luck!

[ianmayco68]

Cheers Scott , know what you mean gives you a great feeling when people ask and then they find out you’ve sprayed it yourself , won’t be far off you being at this stage either .

[Scotts90]

Oh I wish! School holidays, shifts and 24hr call out all make "90 time" a lot less than I'd like, add to that I still seem to be finding stuff I want to add to the white one. It'll get there....

[ianmayco68]

Yes know what you mean , now I’ve got 2 and the 90’s for mostly road use I keep thinking about stuff I want to change and do on the 110 , and like you I work shifts mornings and afternoons and a lot of the time I just can’t be bothered or I fall asleep .

[Eightpot]

As Scott says, put some effort into getting the finish the bet you can achieve - better to spend a couple of hours and use some paint testing to get your gun pressure and clearcoat viscosity just right rather than a couple of days sanding and polishing. 

Having lots and lots of light helps massively - get every lamp you've got pointing at the work from different angles - you really need to see how the mist is landing on the panel, which gets more difficult as the air and your visor gets foggy.

And you might find a little fish eye reducer is a good idea, prevents the craters and peel finish you get if the compressor is pushing a little oil through or if there are any traces of silicone.

[ianmayco68]

I’m spraying in a big shed with roof lights so that’s one thing I’ll have plenty of , and the paint I’ve got is mixed 50/50 with basecoat thinners ground coat and pearl coat  , I’d planned to do the underside of the bonnet 1st to get the hang of this paint , was planning on sand undercoat flat , wipe off the couple of basecoat then sand flat then a last coat of basecoat then the pearl . Do two coats of that sand flat then a final coat then straight on with the clear coat , does this sound about right ? Only planned on doing a few panels at a time so I can try and get them spot on .

cheers Ian 

[Eightpot]

50% thinners is a lot - is that recommended by the supplier?

In terms of painting, I would degrease, apply etch to bare areas, a filler primer over that and sand to a good surface.

Then basecoat, 2 coats if its thin or not opaque enough,  but one may suffice  Run over it lightly with wet/dry if there are nibs or dust in it.

Another quick degrease and run a tack rag over

One mist coat of pearl, let it flash then two light coats of pearl.

Dont sand the pearl or touch it - when it has flashed off, put the first mist coat of clear on, then the final clear or two coats if you think you can get away with it. 

Any imperfections you sand out of the clearcoat, not the mica/pearl/metallic.

 

[ianmayco68]

I thought that but says so in this link 

https://www.jawel.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1712

 Perhaps it’s because it’s a polyester paint ? many thanks for all the help Eightpot think I’ve got it sorted in my head now , it’s much appreciated.

[Eightpot]

Ok yes it checks out - just have it in your mind then that lots of thinners can cause reactions with some paints/fillers,  lighter coats with flash time in between can help avoid problems if you're in doubt. 

[joe1]

And +1 for farecla liquid G3. Just a note about having good fanned air extraction if your using 2k paint - its important to get all that toxic air away as quick as you can, and if you can smell it when you're masked up then its no good - but then you probably know that already! 

[ianmayco68]

Thank you all the advice is much appreciated , so did the test spray with the ground coat on the underside of the bonnet , mixed as said on web site 50/50 basecoat thinners and went on lovely . Some pics below, was slightly worried with the mix ratio as this paint ain’t cheap.

cheers Ian

[monkie]

Looks like a good job from what I can see on the photo. It's certainly cheaper than paying a paint shop!

[ianmayco68]

Thank you , still got the pearl coat and lacquer to go on top yet . Cheaper than a body shop but the paints not cheap was £150 for 5 litres that’s why I wanted to get it rite and not bugger it up .

[ianmayco68]

Put these in my build thread but thought I'd put a couple in here in case no one's seen it . Did the wings the other day am well liking the colour and got the finish good I think . Have got a few runs in the lacquer what's the best way to deal with them ?

[Eightpot]

You need to use a sanding block or a small block of wood on runs. It can help if you put masking tape either side so you don't burn through.  Leave it a few days though, you need to let it harden off.

Don't be afraid to use 1200-2000 wet & dry on the clearcoat, it will obviousy dull the surface but will polish back to gloss with the compound. 

As said before, take plenty of time, dont rush while you're painting, lots of light on the job and practice - getting rid of runs etc takes hours. 

If you go wrong, just flat it off and repaint - much quicker than trying to salvage.