Paint help - again!

[mattriz]

Hello there! Ok recently I put up a thread and had some good advice back about my wings. They were all in a poor condition. I have since then, rubbed them back, got rid of the rust, treated it, filled the areas and primed them (3 coats). I have then used a fine wet/dry over those areas ready for painting.

Using the Halfords Mercedes Black rattle can, I went over the arches (and just above where the rust was) and done about 5 to 6 coats. As the weather was overcast and around 10c at the time, it produced only slight orange peel. From advice from here, I let it dry for a few days, then rubbed it down with fine wet and dry paper which left a dull shine.

Ok now this is where I need help. You can see where the old laquer ended and the new paint has that dull shine. Using T-CUT black and a machine, I buffed all the wings and the new paint come up nice, but it is obvious that with no laquer over the top of it, it wasn't going to blend in. Also the new black isn't as dark as the old black, this could be due to no laquer.

Now, should I have rubbed them down, then sprayed the laquer and blended, or sprayed the laquer over the freshly painted areas then blended without using wet and dry? I had to use the wet and dry due to the slight orange peel but should I have then spray over the laquer, or do you compound to bring up the new paint then laquer?

Sorry for the questions :cry: I really want to get this right. I have bought some stronger rubbing compound from halfrawds now and the guy said there to mix with the t-cut to get a feathered effect with the laquer.

Thanks in advance,

Matt

 

[television]

This is hard Matt.

The car was originally painted with a 2 component top coat, and blending and feathering is near impossible, a 2 component paint cures, it does not dry, this makes blending near impossible.

In the olden days and paint the surrounding area would be flatted, and a clear coat applied, to blend the edges and joins a high powered thinner would be sprayed on to melt the existing paint. There are some high powered thiners on the market to melt the 2 component a little, but not available without a spray plant, even then not perfect.

I would flat the existing,with a 1000 paper lightly and put on a top clear, do nor go further than you need to into the existing paint, leave it a few days and polish it up with a mild Tcut, you may alway see an edge, though this can be lost on the curves of the rear wings.

Do not forget that what looks good in a flat or under coat form can look wavy when the top coat is applied as light reflects in dips etc

 

[Xtractorfan]

Can you get the larger sized cans of lacquer, if so then I would suggest that you completely lacquer the entire wing with 3 or 4 coats of lacquer and then flat with 1500 grade then 2000 grade and buff up slowly..keep the buffing machine running slowly until you have buffed the whole wing,
Process ..Get a sheet of GREY scotchbrite, wet it slightly, with wash up liquid and water, sand all over the wing with it, pay particular attention to the edges and sand over the edges, this creates good grip for subsequent coats, and will stop flaking.
Now clean and dry off the wing, with panel wipe or pre clean (same thing) ..you should now be able to see the blended area, if it looks different, try wetting the wing with panel wipe and check if you can see the join..if so spray a light coating of black over the blend out area and let it dry, again use the wet preclean method to check your work/finish.. you should now be able to spary a full caot of lacquer over the wing and repeat for about four coats..
Spray full coats from one end of the panel to the other, if you make a mistake, dry ir with a heat gun or hairdryer and recoat, dont attempt to get a finish by sprying small areas..
Oh and when sanding or scotchbriting always finish sanding across the panel, this will cut down on the possibility of a run or sag in the finish...

 

[mattriz]

Good advice here so thanks for this guys. I forgot to say, the rust went a lot further up the wings then I expected (when I was removing the paint), so what started initially as just the arches, as ended up patches over the wing itself. Not massive but untreated I will only be asking for trouble later if not sorted now.

I'm now seriously considering masking up and painting both the entire front wings. That way I can forget these blending problems and just concentrate on a good finish overall.

So what I have in mind is this. Use a fairly course wet and dry and go over the entire wings. Mask up. Then cover them in primer. Wet and dry again to ensure the area is smooth and ready for paint.

Once dry, then paint them black, with even strokes. Get at least 10 to 12 coats on each wing. Once dry, i'll go over them with 2000 grade wet and dry and then using my compound and t-cut, I'll bring up the shine with the machine. Then leave for a few days to dry, then laquer them. Then go over again with 2000 wet and dry, then t-cut again for that finish shine.

Does that sound ok? And should the final result be the same if not similar to the other older panels?

Thanks in advance,

Matt

 

[television]

Do not use a too coarse a paper or the sand marks will grin through for ever, A 1000 grade is fine, too key too.

I think that I would get a black gloss paint, and just use that.

Clear coats are difficult to work with, also the have little strength as there is no pigment in it.

So when you have made good and no marks when its wet wiped, just put a few coats on with black gloss, if the car is a plain black finish, leave for a few days, flat with a 1500 and polish up, you could say put on two coats as aerosols are very thin, then flat lightly with 1000 paper and put on two or more coats, then polish up when hardened off.

When doing a car with a spray plant, its a very different thing as I can use a fan giving an 18" cover in one pass, to get max flow do it out of the sun, so that the paint can flow. If you get a run, do not touch it for a few days as it will shrink and go down to almost nothing after a few days, a heat lamp is good for fast drying, not so near as it burns the paint, the run can be finally be sanded out and polished

 

[mattriz]

Malcolm thanks for this info.

As the car is plain black and not metallic, I can use any black paint then? I intend to t-cut all the existing panels to make them really black again to match these newly painted wings.

Can you buy GLOSS BLACK paint from Halfords? If so, what would you recommend? I didn't realise you could get gloss black i.e. paint with lacquer in it.

Thanks again for your advice.

Matt

 

[television]

I think that Halford sell a black gloss, any paint wholesaler will do them for you.

One thing very important, always flat use a block (Rubber pad) this will remove the high spots, using your hand it will follow them and you can be putting on and rubbing off for ever.

The other advantage of using a black gloss is that you can blend with it, in the future.

If you achieve a fairly good finish from the can, then only lightly flat before you polish, or the finish will look better than the original, and all cars these days a gun finished.any slight orange peel will polish up to look normal

One thing that you do not need is too much paint as it will chip easily, so just get the finish up as soon as possible, then stop

 

[mattriz]

Thanks! I'll get up some pics once its done, cheers!

Matt