attn: mooch or any1 else who knows abit.

[GEm1ma has xplod gea]

i want to know if i'm doing my preparation and final coat of clear and clour right;

i've got my tg in primer with all the rust removed, i'm going to rub it with 800g and then do three coats of primer putty, rub that with 1200g, then 6 or so coats of white(howeva many coats i can get out of 4litres) rub 1 or two back with 2000g, then leave the clear to the next day in which i will apply 6 or so coats and rub 1 off with 2000g, next day buff it with some compund...

does this sound right? will i get a good finish? Should i leave the compunding for a couple of days considering i can't leave it for a couple of weeks since i need i onthe road? does any1 recommend that motospray primer/putty sufff, will i need a putty gun 2 apply it? and hey mooch what was the steps in preping and spraying your car or any1 else? and mooch i think u need to do an workshop article on this as most people don't know what 2 do.
Don't tell me i need to read some books on it cause i already have gegory's spray painting and gregory's body maitenance books.
every1's help is greatly apprecitated, or mooch u could just email me @ TGfanatic@hotmail.com
P.S- your wagan looked sik at the extreme horsepower show, it just needs the 300kw wagans motor and she'll bloodly fly, good job but.

cherio
chris...

[TG 1985]

dued, don't u put the clear straight on the color without rubbbing it back, and then rub it back with 1200g, and then do ya cut and polish. oh, and i am talkin acrylic not 2pak or enamel.

chris.

[Birko]

gday,
this is what i did on my hj prem. (however it was a mettalic pearl0
1. rub old paint back etc.
2 apply one step primer putty.
3. rub back with 400-600 (as its really chunky out of the putty gun)
4. 4 coats of collour, followed by 4 of clear (on wet)
5. waited about 2 weeks then rubbed with 2000, buffed, and glazed.

--- you can leave the buffing for a cvouple of weeks and still drive it on the road. if u sprayed it alright it should still be fairly glossy. i wouldnt buff it after a couple of days as you may move the paint and get lotsa swirl marks as acrylic is soft.

hope that helps.

ps i think you can leave the clear till the next day, but to safe having to re apply prepsol etc i would just do it on the day

[Gene FJ20DET]

dont rub back ya colour, and yeave it a week to cub back
_________________

[Soop]

Mooch basically told me this so ill pass it on ..

Ok if you are spraying a base colour (non metallic) then it is a good idea to block that back with 1500 to remove any oragne peel in your finish. See if you just clear over the peel the clearcoat will look shiny and nice but you will still see the peel underneath. So block the base!

Its probably a good idea to wait a couple of days to block your base just to let it harden a bit. Use some soapy water to make things a bit easier.

Once thats done, hit it with some prepsol again and do your clear coat. Some people like to spray on another very watery coat of base before doing the clear, I guess it may help it bond better.

Do the clear, 5 or 6 coats and then leave it a couple of weeks before blocking it back and cutting and polishing. You could prolly get by with just a couple of days wait but its really a good idea to let the paint really harden before you start cutting into it with a fine grit like cutting compound.

[Soop]

Oh yeh, if you are using a metallic DO NOT block the metallic base back.

In that case you need to apply the clearcoat on the wet basecoat.

[Mooch]

I'd stay away from the motospray stuff, its horrible shit. If you're a bit strapped atleast use protec which isn't bad stuff and is quite cheap!

If you've applied 5 coats of primer, give it a light guide coat and block it with atleast 400. You're not blocking to get your panels straight, because they should already be straight, primer won't do much in that regard. It's only used to fill in your scratches from your prep. Once you've blocked it with 400, re prime atleast another 3-4 coats, making sure u keep your wetline and avoid dryness.

Let this go off for a day, guide coat, and then rub with 600, re prime, let it go off for a day and now rub with 800.

If you go straight to 800, you will get shrink back on your finish and it'll look horrible, you'll try to block it our and end up rubbing thru your finish.

As you are obviously painting it at home, you are subject to weather fluctuations. Dont paint if it under 20 degrees. The thinners in the paint causes it to go cold, and metal naturally goes cold anyway when its not atleast 20+ degrees. If you paint when it's too cold, it'll blush and you'll get these bad flat spots. Messy. Yukky, not good.

Once you finished appying your colour which is obviously just a solid white, let it go off for atleast 3-4 days if it's around 25 +degrees. De nib with 1500. You'll need atleast 7+ coats of colour to cover over the primer and give you some depth. We used 6 litres of white on my ex's VL.

With your clear, this is where you'll get your depth from. give it 5-6 coats minimum and make sure you wet it up nicley, avoiding runs!! Drive the car around for a month, dont touch the paint unless it gets bird poo'd! I wouldnt usually recommend you do this but u sound like u need the car asap. After a minimum of 3 weeks anyway, give it a rub with 1500, then 2000, use a white foam pad and some DECENT cutting compound. Farecla is good stuf. Then use a black foam pad with a fine cut - like meguirs fine cut cleaner. Finish with a hand polish in meguirs show car glaze.

If you need anything else, just ask i guess. I think i forgot some stuff but u should be ok if you take your time, follow the labelled intsructions and ask questions. Dont go ass about or with the it'll do attitude and you'll be ok.

Mooch

[GEm1ma has xplod gea]

yeh cool thanks mooch,yeh i've taken my time 3months in fact and the car isn't yet fully in primer, just gettin everythin perfect.


chris...

[Ben Wight]

Assuming you are talking acylic, you get your body as stright as you can with body filler and a hammer for the dents, etc. You then apply enough coats of primer/putty that is required to fill any smaller dents, scratches, warped panels, etc.

One way to know how you are going is to apply several coats of primer/puttty as a putty, ie not thinned too much, and you can use a normal gun, and then apply a guide coat. Rub this back with dry 320 or so, you might find you have rubbed through to bare metal, so apply more coats untill you can rub the guide coat and not get back to bare metal.

Then apply a few coats of primer/putty, as a primer, and then another guide coat. By this stage your car should be relatively straight from the previous sanding. This primer will fill any more minute dents, and any scratches produced from the last dry sanding. Use 800 wet to remove the guidecoat, and if you have time or if the surface needs it, apply another guide coat and rub again with 1200.

You can now use prepwash car, tack cloth it, and paint colour. do enough coats to cover the car, and then apply clear once last colour coat is tacky. If you have fucked up or the gun has splurted a blotchy globof shit onto the colour, then you could rub it back, otherwise, there is no need.

Usually 4 or so coats of clear is enough, depending on how thinned you have it. you may need more or less. Once clear is on, is will be soft for about a week, so buffing before then is risky.

And you really should stay clear of Motospray Top coat clear, it is very poor quality, and will not last long. Very easily dulls and gets water marks. Its well worth spending another $50 or so and getting a quality brand name clear.

If you leave the clear to do the next day, you will have to prepwash it again, but other than that, it can be done. Watch out for insects, insect shit, pollen, etc.

And using a tack cloth between colour coats can help too.

Ben Wight