Any auto painters out there?

[Ron_J]

Some might have seen that I am working on my truck and just painted it. Problem is that I got some severe orange peel. I've painted a few different things, car hood, fenders and other miscellaneous things with pretty good success, but I'm no painter. Not sure what went wrong this time. I've been reading up on it and it's a possibility that I had the air turned down too low. At any rate, I need to fix it.

My thought is to hit it with wet 1000 gr paper and hope that I can get it smooth before I hit color and then put a top coat of clear on it again (hopefully a smooth coat)

Anyone have any advice or tricks? I'm wondering how scratch free/buffed it needs to be before I put the last coat of clear on it, or if it needs to be scuffed.

[kize]

Some might have seen that I am working on my truck and just painted it. Problem is that I got some severe orange peel. I've painted a few different things, car hood, fenders and other miscellaneous things with pretty good success, but I'm no painter. Not sure what went wrong this time. I've been reading up on it and it's a possibility that I had the air turned down too low. At any rate, I need to fix it.

My thought is to hit it with wet 1000 gr paper and hope that I can get it smooth before I hit color and then put a top coat of clear on it again (hopefully a smooth coat)

Anyone have any advice or tricks? I'm wondering how scratch free/buffed it needs to be before I put the last coat of clear on it, or if it needs to be scuffed.

Could have been many issues- Temp too cold, not enough reducer, Not enough pressure at gun, incorrect needle size for material, wrong type of gun for paint type. Those are all things you have not provided. Without there's no telling how to correct. Ultimately, re-sanding is in your future.

[bigb]

It's been over 25 years since I painted vehicles and a lot has changed since then, but I agree with kize about the sanding and I doubt 1000 grit will get you anywhere if it is severe as you stated. One tip, every time I painted a vehicle I would have a scrap hood or fender in the room with me ( I didn't have a "real" booth) and test on that first before hitting the project vehicle. Is your orange peel dull or shiny?

[Ron_J]

Could have been many issues- Temp too cold, not enough reducer, Not enough pressure at gun, incorrect needle size for material, wrong type of gun for paint type. Those are all things you have not provided. Without there's no telling how to correct. Ultimately, re-sanding is in your future.

I hadn't give the temperature much of a thought. I keep the garage at about 45 when I'm not in there. I turned the temp up to 58 when I got in and started getting everything ready to shoot it. The air temp was about 60, but I'm sure the truck was still a lot colder than that.

I mixed the reducer at 4:1 (like normal), pressure was at about 12psi, 1.4 needle and gun that I've used in the past without issue. I normally paint at closer to 18 - 20 PSI, but thought that was a little high, so I turned it down.

Would a final sanding of 1000 grit be okay to hit it with another coat of clear after I get it leveled?

[Ron_J]

It's been over 25 years since I painted vehicles and a lot has changed since then, but I agree with kize about the sanding and I doubt 1000 grit will get you anywhere if it is severe as you stated. One tip, every time I painted a vehicle I would have a scrap hood or fender in the room with me ( I didn't have a "real" booth) and test on that first before hitting the project vehicle. Is your orange peel dull or shiny?

shiny. Probably the shiniest orange you will ever see.

[kize]

I'm guessing too cold. I wont spray if its under 70 and I use HVLP. If your paint is not wetting out, time to stop and re-evaluate why. If you are using 1000 grit to sand - you are going to be sanding for awhile. Using too fine of grit for clear coat/ final coat can be a bad thing as it will not give enough rough surface for the paint to stick long term. AKA paint peel. Too coarse of grit will show sanding marks through the final- just as bad. Most important of all- putting more paint on an uneven surface does NOT even out the surface. Makes it worse. So make sure your surface is perfect before applying the last coat. That's my personal experience- your mileage may vary. Good luck.

[Ron_J]

Well, I did a little CSI work and found that the temp of the tin was probably about 48 degrees when I shot it, and to top it off, the clear was probably about the same temp. Won't make that mistake again.

I sanded the bedside with 600 wet and it cleaned up pretty nice, and didn't seem to cut through the clear, but I'm sure it's pretty thin in some areas. I'm going to re shoot a test piece with the temperatures where they should be before I do the whole thing again.

It's not a rush job, so I have time to make sure I get it right...the second time.

[farmersammm]

When I paint equipment, I use the slowest thinner I can find. For alkyd enamel I use mineral spirits instead of the faster stuff. It allows it to wet out, and flow nicely. Dunno if that helps..........but there might be a slower thinner for the stuff you're using.

[whtbaron]

If he's talking a modern base coat/clear coat system, I doubt he's using alkyd enamels. I'll echo what Kize said about getting the surface perfectly smooth before you recoat. Check with the paint manufacturer on recoat times and grits. If you can go with something like 600 or 800 grit, it will sand down a lot faster than 1000 grit, but again... check first or you could end up with sand scratch issues. I've played around with cheap enamels at cold temps and fast reducers, but modern auto paints can be a lot more complex. I used to like to keep my booth at 80 all winter... not neccesary but it was fast shooting...

[CAVEMANN]

A friend of mine who recently passed was a professional Automotive painter and had told me of a contract to do a fleet of vehicles with Acrylic enamel, He heated the paint & shot it straight, no reducer at all, it worked well I guess. It would be nice not to have to worry about which reducer to use or if it needs a retarder, etc.

[Ron_J]

Yes, I'm using BC/CC.

I finished wetsanding last night. started with 400 and finished with 800. It cleaned it up pretty nicely. Hope to do a test piece this weekend and if that goes well, I'll reshoot the whole thing with another coat or two of clear.

[duramax-rob]

Yes, I'm using BC/CC.

I finished wetsanding last night. started with 400 and finished with 800. It cleaned it up pretty nicely. Hope to do a test piece this weekend and if that goes well, I'll reshoot the whole thing with another coat or two of clear.

if you started with 400 and finished with 800 you likely have gone thru the cc into the bc. when you clear you will see the outlines of the 2. might have to add more base coat again. id check that out first especially on the edges and corners. those always sand thru first. hope it turns out better 2nd time !!

[Ron_J]

if you started with 400 and finished with 800 you likely have gone thru the cc into the bc. when you clear you will see the outlines of the 2. might have to add more base coat again. id check that out first especially on the edges and corners. those always sand thru first. hope it turns out better 2nd time !!

I sure did. And like you said, mainly on the edges. I am planning on touching it up with some color first.

This has been a real learning experience. Fortunately it hasn't cost me too much, other than some time and worn finger prints.

[Ron_J]

Not sure if it was the temp, gun or air pressure, but its done.

I brought the temperature up another 10 degrees, swapped out the guy for a new one and turned up the pressure about 5 psi and it turned out much better. Its not show quality but with a little buffing it should shine.