*Wet Sanding*

[Zippi]

26 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

Just suggesting if you want to wax then do it later, not a day after you painted. But you certainly are free to do as you wish. That said, I doubt you painted your 49 this morning and moved on to waxing it this afternoon......

You do keep it immaculate. We have one in town here too. I assume it's a small block but is green ( actually more mid to dark teal). We have a Ford around too but that may be original flathead in that, it's just a nicely done restoration for a business .

Thanks dude.  Yeah I would'nt have painted my 49 that quick.  I have an 5.3 LS in my 49.  

[Dave G.]

Awesome fit !

[TransAmMike]

I'm gonna say it again, that is one cool pickup Bob.  Need a replica model of it.

[TransAmMike]

There is a 1950 Chevy P/U model you could use.  I'm thinking they look about the same.

[bisc63]

You didn't mention the appearance of the paint after wet sanding but before polishing. If you see any glossy specs still showing, it'll appear as orange peel, as those were low spots not cut by the sandpaper. BTW, I love Meguiars products for polishing, but prefer no.7 Finishing Glaze for the final step instead of wax. It contains no wax, but man does it make a shine; apply with 100% cotton flannel rag.

[Zippi]

I built the amt 1950 Chevy pickup to look like my 49.  I bought aftermarket Torque Thrust wheels to match mine and put a BB 396 in to replace the inline 6.  This was my first build and it didn't come out a good as I would have liked. I plan on building another down the road to redeam myself.    

Edited April 20, 2021 by Zippi

[Zippi]

1 hour ago, bisc63 said:

You didn't mention the appearance of the paint after wet sanding but before polishing. If you see any glossy specs still showing, it'll appear as orange peel, as those were low spots not cut by the sandpaper. BTW, I love Meguiars products for polishing, but prefer no.7 Finishing Glaze for the final step instead of wax. It contains no wax, but man does it make a shine; apply with 100% cotton flannel rag.

My first post shows the spoon I painted that was wet sanded.

[peteski]

My recommendation is to learn airbrushing paint without orange peel.  That way you don't have to worry about sanding or waxing.  That's what I do.  Orange peel is caused by the partially dry paint hitting the model surface.  That partially dry paint can't flow out and create a smooth surface.  Airbrush allows much finer control of the paint viscosity, volume, and air pressure. Much better than a spray can. You need to learn how to airbrush the paint on wet enough to be able to flow and level out on the model.  Then kiss the sandpaper and waxes goodbye!

Here are some examples of my models where I have not sanded or waxed them - just airbrushed (paint and clear coat). No orange peel

[Snake45]

54 minutes ago, peteski said:

Airbrush allows much finer control of the paint viscosity, volume, and air pressure.

And, at least as important, selection of a thinner that facilitates flow-out under the ambient conditions. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

My 2 cents, you need to be very careful about sanding color coats if using a metallic paint.

Sanding can "smear" around the metallic particles and leave striations that are only amplified under clear.

 

I will also add that while it's best to get your color coats as smooth and perfect as you can, it's not always going to happen that way, and yes, you can get a great finish over some orange peel with ample clear coats and careful polishing.

I don't even worry anymore about getting perfect primer and color coats.

A lot of evils can be corrected with clear and polishing.

 

This was a very freeing revelation to me during the course of my modeling career.

It's great to be an expert painter and get perfectly smooth substrates on every project, but it's not always in the cards for some of us.

Some of us might struggle with that task for most, or all of our modeling careers, to the point that some give up.

But it doesn't need to be that way.

With some mediocre painting skills, good materials and some elbow grease, anyone can turn what might be viewed as a subpar paint job into a true gem.

Personally, I think that unpolished paint can look too shiny anyway, akin to a piece of hard candy.

Polishing can add that little extra boost of realism.

 

Anyway, I'll just add this example.

This 1960 Merc was painted the same way that I do them all.

No sanding between primer coats, (unless there's a little junk to remove) no sanding between color or clear coats, (again, unless there are imperfections) and then just a good polishing job at the end.

 

I look at it from this perspective.

Either you can spend your time sanding between every coat of paint, or you can spend that time polishing once at the end.

It's really a wash.

 

After final color coats, complete with orange peel.

 

 

 

 

After clear and polishing.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[peteski]

44 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Personally, I think that unpolished paint can look too shiny anyway, akin to a piece of hard candy.

I guess this depends on a person's perception and personal l taste, just like those modelers in another thread in the forum, wanting to dull the model car's chrome to make it look more realistic (in their eyes).

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, peteski said:

I guess this depends on a person's perception and personal l taste, just like those modelers in another thread in the forum, wanting to dull the model car's chrome to make it look more realistic (in their eyes).

Of course.

As I said, "personally, I think......."

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Pete J.]

13 hours ago, Zippi said:

Pete, thanks for the explanation.  Makes a lot of since. What grit should I start with and after wet sanding the color do I just rinse the body off and let it dry and then shoot the gloss clear? 

It really depends on the issues.  If you have very heavy orange peel you may need a 500 grit sanding stick.  If you are just knocking down a few spots the 3000 in a sanding stick is a good place to start.

  As one of the other members mentioned metalics and metal flakes are a different kettle of fish because of the way the metal flake settles when it goes down and drys.  By sanding it, you can easily get an uneven finish.  My preference is to start metal flake with several very thin almost dry coats.  This gives you a consistent substrate. Then follow with a coat heavy enough that is just short of running.  Metallics are clear tinted paint with flake mixed in.  When you spray them, the flake drops to the lowest level so in heavy coats you have a fairly thick layer of tinted clear on top.  A very light sanding to get rid of any unevenness is all you need, then a clear coat.

  You are doing it right with plastic spoons. Take other peoples advise (mine included) as suggestions but you have to experiment until you have a technique that works for you.  I always suggest to people to have a diary for painting.  Record the brand and type of paint, your thinner and the ratio you used, temperature and humidity and any thing you may have done differently and finally the result.   Paint is not really a black art as some will suggest.  It is chemistry and baking combined.  If you do the same thing under the same conditions every time, you will get the same results. 

12 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

What Pete said is a great explanation BUT, don't wet sand the acrylic craft paint.  You can use super fine (#0000) steel wool. It's available at a lot of places (maybe WallyWorld, Hobby Lobby, Lowes, etc.).

 

Mike is dead on! I am referring to using acrylic lacquers such as Tamiya or automotive lacquers. Frankly, I never use water based paints (except two part paint you get at the auto paint store) because they are not very robust.  Many will not adhere well to plastic and are hard to sand without making a mess of them.

[Zippi]

Thanks for the info guys and good explanation Steven.  Your 60 Merc looks pretty good.  How did you go about polishing your Merc and what polish did you use?

[Snake45]

10 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

My 2 cents, you need to be very careful about sanding color coats if using a metallic paint.

Sanding can "smear" around the metallic particles and leave striations that are only amplified under clear.

 

I will also add that while it's best to get your color coats as smooth and perfect as you can, it's not always going to happen that way, and yes, you can get a great finish over some orange peel with ample clear coats and careful polishing.

I don't even worry anymore about getting perfect primer and color coats.

A lot of evils can be corrected with clear and polishing.

 

This was a very freeing revelation to me during the course of my modeling career.

It's great to be an expert painter and get perfectly smooth substrates on every project, but it's not always in the cards for some of us.

Some of us might struggle with that task for most, or all of our modeling careers, to the point that some give up.

But it doesn't need to be that way.

With some mediocre painting skills, good materials and some elbow grease, anyone can turn what might be viewed as a subpar paint job into a true gem.

Personally, I think that unpolished paint can look too shiny anyway, akin to a piece of hard candy.

Polishing can add that little extra boost of realism.

 

Steve

Post of the thread! Well done, Steve! 

I'll add this: I've discovered that every paint job is a law unto itself. It can be affected by a dozen or more factors, some of which you can control, some of which you can't. With experience, you'll develop a "base line" method that works for you but I'm not afraid to tweak my basic procedure one way or another to get the result I want. 

One thing that helps is to work backwards, mentally. What is the final result you want? Now, what are the steps you'll need to take to get from here to there? 

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Zippi said:

Thanks for the info guys and good explanation Steven.  Your 60 Merc looks pretty good.  How did you go about polishing your Merc and what polish did you use?

I use a "Micro-Mesh" polishing pad set, and liquid polishes.

I generally try to start no courser than the 3200 grit, (3600 if possible) and work my way down to the finest 12000.

After getting it as smooth as possible, and trying to stay away from edges as much as possible, I'll give it a light polish with Novus #3 "Heavy Scratch Remover" to remove any heavier scratches left by the pads.

Then a couple of passes with Novus #2 "Light Scratch Remover".

Finally, I'll give it a good buffing with some Turtle Wax "Scratch and Swirl Remover".

This really seems to help to bring out the ultimate luster.

 

After the model has been nearly finished, except for the addition of small external details such as mirrors and antennas, I'll give it a polish with Novus #1 "Clean and Shine".

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Zippi]

Thanks for the info.

[Dave G.]

17 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

My 2 cents, you need to be very careful about sanding color coats if using a metallic paint.

Sanding can "smear" around the metallic particles and leave striations that are only amplified under clear.

 

I will also add that while it's best to get your color coats as smooth and perfect as you can, it's not always going to happen that way, and yes, you can get a great finish over some orange peel with ample clear coats and careful polishing.

I don't even worry anymore about getting perfect primer and color coats.

A lot of evils can be corrected with clear and polishing.

 

This was a very freeing revelation to me during the course of my modeling career.

It's great to be an expert painter and get perfectly smooth substrates on every project, but it's not always in the cards for some of us.

Some of us might struggle with that task for most, or all of our modeling careers, to the point that some give up.

But it doesn't need to be that way.

With some mediocre painting skills, good materials and some elbow grease, anyone can turn what might be viewed as a subpar paint job into a true gem.

Personally, I think that unpolished paint can look too shiny anyway, akin to a piece of hard candy.

Polishing can add that little extra boost of realism.

 

Anyway, I'll just add this example.

This 1960 Merc was painted the same way that I do them all.

No sanding between primer coats, (unless there's a little junk to remove) no sanding between color or clear coats, (again, unless there are imperfections) and then just a good polishing job at the end.

 

I look at it from this perspective.

Either you can spend your time sanding between every coat of paint, or you can spend that time polishing once at the end.

It's really a wash.

 

After final color coats, complete with orange peel.

 

 

 

 

After clear and polishing.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Just for the record, Steve. I think your Merc is considerably nicer looking than "pretty good", it looks awesome !! The paint is beautiful and we know the years of skill and practical experience that has gone into it even before it ever hit your bench. Just sayin.