Tamiya TS question

[Builder04]

Hi all

I recently sprayed a dart body using a Tamiya rattle can and I have a little issue. After about three days of sitting and gassing out, I've noticed the roof has some slight orange peel developed on it. Here is what my process was:

Few coats of primer

1000 grit wet sand primer

Wash body, then dry

Light color coat

Medium color coat, followed by another medium coat

No clear as of yet

I normally shoot the Testors One Coat and have been getting great results from it, and this is the first time ever shooting Tamiya paint. So what are my options to fix this? It's a Mica paint, so there is pearl/metallic flake in it, so I'm guessing color sanding without reshooting color is out of the question? Polishing? Should I clear the car, and if so, which rattle can clear would be the best?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest G Holding]

A number of options for you.

Wet sand all the peel using 800 to 1200 grit. When smooth clean and dry, reshoot color coat using light passes. I always clear my TS colors with TS13 clear before any sanding, using the same recoat window as the color. After drying wetsand with 1200 to 1500, then using Tamiya's fine rubbing compound smooth it out.

As TS 13 is gone, I have been using dupli color clear with good results, but I wait 72 hours before clearing, then wetsand and polish.

If the peel is minor you can clear over and finish wet sanding / polishing the clear

I finish with 3M 1500 grit pads, then follow with Novus 2.

[Casey]

1000 grit wet sand primer

It's a Mica paint, so there is pearl/metallic flake in it, so I'm guessing color sanding without reshooting color is out of the question?

Correct. Do not sand metallics without respraying another coat.

Polishing? Should I clear the car, and if so, which rattle can clear would be the best?

I guess it depends upon how heavy the orange peel texture is, but since you sanded (block sanded?) with 1000 grit prior to laying on the mica color coats I'm guessing it's not too bad, I would lay on two or three light coats of clear and wet sand the clear with an 1800 grit polishing cloth and see how it looks. You'll need to be really careful not to sand through the clear, but if you do your test sanding with the 1800 on an area like the roof or trunk (a semi-flat area), you should be able to tell how things are progressing with the leveling/sanding before moving on to the rest of the body.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would stick with Tamiya Gloss Clear since you used their paint for the color coats.

[martinfan5]

I would stick with Tamiya Gloss Clear since you used their paint for the color coats.

Tamiya gloss clear TS-13 has been discontinued, good luck finding some

[Casey]

Tamiya gloss clear TS-13 has been discontinued, good luck finding some

They have no gloss clear product in their lineup anymore? I don't use Tamiya sprays, so I made my suggestion to stick with the same paint line, which IMHO is always a baseline suggestion.

[martinfan5]

They have no gloss clear product in their lineup anymore? I don't use Tamiya sprays, so I made my suggestion to stick with the same paint line, which IMHO is always a baseline suggestion.

Not anymore, it was discontinued sometime last year

[Builder04]

Yeah, I know that's been discontinued for a while, at least in the states it is. The orange peel is minimal, so it won't look as bad as I may be making it seem. I have the Testors Wet Look clear, I'll try that, then polish it out.

[Longbox55]

As TS 13 is gone, I have been using dupli color clear with good results, but I wait 72 hours before clearing, then wetsand and polish.

I'll second the use of Duplicolor clear, works great over both Tamiya and Testors lacquers.

[martinfan5]

I'll second the use of Duplicolor clear, works great over both Tamiya and Testors lacquers.

I agree it does, my favorite now is Mr Hobby Clear, what a great clear coat, but its hard to find

[Builder04]

I have a half dozen Testors One Coat clears, but the Mr Clear is readily available at my local hobby shop, maybe I'll try that. Either way, I really appreciate the help. Maybe after this long weekend I'll post some pics of the body, see what you guys think.

[martinfan5]

but the Mr Clear is readily available at my local hobby shop,

Really?, I can find it online but 99% of those are not from US sellers

[Builder04]

Really?, I can find it online but 99% of those are not from US sellers

Yeah, the guy who runs the plastics dept swears by it, so he keeps plenty in stock. I've never used dupicolor over other brands paints, only over dupicolor paint. And the last time I used it, it layed on smooth, yet foggy, but dried crystal clear.