Clear coat sanding...'63 Avanti

[Doug Bowen]

Just put down my first coat of DupliColor Clear on top of 2 coats of their Gunmetal Grey...each wet-sanded with 2000 grit.

Clear looks pretty good, but I am going to wet sand again (2000) and lay down a 2nd coat of clear probably in 2 days.

My question is: What grit do you guys use to sand and finish the clear coat prior to polishing?

Your thoughts please.

Thanks...D

[JollySipper]

Are you using the acrylic enamel clear? I have waited for a week before trying to recoat that clear and it would still craze itself.... badly! If you are, I would say the gloss on that body looks beautiful, and wouldn't try to recoat with that clear!

[Doug Bowen]

TJ...thanks for the response. The back of the can says that it is "acrylic lacquer". Lacquer should flash off quicker than enamel, but now you have me scared! Maybe I will let this gas off for about a week or so now.

I need to get a second coat on it to make sure I don't rub through it while final sanding.

Just got done looking at an old Donn Yost video on you-tube where he says you should go through all the stages, i.e.- 3200, 4000, 6000, 8000, then 12,000 grit followed by wax.

Never took the process that far before. But...think I'll give it a try.

D

[bigbluesd]

Duplicolor in all shapes and sizes seems to craze like mad for me. Your gloss looks good in that photo, I always use just enough DC to get the job done and then not a lick more for fear of messing it up. I would give you feedback on the other question but I'm not good enough at this stuff yet to make my opinion worth listening to!

Edited March 24, 2014 by bigbluesd

[mnwildpunk]

Don yost video is on the money go all the way down 12,000 but I normally skip the 4000 and depending on how its looking I sometimes just go right to 6000 but that is because I'm lazy

[old gearhead]

Like Don Yost says. Although, on the occasions when I have extra heavy orange peel or graininess in the paint I will start with 2400. Go easy with the coarser grits and let the media do the work.

It may be due to my heavy-handedness, but I usualy need to go in with polishing compound to remove very fine scratches left behind from the sanding. The compound is applied and rubbed out in straight strokes perpendicular to the direction in which the sanding was performed.

After sanding and polishing I go in with Novus #2 polish, which really brings the paint to a shine, and exposes areas where further compound polishing is called for (followed by further application of Novus #2). When I'm satisfied with the finish at this stage the wax is then applied.

I use this procedure for finishing clear coat paint jobs as well as naked paint jobs.

Keep a rainbow assortment of Sharpies handy for the inevitable burn-through (not so much of a problem with clear-coated paint jobs).

[Doug Bowen]

Thanks guys...that's what I needed to know. I ordered a polishing kit that goes all the way to 12000 grit. I will post the results.

D

[Doug Bowen]

Ok folks...I promised to post the results of my first shot using the Detail Master polishing kit I bought. All I can say is, "holy meadow muffin, Batman!"

This worked out splendidly. Give a look.

Untouched (3 thin coats) DupliColor clear on the trunk...then 3200 through 12000 on the roof. Unbelievable.

I am impressed.

[jbwelda]

Yep, that's where "depth" comes from right there to echo another thread. and to me the miracle is in the last step 12,000 grit. it goes from kinda foggy and sort of like you just ruined your paint job to ... WOW!!! then you put on some wax or plastic shiner stuff (I use some ancient Mequires plastic formula stuff) and you got just what you got there...some real DEPTH!

nice job.

jb

[Doug Bowen]

Thanks William...you are correct. The 12000 grit step just knocked my socks off. Amazing.

If any body out there hasn't tried this, give yourself a treat.

[crazyjim]

Are you using a small container of water with a few drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid (blue in the bottle)? The Dawn seems to make the water wetter making the sandpaper glide across the paint.

[Doug Bowen]

CrazyJim...Yeah, I just lean over the old kitchen sink and a cereal bowl of water with a drop or two of Palmolive clear in it. After I sand a little while, I rinse with water, dry the surface with a paper towel and follow a ceiling spot light down the body to check "flatness" I guess would be the word. D

[crazyjim]

Paper towels can scratch. Let it air dry or use a compressor to blow dry.