69 Cuda resto

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Ok!!! I've decided to try to paint the car myself so now I'm so scared I've lost my mind. I've trying to read up as much as possible on how to do it but there are as many ways to do it as there are painters!

I redid the body work where it was needed and now I'm ready to prime again. Can I prime, base coat and clear coat the same day?

Do I wet sand the base coat before I clear coat?

If the base coat is jacked up (orange peel) do I wet sand it, repaint and then clear coat?

How long can I wait to wet sand/polish the clear after it's on?

Can someone give me a break down of steps and a timeline of events?

I really only have a couple of days to get the paint on
 
You want to let the primer to sit a couple of days for the solvent to flash off, then sand the primer.

Do not sand the base coat, you will cause the metallic to streak, base should go on flat, do not try to make it shine when you shoot it.

As for sanding/polishing the clear coat, time will be based on the paint system you use, and the temperature / humidity when the paint is shot and the number of coats of clear you put on it, I suggest a test panel sprayed at the same time as the car to test this if you are unsure.
 
Well, went ahead and painted today. 3 coats of base and 3 coats of clear. The color brought out some bad parts in the body that didn't come out through the primer so a couple spots will have to be reworked and I had 2 runs in the clear BUT, other than that it looks pretty damn good.

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Congrats ! Glad to see that you did it yourself. Now the fun begins 'wet sanding & buffing" As to wet sanding- if you have 3 coats of clear & depending on the temp of the garage that it sets in I would wait 3- 6 days. If you press on it real hard & you can still leave a finger print I would wait longer. Don't worry the finger print will go away. When I painted my cuda the garage temp was 68. So I gave it 4 days just to be safe. Now with only 3 coats of clear be careful wet sanding. If I know I am going to wet sand a paint job I would spray on at least 4 coats of clear.
 
I wouldn't mind putting on another coat of clear just to be safe. How should I prep it for the fourth coat?
 
You would have to sand it to add more clear.

Car looks good, painting is not hard, it just takes time to prep everything.
 
You can scuff it with gray scotch bright pad or 600 - 800 grit sand paper. I would block sand it unless you have a DA sander with a soft pad. You can break through the clear a lot easer with a DA. So if your not use to using one I would block sand it. From what I can see from the pictures you have some orange peel, so I would block sand it to get as much as the orange peel out. The smoother you can get it the better the next coat of clear will flow out for ya. I would recommend 2 more coats of clear. If you do 2 more you will be happier with the outcome. What air pressure is at your gun when you spray ?
 
it's up around 30 psi. I used the hood as a test panel and it seemed to come out pretty good.

Frankly, I'm not sure about the PSI at the gun. I just set the compressor at about 40 psi and adjust at the gun until I get what I think is working well. Also, I think the tip I used was too big. I think it was a 2mm tip. I'm about to buy a new gun with smaller tips and an inline psi gauge.
 
afbill said:
it's up around 30 psi. I used the hood as a test panel and it seemed to come out pretty good.

Frankly, I'm not sure about the PSI at the gun. I just set the compressor at about 40 psi and adjust at the gun until I get what I think is working well. Also, I think the tip I used was too big. I think it was a 2mm tip. I'm about to buy a new gun with smaller tips and an inline psi gauge.
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Do yourself a favor buy a gravity HVLP gun. HVLP is high volume low pressure. Put the inline gauge right at the gun. Use the pressure at the gun what it calls for. It will be around 8-15 psi at the gun. Also see what the clear calls for. Where you get the clear ask for a product info sheet, they will print one out for ya. It will have all the info on the clear, spray pressure at gun, lash time between coats, dry times ect. You might want try a 1.3 to 1.5 tip. Now if your not using a HVLP gun try 45 to 50 psi at the gun not at the compressor. Pressure at the gun can dictate how much orange peel you get.
 
I'm using a HVLP gun but i don't have a gauge at the gun so I'm guessing at the pressure. I'm gonna get a gun with a pressure gauge so when I re-shoot the bad parts it'll come out better. Also a gun with a smaller tip.

I use the tech sheets as much as I can. They're a lot of help

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.
 
I am not sure you will be able to just spray certain spots. You will have to do a lot of blending. Blending isn't that easy. Not to say it cant be done but if you haven't done it before its probably better to spray the whole car.
 
FYI let the compressor run wide open, regulate the pressure at the gun.
I bet with the pressure drop you only had about 20 psi at the gun.
 
Can I spray base over the clear coat or do I need to sand the whole car down?
 
Any time you add base and clear you have to sand.

Let the car sit for a couple of weeks to let the solvent out.

After time paint will flatten down on its own.

I hope you did not shoot the base over fresh primer like you said you was going to do in post #201.
 
I primed it a few weeks ago, scuffed it and put a light layer of primer on before I painted like the tech sheet said to do.

Do I need to sand off all the clear to put down more base after I fix the body work?
 
If you have repaired an area and primed on top of that. you will need to sand the whole panel in 800. shoot your base on the repaired areas. you will need to re clear the entire panel breaking at a seam line. do not try and blend the clear coat. That's body shop hocus pocus B/S. What will hapen is when you wet sand and buff the area where the clear was blended it will die back because the material is so thin it will burn the edge of the clear and leave a haze around the re cleared area. If the area is on the quarter panel and there is no way to break a clear tape line then you will need to clear the whole back of the car including the roof. If the tip you are using is a 2.0 That is way to big for base or clear. That tip is for primer. you need a 1.4 or 1.3 if the metallic is very fine. You can set the regulator at the compressor but run it 10 lbs more than what you want to spray at. if you do want to re clear don't just put 1 coat on it will sand through to the other clear creating the same problem as trying to blend the clear. be safe and put 3 coats of clear on if you are re clearing the car. Now lets talk gun set up. run the inlet air adjustment full open. spray pattern full open and fluid tip 2 1/2 turns open from full closed. use a 60 % over lap pattern on both clear and base. Buffing is a whole other lesson. If you need help with that when the time comes. I will be glad to offer guidance.
Tim
 
I have blended clear many times with the clear I used on the car & I have used what is called a blending clear. I spray the clear in the repaired area then with the clear reduced more than what is called for I then spray 2 to3 inches around that area. I then spray just reducer out side that line fanning the gun. What that does is the reducer melts the new clear into the old clear. I have blended metallic & non metallic bases. I have learned this from top notch painter & guys who teach auto painting. So it can be done but it can also be a pain in the ***.
 
It's your car do what you please. Doesn't work for my shop. Would never us it on a customers car. I stand by my statement.
 
He is right you do what makes you comfortable. I have done blending on costumers cars. I would never do something to some ones car that I wouldn't do to mine. Everyone is different.
 
Ok, thanks for all the advice. Obviously I have some decisions to make and work to do.

Again, thank you to everyone for your advice, iy's been a huge help
 
Ok, after a few days to think about it here are a few more questions:

1- Obviously it is bad news to break through the clear but I have to in order to make the repairs to the body work. So after I make the repairs I then prime over the repair ensuring I prime over the surrounding clear that has been sanded with 800 and then re clear the whole panel?

2- I wet sanded the roof just to practice, can I re clear over the wet sanded area or should I hit those places with 800 also?

3- to re clear the rest I just need to rough the clear with 800 (wet or dry?). How far down should I take the old clear? Should I try to get as much of the orange peel out as I can?

Just some thoughts. If anyone can think of anything else all help is welcome

Thanks in advance
 
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