Orange Peel Clear coat

[knieghtz]

Just finished painting my front bumper yesterday with 2 coats of base and 2 coats of clear. Today i tried to knock down the orange peel with 600, then 800, then 1500 sand paper. After that i used meguiars 2# cutter, then buffed with a scratch and swirl remover. It looks like crap and its very hazy, i need some help on how to completely get rid of the orange peel and how to make the finish look good. I had some runs but i managed to sand those down. The clear coat is nice and thick so i have plenty to work with. I also read that rubbing compound might help me. I would like to know step by step how to fix it.Any help is greatly appreciated. BTW i wet hand sanded and i used a buffer for the cutter and scratch remover.

 

[banishedmunk]

how long did you allow the clear coat to cure before attempting the sanding. you should have used a much finer grit paper than the three you used. you will want to research a method called color sanding.

 

[SrKegler]

Most people start with 1000, then 1500, then 2000 before switching to the buffing. All you did was make the scratches shiny. Since you have plenty of clear left, sand in one direction with 1500. Then sand in a different direction with your 2000 grit until all your lines are going in the same direction again. That's when you'll know you have all the previous grits scratches out. Then you can probably use the buffer.

For more detailed instructions, try looking up autobody101 on the web. Got some great tips on painting.

 

[2geclipse565]

+1 on you used to coarse of paper. Iv done that before trying learn. I was painting a motorcycle, the paint was beautiful and I ruined it by trying to wetsand. It was a pretty shetty day. I was so pissed I blasted the paint down and re-painted the next day.

 

[AwD4g63TsI]

like everyone said before-sandpaper was too coarse. But I also noticed that you said you used 2 coats of clear. IMO that's not nearly enough to work with if you've got significant orange peel that is giving you problems. It could work if you sprayed a 'hot' mix clear at high pressure. This would give you very flat laydown with minimal if any orange peel. But you mention having enough orange peel to warrant sanding. This leads me to believe you either used a medium or cold "mix" and/or low pressure. Or a combination of both.
I would clear with at least 4 layers if you know you will be sanding. This will give you plenty of extra depth so you don't worry about cutting through to color. You are not going to hurt anything with more clear. It won't crack like old school paints. 2-3 layers of clear is what I spray on a regular paint job with as hot of a mix as I can get. This gives plenty of coverage and I am not planning on doing any sanding at all. But as I mentioned before-I do at least 4 layers minumum if I know I will be sanding. One car I did years ago actually got 8 coats of clear. It was sanded to an absolute mirror finish.

 

[knieghtz]

I gave it 24 hours to cure. Im debating right now wether to Color sand it, or sand it with 600 grit and throwing another two coats of clear. Will the finish look good if i wet sand it with 600, clean it up with paint thinner, and throw another two coats of clear?

Any ideas anyone?

 

[knieghtz]

Still open to any ideas?

 

[kbiker76]

Its already been answered above read all the posts and follow their directions. They laid out exactly what to do...

 

[Paching]

You can lay down a couple more hands of clear but don't use 600 grit. I would skip the 1000 grit. start with 1500 and finally 2000. It should almost shine when your done wet sanding, get close and just look along the length of the bumper, hopefully you didn't apply a wax....right? Oh and don't lay a dry hand of clear. keep it nice and wet without making it run. You can also thin the clear mix out by adding more reducer if it seems too thick. Good luck my friend.

 

[SrKegler]

I guess you're asking how to recoat the clear. I would scuff it up with a green scotchbrite pad. Then just tack it down. Since you're having problems with orange peel, put on about 4 coats of clear. Should give you plenty of film to work with.

When you start sanding the clear, start with 1000 grit. Sand in one direction with 1000 grit until there aren't any shiny spots left. Then switch to 1500 grit and sand across the 1000 grit scratches until they are gone. You'll be able to tell when they're gon when all the new sanding lines are going in the same direction.

Then switch to 2000 grit and change direection again. Sand until all the 1500 grit lines are gone. At this point the finish should be smooth and you should see some shine.

You can now switch to your polishing compound and really make it shine.

 

[AwD4g63TsI]

-I guess you're asking how to recoat the clear. I would scuff it up with a green scotchbrite pad. Then just tack it down. Since you're having problems with orange peel, put on about 4 coats of clear. Should give you plenty of film to work with.-


I wouldn't go with a green scotchbrite. The red and green pads are pretty rough and can show the scratch marks. I'd hit it with a grey scotchbrite. I've always used them and they've worked great. Scuff the clear you have until it's doesn't show a gloss any more-that will indicate it's got enough 'bite' for the new clear. Throroughly clean ALL of the powder residue left over from the scuffing. Otherwise you will have nice wipe marks under your clear.
24 hours should be enough time for a hot mix if you are in extremely hot weather. Normally hot mixes need a curing booth, but they can be achieved in very hot weather in a short amount of time. We used hot mixes with no booth in Hawaii when I was shooting there. Turned out just fine and we could lightly sand about 6 hours later-VERY cautiously lightly sand.
One last thing-if you've already waxed it or put ANY kind of selant, wax-whatever...you need to do a thorough job of getting every bit of that off before you scuff anything. Otherwise you will mash the waxes in to the clear and the new coat you spray over will fisheye like crazy. Then you start from scratch again

 

[knieghtz]

Thanks for the tips guys, ill let you know how it comes out.

 

[dsm-unleashed]

Definately dont use the green or red scotch brite... Grey is the way to go. Just as said above, all you need to do is remove the 'shine' and be sure to clean/tack rag before reclearing.