In an earlier thread I mentioned my disastrous 1st attempt at spray painting, ending with a horrible finish.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...1&hl=Novice

Last weekend I gave it another try, following some of the suggestions from this board and The Samba.

After I sanded the color layer with 400, I reworked a few body areas.
(cement block haters, spare me)



Then the entire body was re-coated with 2K urethane primer, and that sanded smooth.




Porsche Light Blue was later applied. This time the color laid down much better, with only a little orange peel.







There is still orange peel, but it's so minor compared to my initial fiasco. Perhaps I could have reduced the orange peel if I'd sanded the clear further, but I was afraid of breaking through to color, so I buffed it out without going too hard on the clear sanding.





It's a driver quality paint job, but I'm OK with it. The final result is smooth and glossy enough to really display imperfections in body work.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Nice job!

Painting takes so much prep work followed by 5 minutes of nerve wracking spraying for each coat.

I've painted my car once and am working on re-doing the hoods and doors 3 years later. Just remembering how hard this is to get right.

John

I have incredible respectful for those who do fine body work and pro quality painting.

Duplicate

you need to sand that with 400 grit and get a smooth service before you proceed. If you move ahead now I doubt that you can get enough clear coat on to level out the finish. jdorociak@gmail.com Jim

Appreciate the comment, Jim. I'm wary of sanding through the clear and damaging the color beneath. Very difficult, with my level of experience, to tell where the clear ends and the color begins before it's too late.

Painting a car looks easy, because most of the time when we see videos the guys doing it are pros. It's seriously an art. Not something you can just "do" without an issue or two. Bravo for attempting in the first place. If you were only expecting a "driver" paint job, than you should be happy with it.

I will say that another round of sanding/painting/clear would do wonders for your ability and the end result. Every coat, you get better and better. It doesn't take long to get to a great looking job.

Your call though. It looks like you've gone very far with the car. May be worth a few more hours of work.

The only time clearcoat should be sanded with 400 grit is when you're trying to remove it completely.

some good videos here

http://www.youtube.com/user/HowToPaintYourCar/videos

I appreciate your comments, Doug. As you've mentioned, what probably needs to be done is sand back to color and get that smooth, then re-shoot color, clear, and buff. I noted on the DuPont spec sheets that additional clear coats could be added at any time during the curing process. I hoped that I might be able to decrease the orange peel by adding more clear and sanding/buffing that. Not likely.

While I'm not pleased with the result, it's a vast improvement over last year's attempt and I'm OK with it. Time and weather limit my options for this year. But, down the road a ways.....

If you're anything like me (good god I hope not) than it's going to bug the shit out of you until you get it right. THAT being said...I think you did a great job for the tools/skill/time. I don't want you thinking otherwise.

I did mine in my garage in March...in Cleveland. It came out "OK" but I ended up taking it to a local body shop for the last coat of color, and a coat of clear. You may want to look at that as an option. I think it cost me a couple hundred bucks. Look on Craigslist...there are a lot of guys that work at paint shops...that go in on the weekends for "side jobs". May make all the difference.

A quick way to get the surface roughed up to add another coat of color is a green Scotchbrite pad. (the 5"x7" ones...not the 'clean the dishes' ones.) They cut quick...but not too deep, and if you keep them wet, you can do a while car in an hour to get ready for your final round of work. Just thinking out loud...