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Thu Jun 25, 2015 2:35 pm

Soooo, I attempted my first ever paint job on my bug today. Single stage dark green metallic laid down with a Harbor Freight HVLP Turbine sprayer. I mixed the correct reducer and also had to thin it a bit as it was coming out chunky at first. I got it to where I thought it was the best it was gonna get and started in. Never having done tthis before I wasnt exactly sure what I was looking for but it seemed to be going ok. Im not really disappointed with the results but...it could be better. Some spots came out really good, and others have some rough spots and or orange peel. The hood started out really mint but I had it hanging and ended up with a bunch of runs in the middle of it.
So, my questions are- can I wet sand the not so good spots with 1000-2000(?) to achieve a better finish? And what is my best course of action to fix some significant runs?
Thanks in advance, John.

Thu Jun 25, 2015 3:42 pm

Problem is when you use metallic single stage, you really cant wetsand and polish it. It jacks up the metallics in it. My honest suggestion would be to go get something in a solid color. Then you can fix any problems you have by wetsanding and buffing. Ive been painting for 20 years and I still avoid single stage metallics at all costs.

Thu Jun 25, 2015 4:26 pm

But it looks so good....in a few spots haha. Seriously though. It does look pretty good. I guess im gonna have to just mess with it. Worse case I reshoot it or clear it.

Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:33 am

Bug guy is right. Metallic is a really hard first timer project. You might be able to sand it down and then re spray a light coat on the whole thing to make it look even again.

If you sand down the drips with 1000, 1500 you will the have to sand the whole car, maybe use 2000 on the good parts, and then buff the whole thing to make the sheen all look even. You will still see problems in the paint where your drips are but maybe that's ok.

I just painted my bus, not metallic, and it came out with a really intense shine and color. But because I had some orange peel and one drip I did some color sanding and really made it flat and smooth and shiny....... But I have to do the whole bus the same way to get it all to look consistent . As I understand when doing single stage, urethane, that the clears in the paint rise to the surface and give it a deep glossy finish. Color sanding removes a bit of that. In my case my panels are coming out smooth and shiny but the original spray finish had a deep ness that doesn't seem to be coming back, which is ok cause the color sanded panel look great they are just a little bit different tone than the original spray out.

Just sayin that whatever you do to fix your problem you will need to do the whole vehicle the same way.

We all love pictures so show us what you done

Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:02 am

Shame on me for not doing more research and a thumbs down to the paint store for not giving me a clue about it. They knew I was a noob. Whatever. Well I have a lot of paint left so I'm not gonna waste it. I'll try again. How long before I can sand this coat for repaint?

Fri Jun 26, 2015 11:07 am

3 thin coats of clear now would make it look a lot better.

Fri Jun 26, 2015 1:37 pm

johndl58 wrote: Shame on me for not doing more research and a thumbs down to the paint store for not giving me a clue about it. They knew I was a noob. Whatever. Well I have a lot of paint left so I'm not gonna waste it. I'll try again. How long before I can sand this coat for repaint?

Check the manufacturers specs but usually within a day you can sand and repaint or buff.

Fri Jun 26, 2015 4:33 pm

If I was to attempt to shoot a clear like mike fisher suggested, should I sand out the peel before spraying the clear or just do the clear? Obviously I need to scuff it no?

Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:24 pm

Scuff the runs,whole car and spray the rest of your paint thinned down good. Then spray 3 thin coats of clear you buy from the same paint store.

Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:40 pm

I did a little expeimenting today. Figured I had to at the very least re shoot the entire hood so it wouldnt matter what my results were. I attempted to wet sand the runs out starting with 1500. If they werent so big, Im pretty convinced that I may have been able to salvage it. I also think that if it was a lighter color instead of dark green, you would have hardly been able to tell. As it stands, you can definitely see where I attempted to get rid of them. I will post some pics, its raining out and everything is wet right now.

Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:45 pm

worst of the hood:

Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:51 pm

Heres the after sanding. tough to see the condition because of the rain. Ill try again tomorrow. Knocked down the bumps though.

Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:00 pm

Heres a couple of the other pieces. Im thinking a little 2000 wet might not hurt it too much, or I may just leave it.

Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:37 am

If your trying to sand out runs, your going to have to get more aggressive. Start with some 600 wet on a hard block. In fact I would 600 the whole thing, spray a couple even coats of paint on it, then clear it. That way you have something you can work with when your done. Thats some serious orange peel to get out.

Sun Jun 28, 2015 10:37 am

The paint is too thick when it looks like 'leather'. Still have to have clear on top like buguy the pro is telling you.

Sun Jun 28, 2015 3:52 pm

No doubt. Since I'm brand new to this, what kind of consistency am I looking for, before I spray it?

Sun Jun 28, 2015 10:44 pm

that last pic shows just how bad your orange peel is.

i am painting a 79 rabbit and did a motorcycle before that and have learned a ton as a first timer in the past 6 weeks.

i also bought the hf turbine because i was freaked out about using the compressor and this turned out to be the case. you need proper filtering, air and gun to get things to atomize correctly.

although just as a reference i got ok results with hf hvlp gun and the primers. i also shot some single stage and found putting it on wet from the first coat on(no tack coat) and the paint actually settled and leveled out on a sunroof panel i did without orange peel. i couldn't believe it when i came out the next day to look at it because i felt i could see it go on a little wet. i was pretty close to the panel and had to turn the pressure up enough where there was some overspray in the air.

you have to experiment a bit with your material and make sure the tip size is ok so you can put wet coats on. then test on cardboard and a mailbox, etc. experiment for yourself and mark down settings with your gun and see what happens.

if you can feel the bumps with your fingers your orange peel is bad enough to need leveling sanding and thats going to be a ton of work, wasted material, etc. that is guidecoat territory.

i have layed some other panels experimenting with another devilbess gun and got some light orange peel after putting first coat on spotty and i was able to take 1500 grit and within a few passes on a test section took the peel out.

i only used the hf turbine for the primers and experimented with some base and it came out peely. i have a feeling this one stage unit doesn't have the power to really finely push the paint onto the panel.

i plan on doing an experiment myself soon again with the turbine and 1.5 tip with my single stage paint because i don't have faith my compressor setup will last for the body(panels are off car).

i am mixing my paint with high end of suggested reducer and will paint a mailbox and see for myself how it can lay out. that will truly tell me how to compare to the air run guns i have been using.

after what i have gone through with testing and dealing with air compressor and having to revisit our filtering in the heat, i love the idea of a turbine and would gladly take the kind of orange peel that sands out in a few passes.

Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:43 am

Thanks for the reply Damac. I too had a couple of places where it came out mint. The taillight housings and license plate light came out perfect. When I painted the hood, I hung it from where the latch mechanism is. The way it hung, that latch area was almost horizontal, and came out like glass. Im assuming because the paint just settled. I will be sanding everything flat and shooting it again if I burn through it. Ill be trying to lay everything as flat as possible. Hopefully I can get this to work out. I really like the flake, but I guess i will have to go to a solid if it doesnt come out acceptable enough. Or shoot clear over it.

Tue Jun 30, 2015 7:12 pm

I wish I could help but ive never used a turbine before.

Tue Jun 30, 2015 7:22 pm

Buguy I appreciate the help, trust me. Im totally new to this and any advice I can get im happy for. I know the turbine isnt the ideal set up but i dont have the cash to go the pro compressor set up. I just picked up the proper reducer for my paint and am going to do some experimenting before I shoot again. I love The color and really want it to work. I will update as I go. It may be a few days as Im installing a pool at my house this week.