Question for Paint Pros.

[BoomBoom]

I have just finished painting flames on my 23T. I used the Auto Air water based paint and then covered them with a urethane clear coat. My question is do I now wet sand and buff out the flames? And when buffing do I use wax? This is my first attemp at painting so any advice would be appreciated,
Thanks

[Bass]

You can rub them out if they need it...do they have some 'orange peel' or what?

Use 2000 grit 3M paper with a soft rubber block. Soak the paper for a few minutes before you start sanding. Work in a criss-cross pattern, being sure not to sand through anywhere. You may sand through a bit on the edges, but it should be ok as long as you are going back over it with a pinstripe. Sand until all shiny spots are gone, and you have a smooth even surface. A small square 3M squeegee will come in handy here too to see if you have sanded enough.

Now break out the buffer and use 3M Fine grade rubbing compound on either a wool or foam pad. Be sure not to stay in one spot too long or you'll burn through your fresh paint. It's best to keep the buffer moving fairly quickly, and make sure you keep the pad well lubed with compound. You might want to drape a drop cloth over your motor or anything else you don't want compound on, because it'll get messy.

If you don't have access to a buffer, you can rub it out by hand using the same Fine compound and a polishing cloth, but it takes a lot of elbow grease.

Follow that up with 3M Hand Glaze, rub it in pretty good and let it "haze" over before you buff it back off. I've found that this will get the swirl marks out in most cases.

Finally you can wax it with a good liquid or paste wax, but if you're going to pinstripe the edges of the flames, I'd skip this step until after that is done. Before pinstriping, make sure you wipe everything down with wax & grease remover.

One more thing, make sure you do all this in the shade, because working in the sun dries the compounds a lot faster and makes buffing exponentially harder.

I'm sure the real pros will be able to add a bit more to this topic...

-Brian

[BoomBoom]

Thanks Bass! Great info, now about that pin striping http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[TINGLER]

Lets see some pics.

Did you paint the entire flame with auto air?
How does that stuff seem to work. I just bought a few bottles the other day and haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

[BoomBoom]

VT, The stuff seems to work pretty good. I only painted flames around the cowl so keep in mind it was a small area. I used a small gun for the base coats, first white then yellow. Then I used my airbrush for the red highlights on the flames. I ended up covering more of the yellow than I wanted to but I really couldnt tell until I untaped it. The Auto Air went on really smooth with no drips or runs. Two light coats and one a little heavier for each color. THen three coats of urethane clear over everything. Ill try to post some pics soon as my wife shows me how to use her camera.