Technical Clear coating old paint

Any tips for clear coating old paint? It doesnt need to be really nice just kind of a 20 footer. Im doing this more to protect whats there.

Ive waxed it several times and it looks great but then fades.

What should I use to prep the surface? How many coats of clear and should I sand between clears to minimize orange peel? Id like to get a decent wet look. I realize its just going to be an amateur job and again this is more to protect whats there and spruce it up a little.

I was actually going to use rattle cans although I can have access to a gun and compressor. Thanks guys

 

post some pics. do you know what type/brand of paint that is on car? "decent wet look"?

 

Guess it depends on the older paint. but basic is wipe it down good with prepsol, or equivalent dewaxer/degreaser. wash it and wipe it again.

Wet sand with about 600 then 1200 unless the paint is really thin, if the paint is almost non existent then 1200 only.

Lacquer or ?????

Basically it will be the same other then product used. blow on a dry tack coat then 3 thin coats. Wet sand and repeat your last coat blow it on really wet, like to the point of sagging wet or at least as wet as you are comfortable with. If you get it out in the sun and you show any orange peel (hopefully not) wet sand and buff.

That is how I would do it but I am not a professional painter and everything I paint needs lots of rubbing.

 

somebody shoot me

 

Clear won't necessarily stick to old paint, and since it's been waxed a few times, it'll be hard not to get fish eyes. You'd need to figure out what type of paint the old stuff is (probably acrylic enamel or lacquer), wash the car with wax and grease remover really well and probably wetsand the current paint with 1500 grit or so. And you're still taking a gamble.

I can understand wanting to keep old paint looking nice if it's already in pretty good shape but you're really risking ruining what's there by clearcoating it. Keep it waxed and keep it garaged is the better way, if that's an option. Or, maybe the reason it's fading is because it needs to be buffed out and not just waxed. Also an option.

 

buff and wax!

 

OK but I am shooting blanks.

Uh that's not what you were talking about was it.

 

Ive waxed it several times and it looks great but then fades.
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This statement tells me that the old finish is likely alklyd enamel and the hard top coat has been damaged .Alklyd enamel when it is apples takes awhile to dry but never really hardens underneath the hard shell.Breaking through that causes the paint underneath to deteriorate very rapidly.It will sometimes appear to be sticky which it usually is because of the driers having evaporated.
Trying to put a clear coat of any type over this will only result in the base paint erupting in large wrinkles. The only real solution is to strip and refinish.

 

Thanks. No idea on paint brand. Let me see if I can get a pic to upload....theyre always too large it says.....

 

You have to sand the car anyway so you might as well just paint it. Clear isn't cheap either.

 

Damnit i can never upload pictures. Always says its too large for server.

 

wipe it down with prepsol or water to see what it will look like with clear. if it doesn't look good "wet" it won't look good with clear.
just paint it.

 

This is from my phone let me try on the computer

 

Ok theres some of the bad areas and the over all sheen of the paint now. The last two pictures were right after I waxed it by hand with meguires. (it obviously fades away though.) I dont have a garage to park it in, and again I was just trying to do something to maintain that just waxed sheen and add protection.

 

Just strip and prep properly and repaint the damned car. It needs it.

Otherwise we may end up having to shoot 3wLarry

 

Clear isn't going to help that car. Clearing over those rusty spots would actually make it worse. A good soft outdoor car cover would help keep it from deteriorating further, and a good coat of wax several times a year won't hurt either.

Your time would be better spent buying some color matched paint, then spending your efforts stripping and blasting the rusty spots clean and blending them in with the paint. You probably won't get a perfect match but it'll keep the rust from spreading and that work will pay off big if you ever do decide to repaint the whole car. Also, that way you can work on things as small one-day or weekend projects without blowing the whole car apart or taking it off the road.

If you don't mind a paint job with some "personality" the blended in spots probably won't bother you too much.

 

Paint the damn thing, clear ain't gonna help that turd.

 

Well damn

 

I certainly dont have the space or means to go through the trouble of stripping it, doing body work and repainting right now

 

If thats the case, leave it alone. Learned a long time ago don't throw good money after bad.

 

Fix the rust, blend the paint the best you can and drive it.

If you pull it apart strip it and paint it, it will probably be apart for several years before it's done, you'll have way more in it than it's worth and you'll most likely lose interest in it long before it's done.

 

Earl Schieb.....

 

Just drive it and enjoy it until you can paint it. As mentioned earlier, trying to clear that is going to cause a shit-storm.

 

^^^
X2 ......maybe skip the stripping and blasting......just wet sand the loose paint and surface rust. Then the blended in color matched paint will seal things up, and slow down the advance of more rust. The car will, as stated have some "personality", and will be saved!

Rent a garage!

 

you could chip off the flakes and cup brush that rust to clean metal then brush paint some rust-oleum type paint in a matching color. the blue paint will probably be too blue so buy some black to get it to match your color.

 

I don't like to paint over rust, I'm not convinced it really slows the rust down that much, plus, he'd still have to blast it later if he does want to paint it. I've got a little hand held sandblaster that's perfect for small jobs. Just pick one spot out at a time, get it clean, and get some paint on it once it's clean. A brush would be fine if you don't have a spray gun, but you can buy a little "touch up" gun for like $20 that works great for stuff like this.

Do little areas one at a time, keep it covered and waxed, it'll stay decent for a good long time.

Definitely do NOT tear it all down and strip it for a complete repaint if you don't have a garage to keep it in. Slow and steady wins this race.

 

Then just drive the sh*t outta it and njoy it the way it is

 

Crazy Steve has a pretty good idea---I've seen several very passable jobs turned out by Earl's guys---prep it and take it to them. Let it sit outside their shop for a time when it's done and draw people in and they will likely do a pretty good job for you.

 

your name Chuck by chance? the term "good luck Chuck" comes to mind. shoot whole thing with primer sealer and paint wheels red.

 

The old gal needs some attention. If you don't have the cancer spots taken care of its only going to get worse and cost more later. Water gets inside the rear quarters and then you're chasing rot there too. I'd take it into a shop and get those fixed first regardless if you are unable to spring for full paint now. Nothing wrong with it being "under construction" for a little while. IMHO