Single-stage paint,not good to wetsand/buff?

I know it can be done because the paint shop that did my car screwed it up and had to do it, and it looks fine now.

 

speaking about Dupont Centauri and PPG Delstar.....
When I was painting cars[25 years ago] It was commonly color sanded and buffed out,It ends up lookin alarmingly like a Laquer job only you dont rub thru as easily and it actually stays shiny longer with no maintanence...
It can even be rubbed without hardener after a little added dry time....

 

I am sanding mine right now to buff later today, the car in my avatar is single stage, I wanted the lacquer look. I use all PPG products, sands and buffs easy. Most of the time I use 2000 right off the bat, seems it takes less work, the other nice thing is if I have a run I take a razor blade and stand it perpendicular to the body and shave it off, hit it with 2000 and good to go. love the stuff.

 

We just painted my 68 vette this past summer...single stage BASF paint.....it is slicker than this photo shows in person...

 

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread. The last car I painted was in the '90's. Used Ditzler acrylic enamel. I hear there is water based out there. Is it a s/s, or a b/c,c/c?
Anybody used it? Any better than the old s/s? Thanks, Mike

 

Water bourne paints are essentially BC/CC systems.

 

Yes. I painted my dad's truck with black limco 123 enamel almost 12 years ago and people swear it's base clear. All I had to do was wet sand with 1500 and rub it with 3M 5973 compound and a wool pad. Then I closed it up with 5928 finesse-it and a white foam compounding pad, and then polish with a black foam pad and 5996 pad glaze. I tend to spend a little more time buffing my stuff, but my stuff usually glows. I actually pissed a fellow body man off with this paint job. He said "you can't buff enamel". The 40 in my avitar was a 15 year old single stage job that looked like it was sprayed with tractor paint when I started on it. It looked so good people swore it was a new paint job after it was done. Hell I even had to blend around the quarter windows where I had to weld a stress crack, and re-spray the decklid after I deleted the factory license bracket. You could not see a difference. It buffs good, it blends good. Don't be scared. Oh, and after its fully cured use either Zymol or Meguiars color restoring wax to maintain the shine.

 

Once it's all buffed and polished, how long do you wait to wax it?

 

Just long enough for the feeling to come back in your arms from buffing.

 

Dont you mean you wait 2-3 months for off-gassing before waxing? Dont trap those solvents.

 

I haven't had a problem, maybe I've been lucky

 

i painted dads 36 2yrs ago with single stage urethane, will it sand & buff up even though its that hard now ?

 

Yes, it has likely cured. But, with a careful touch, you may use a 6" D.A. and wet sand it on the flats and save some serious time and elbow grease. Also how flat, clean and how well it flowed out when it was shot will determine how much sanding is needed.

 

If you really like to run a buffer, go for it. Personally , at 59 buffing paint has lost its luster [ pun intended ] I did more than my fair share when acrylic lacquer was the paint to have, and dulux was looked down on.
These days my premium jobs get 4 coats of SW Dimension 3, [ crossfire to the napa guys ] , and after a week or more dry time are wet sanded to 600 and shot with 2 more coats and they are done. If later the customer wants it cut and buffed , there's plenty of color to do so. I see no improvement in doing so. I like the slight bit of " texture" I get from this system and its appearance only improves as it ages. Hard to get " patina" from a finish thats been buffed.

 

Yeah, general rule of thumb is a few months. Try to give it some sunlight. One other thing I forgot....runs. If you run single stage and shave it off, chances are it will be discolored and you will have to spot paint over it or respray the panel to make it look right.

 

Interesting approach. Might be a good way to go.

 

Have had totally different experience with solids urethane and acrylic..all paint dulls when wet sanded. on 51 f1 we had urethane solid and used a process ofwet sanding 1000 then 1200 then 1500 to get all the large spots then followed with 3m finesse it and the wet look was there. clear coats are mostly urethane and the paint acts close to the same, solid or clear./.on acrylic I have always used hardeners. same process and very similar results don g

 

SS AE or SS urethane? And is it a solid color?? Because this would change the parameters of when and if to cut and buff.

 

Anyone else use washington blue?

 

As in what, a single stage? Washington Blue can be a damn deep and gorgeous SS finish. I've said this before on our board, if you consider the base color you can get a real deep finish. Think about a piece of colored lexan. You can't see through it, but you can see light through it, as in holding a light bulb right up behind it. Translucent, but not transparent. Use a deep blue or black sealer, get a mix with more transparent tints than oxides, you may not believe the difference. Cut and buff it early so your slick final finish cures that way (you got about 3-4 days depending on temp). You'll have about as close to lacquer as it gets.

 

Painted the fenders on my 1946 Teardrop a couple months ago SS Washington Blue.... Just cut and buffed them this weekend..... I love it

 

When color sanding do you use the x pattern, sand back and forth, or sand in circles ?

 

If color sanding, you should not be trying to get a straight surface as with blocking bodywork. Therefore, sanding in an X or other pattern is not needed IMO. I certainly do not do it that way. But exactly what you will do depends on the surface of the paint and the shape of the panel. Are you just asking a general question of do you have a specific shape you want to color sand? How much orange peel? Dust nibs? and just as important, what if your final desire for the finished look?

 

I always wet sand Front to back and stay horizontal.
Never in circles, never in an X because you are bound to have thin spots or break thru.
Sanding with Bare hands and fingers are bound to leave grooves so use a pad.

 

The hood on my 65 truck, flat surface but has a lot of dust, minor orange peel. I just want it to shine with no dust.

 

I never sand in straight lines. It's too easy to leave a groove the width of the pad. Then again I seldom use a pad unless it's a small or very rounded part. I use a paint stick wrapped with the paper of choice.

 

Beautiful work and color!

 

whats the minimum amount of coats to put on without fear of sanding-burning through ? I think I put on 4 coats, just cant remember.

 

I don't spray 4 coats of clear. You can't generalize thickness by the number of coats as well as you can't generALIZE THE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL THAT NEEDS TO BE SANDED OFF DURING THE CUT AND BUFF STAGE ( whoops ). Sorry, but they are the facts. I can say typically 3 coats is done, but it depends on too many things to automatically assume a thickness. And then there is your finish compared to someone else's and the type of compound you use etc and on and on.
But I assume you are speaking about a single stage job? Again though . AE or urethane?? solid?? Typically 3 or 4 coats is what is sprayed. I cut and buff 3 coats all the time with teh materials I use, but most cases having a 4 th is not a problem.

 

if you squeegy often to check your progress when sanding off orange peel, you shouldn't sand through. when the shiny lower areas of the orange peel are just gone stop. also be careful of edges and body seams, they tend to burn through quicker.