i need the help of some1 that can steer me in the right direction concerning paint polishing. i'm using a polyurethane topcoat that i flatened by 80% to give me that satin look which looks really incredible from the 1's i've seen posted on the hamb. After spraying the box of my truck,i really didn't like the apperance of the paint. I found it very difficult to lay an even consistant appearance. It looked terrible, so i decided to cut the finish with 600 wet and polish with 3M medium cut polish. Like i was really amazed that i could achieve the gloss that developed,but u have to view it only from certain positions to see the high gloss.Any other position it looks cloudy as u can see from the pics. i'm thinking that this may be due to the fact that the paint gloss was flatened by 80%? My ? is, if i spray high gloss over what i have now and cut it and polish ,will it get rid of the haze that u see in the pic?
you're stuck. flattener is a physical agent added to the clear coat. if you clear over it your have a really shiny hazy finish. if you want clear, high gloss, you get to strip the WHOLE things and start over.
looks like a typical satin black paint to me I just shot these 2 days ago also , a lot of it can be the lighting or the light you have on it..take it outside in the daylight sun
Flattner is an additive added to the clearcoat throughout. Old school would stir in Baby powder. So when you cut/buff the clear, you are still going to be working with a satin surface. (billions of voids or dust in the paint to disrupt a flat surface) You'd need to color coat again, if you clear over it - it will look milky underneath. Hope you learned your lesson about flat/satin, it can't go away soon enough for me.
Yep, you might get it SMOOTH, but it is never gonna be CLEAR. In order to make either basecoat or clearcoat into a flattened finish, there is a lot of inert material added, sometimes a silica, sometimes a talc, sometimes both. All are sort of an off white powder that is designed to disturb and distort the very final layer of your clear to knock the gloss down. The problem is, it also disturbs the clarity of the gloss. So you can buff off the very surface and eliminate the microscopic inert roughness that lowers the gloss, but you will still have the inert powder disturbing the clarity throughout the finish. Furthermore, everywhere there is inert poking up through the surface, even if you have it smooth as glass, is a place where there is no clear resin for protection. Those areas will go back flat fairly quickly when exposed to the environment. The best solution to try and make the finish look as you intiially intended would be to sand with 400-600 wet paper and then recoat with your flattened clear again. Then, if applied correctly, it should look as originally intended. If you want it glossy, and you want it right, you are gonna have to start all over.
thanks for the responses, but what i sprayed was singlestage polyurethane that the gloss was reduced by 80%.Sorry for not being clear on that. i have some of the same paint but not flattened so i thought maybe the haze was due to the flatener.
A couple of years ago I did what alot of folks said could'nt be done and it turned out great for me. I painted my truck using 4 parts R-M (polyester) base, 2 parts PPG single stage reducer, 1 part PPG concept clear & 1 part PPG concept clear hardener (also added some pure pearl to the top coat). The clear and clear hardener contain uv protectors. It turned out really nice and has the exact sheen I was wanting. I tested this on the stock steel wheels on my sons Sonoma pickup before that so I knew it would lay right and have the sheen I was looking for, it see's the sun 2-3 days each week and it has shown NO adverse effects to date.
Single stage. Well, that opens up another problem. Generally, when you cut into a metallic single stage paint, you are cutting into the aluminum and will expose that. After awhile, the alum will start to corrode and you will get a flat finish. That is beside the fact that the flattening agent is still disturbing the resin system. If you want it glossy now, just sand it smooth, wipe it down with wax and grease remover and shoot a nice coat of that single stage on minus the flattening agent. Should turn out fine!
thx's redlinetoys,i was hoping for some optimism and i think u gave it to me . i'm glad it wasn't a metallic .
What temp was is sprayed at and did you use fast reducer and hardener. It looks like it is blushing which occurs when the solvent is trapped beneath the hardened outer surface. This was common in laquers of the old days but will also happen with urethanes if proper flash time/chemical temp range is incorrect. Also mil thickness of your material will cause this (if applied too thick).
i heated the space to 70,but was not sure of the substrate temp,it felt cool to touch though. to me it seemed like it flashed too quickly and i couldn't keep a nice wet coat without get overspray where i last sprayed. its a A B mix epoxy urethane. i cut the paint again with 600 wet and sprayed another coat on.this time i noticed less orange peel and seems to be a reasonable smooth finish for cutting again. this time i plan on using 800 wet and coat again. i hope there is an end to this because i'm running low on paint.
Going by your last post it sounds to me like you need to allow more flash time between coats and make sure it is touchable (on the tape near the area your painting) before you apply the next coat. This allows solvents more time to evaporate out. And allow about 1/2 hour or 45 minutes before heating the space after spraying. This will not only allow more flowout time but will also keep the material from drying on the outside before the inside has a chance to.
It appears that you're experiancing the "error" part of the trial and error method . However it seems that you're getting a lot of good advice , good luck with your project .
The paint I have used and like is Kustom Shops Flaux urethane. It is easy to use and because they start with a satin base, not gloss, then flatten. It comes out with a very even finish. They have a satin clear and is reasonablity priced and is the hot setup.
the brand of paint is called Endura,and its a A and B mix,so i really don't know which kind of expoxy. i really like the polished look of the paint when it is cut,doesn't have that plastic look.
very nice ride,love the paint looks perfect. i noticed something on the peek of the hood,looks like its been chromed, or is it reflection .
i didnt notice that anybody mentioned it, but you dont want to try to buff flat and sem-gloss finishes. getting a nice semi gloss finsih, even and dust free, is actually harder than paintinig a shiny job. semi jobs always work better with a slower reducer, than a fast one. the blushing you are expierencing can come from many things, a to fast reducer is a good start. as already mentioned, a quick color sand and re-coat will pull it out of the bag for ya. to get a clean job when working at home i'd reccomend using clear over the color, then color sand it smooth as though you were gonna polish it, then put on a careful coat or two of semi gloss clear. this way you are only concentrating on one area, making it easier to manage skull
also .if you try to repaint over what you have now .you will have problems down the road because the solvents are not out of your first paint job its diffrent if its in a bake booth i bet it will start to blister up like water spots after a few months.
First off i would like to thank everyone that contributed to my post. with the idea's that were presented, i managed to get it right,i think. here's a few picks of the fenders and tailgate repainted with high gloss which i will cut with 1200and repaint again. some times i think there is no end to this,but i'm enjoying every quart of paint lol
Thanks for the compliments. There is no chrome on the hood, I believe you are seeing the pinstripe design that is there.
I'll offer congrats on the shiny stuff only if you promise to post shots of the truck when it's all back together.
the truck is off topic for this forum, also it may also incriminate me. When i start working on the hornet and post about it, I'll park it beside the Hudson,and then maybe it might be acceptable to post an pic with the stude in the background.
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