Greetings!

I just sanded & Primed & painted a small area of my 79 F150 Ford Ranger BROWN truck side bed.
Now I want to add top coat.
It looks bumpy.
Should I sand between coats?

How do I add pictures to this forum show you what I am talking about?

Brigitte (Who seeks wise wisdom from you all)
Tulsa, OK

 

To get a clear shiny coat....should I sand between clear coat applications?

How do I show you pictures of what I am talking about?

Brigitte

 

(Below: picture before I started) In this pic below I just washed it.
Click this link: http://www.walmart.com/agt/bounce.gsp?ID=488AC5E381FC384F688919D8420C5405112C &sharee=sg_1%40cox.net


Using all 3 Dupli-Color Primer/color & Clear Top Coat from aerosol spray can.

Still has a grainy look. Not Glossy. Will add picture tomorrow if this picture above goes thru.

 

You gonna spray bomb the entire truck? Seems like for what you will spend in cans a Maaco job would be cheaper and better looking. Thats just MHO, for what thats worth.
My understanding is that the last color coat should be the way you want it to look and the clear is just that - a clear coat. Now i have no idea if you should sand between coats of clear, but it seems to reason the grainy look will just have more clear on it.
Yes the pic is there, but you can go to Galleries at the top and click Manage / Create to upload pics. Hope this helps
Good luck and let us know how this turns out.

 

Nice looking truck you have there. congrats

Cant sleep so I will type a small book here . Pick out what you may need to know, ignore the rest.


If that is the original paint it has on it, that will be enamel that is on it. So using a paint color/ with clearcoat type repair on it will never match in perfect, as with any blends on older paints. To answer your question, yes you can sand the clearcoat between coats, IF you allow it to dry and cure properly between coats, and clean the dust off well....

Using a 800 to 1000 grit paper will allow you to cut the clearcoats grainy look flat, yet should not leave scratches that will show thru the clear. And as a last final method to get a flat ,shiny clearcoat, you may sand it flat with say 1000 or 1500 grit sand paper, being careful not to sand thru the clearcoat, then buff it out with a cut and buff polishing compound.

When spraying out paint , the various "looks" of the final finish will be determined by how close you get the spray nozzle to the metal, the speed as you move the "stroke" across the metal, how hot the temp is of the metal( dries faster) . Aeresols have a lot of drying agents in them and dry fast, making them hard to use on larger surfaces.. Technique is what helps to not have "grainy" paint jobs so I will type on here. Spraying "technique" is very important and it takes practice to get it right. ..

When using aeresol sprays( or guns) it is best to practice a bit on a scrap piece of metal first. The side to side horizonal movement is best, and look at the paint as it hits the metal from a sharp sideways angle, so you can see the paint layer build. Try tonever start or stop of the spraying motion(sweep) on the metal, it will be heavy on that first hit, and run on you. If not possible to start / stop off of metal, put a piece of large masking paper around the repair and start/stop on it. ..

Then, as you sweep side to side with the spray nozzle, trying to maintain the six inch distance off of the truck and with the same speed of stroke, watch the paint hit the metal at the side angle. The tricky part is the sideways motion of the paint can/nozzle movement needs to be slow enough that you will see the coat of paint going on get "wet" looking, but move across fast enough , to not let it build up too heavy and sag/run on you. Start /stop the paint sweep off of the metal, return left or right depending on what hand you are, then drop down and let the next spray sweep overlap the previous (upper) one by 50 %. That method helps to get even build and eliminates the dry or "grainy look in coats. .. I am going back to sleep now, and I hope this helps. jmo

 

Dear RidinNStyle54 & Greg 79 f150,

Thanks for the replies.
More pictures (updated)
May have to copy and paste to remove icon
http://www.walmart.com/agt/bounce.gsp?ID=9864DE97FA094B4498718919B8F41A55A9 &sharee=sg_1%40cox.net

http://www.walmart.com/agt/bounce.gsp?ID=9864DE97FA094B4498718919B8F41A55A9 &sharee=sg_1%40cox.net
(I have to post at Walmart site to share...sorry)

I doubt I will do the whole truck with spray cans. This is only a test for me to see if this is a job I want to tackle. I would love a small touch up until I can afford a full job. The hood is the worst which has to be replaced.

Anyway....I want it to look better then it did until I have professional paint it.

Found (manage & create) under Galleries listing above. Thanks Ridin for the tip. New here still.

Greg.....I will try the sanding like you said. However, I doubt it will have a mirror shine. The motion sweeping was a good tip! THANKS!
I have notced paint thicker as I sweep side to tide and building up. See pictures. (No DRIPS YET!)

I have added 3 light clear top coat so far.

 

You are welcome for the advice. I don't know how much you know about sanding but just so you dont mess it up - this 1000 and 1500 grit he is talking about is wet/dry paper and you want to wet sand it. Plenty of water is the key here - you can use a hose with the metal end cut off or a rag over it so it won't scratch the paint. Keep it flowing slowly as you sand and this will keep the buildup from the paper. If I am doing this by hand I like fold the sheet into quarters and flip it often. It will not REALLY feel like you are sanding but just use smooth even strokes and you will get the feel of it. After it dries it may look pretty rough but that's where the cut and buff compound will make it shine. I have also seen that polishing with a very soft cloth and corn starch (it is like a very fine rubbing compound) will change the shine to a glow.

Again, good luck and let us know how she turns out.
Slick

 

Another little tip for wet sanding is to put a little dish soap in your water.

 

Before I start buffing out the fender, how many top coats should I apply.
I have 3 right now.

RidinNStyle54: I love the corn starch idea!

 

I think if it was mine and that's the route I was taking I would start buffing it out now if it looks pretty good. I guess one thing about painting yourself - if you do all that and it doesn't look the way you want, you can always go back and do it again, right?
On that note - you got me ready to go do some wet sanding / buffing of my own and see if *I* am gonna have to go back and start all over... :-)
Good luck,
Slick

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but I want ta see picture's and not Walmart links. Brigittec, almost at the top of the page ( blue line with white letters) click on "User CP" . Then in the list look for and click on "Edit Galley". Then click "Create Album". Be sure and enter a Tittle and Discription and whatever info you want. Then click the "Create Album" button at the bottom. Then click one of the "Browse" buttons at the bottom of the page. From there you just need to find the picture on your hard drive, select it, and then upload it. Once uploaded just click on "forum Codes", copy the link and paste it in your post and you picture will show up in your message.

BTW- Good luck buffing out 1000 or 1500 grit by hand, 2000 grit would be easier.

 

Dear Matt-Helm,

I will do as you say and lets see what happens.

Before:



Sanded:


Side View Top Coat:



Gloss/Topcoat-Close up



Brigitte

 

I was able to upload pictures. Thanks to Matt-Helm!

I tried this before from another post telling me how...and something happened and I lost all data so I quit.

Thanks for more details on "How To".

I will have more to add later. Weather here has been to cold to add more topcoat. My goal is 5-6. You are looking at 4 topcoats. I will look into getting the finest sandpaper (2000) as you suggested.

Again....I will be back with more pictures soon as temps warm up here in Tulsa.

If there is any pictures you desire for me to add...just ask. I have them all. Just didn't want to add to many to this website and get booted off!

 

Question: I bought the 2000 sandpaper. I have 4 layers (coats) of clear coat on the finder. Should I sand with this 2000 between coats or after I am all done adding clear coats. I was thinking about adding 6 coats. Just wasn't sure if I need to sand in between coats. Let me know. Thanks! Brigitte
Full View (Compressed Photo)



Close up of Fifth Top Coat w/o sanding between coats:

 

It really doesn't matter. I mean the whole idea is to get a perfectly flat surface. It may be easier to sand every couple of coats because you divots will be shallower for your final sand and buff. I've seen guys (and gals ) get good results by doing almost all the sanding just before their final coat and then just work on the trash and buff. A neat trick to seeing the divots is use a bondo spreader as a squeegee while you're wet sanding ( you can also use your finger ).