I painted my truck last fall with 5 star Xtreme urethane grey metallic. There is enough orange peel that I want to fix it. My question is can I or can I not sand metallic paint? Also once sanded can I just shoot some compatible clear coat or do I need to shoot another coat of paint?
tia Greg

 

Sanding single stage metallic color coat will pretty much "destroy" the finish. Acrylic enamel metallic top coats you want with little or no orange peel require clear coating.

What pressure were you shooting that color? That has a big impact on orange peel, also your choice of reducers relative to the shooting conditions plays a bit part too.

Gosh I miss lacquer colors with enamel clear coats!

 

thanks JWA. I haven't painted in about 12 years and couldn't buy my old paint anymore. I figured this new low VOC would be about the same but it wasn't. This is the worst paint job I've done to date. I don't exactly recall what psi I settled on but I did a lot of adjusting around 40 I think. The reducer was the one recommended on the label. I was just hoping for a way out of this without starting all over but I guess there isn't .
Thanks Greg

 

Sorry 'bout your luck Doug---yes so much has changed over time with autobody refinishing.

A trick we used in the past was purposely using a "slower" reducer to allow slight self-leveling or flow of the clear coat. Actually we'd paint dark cars during the last part of the day, leave the paint booth fan on but kill the heat for a few hours. Even single panel painting with a black car we'd have a factory-like finish---which was a bit peely anyway.

If its any consolation think of all the experience you've gained!