I'm in the process of doing some spray painting, and need some tips on how to finish it off

I've applied the lacquer, but its dried with some orange peel and one slight run. Obviously I want to sort these to get a good finish, so what is the next step?

I have a feeling its going to be more flatting back with wet and dry paper, but what grit?

And I take it you then just need to use rubbing compound and polish to get the shine back?

Any help appreciated!

Andy

wet paper 400 should do (you might have to start with coarser grit but 400 to finish off).

Both peels and run is a sign of too much paint/too thick layers. Don't know if you've been using a spray can? Then it's very hard to get a thin layer. Try to increase the distance a bit.

Both peels and run is a sign of too much paint/too thick layers. Don't know if you've been using a spray can? Then it's very hard to get a thin layer. Try to increase the distance a bit.

The advice I was given was to spray in one continuous motion doing left to right, drop down for next "row", right to left, etc and not worry about covering the whole thing on each spray. Let it dry and then repeat and you should eventually get a nice even finish. Less is more as they say.

Chris

400 is FAR too rough!!

I am a painter, and I use only 2000 grit wet paper... that has been soaked in warm water with a dash of washing up liquid.

you will never be able to polish it back from 400. by hand or with a machine.

If there are runs, I will sometimes use 600 at the most to scrum them out before going to 1200, then finally 2000.

keep it WET, and and pay close attention, feel for any grit under the paper and wash it off straight away.

sand in straight lines, and polish in straight lines if you are doing it by hand.

The best polish to use to get it back from flat is G3. It is available from pretty much any paint supplier. but not the likes of halfords.

Some more independent car shops may stock it though.

G3 will cut it pretty good, but finish up with a finer polish. I use Mer... but that is just me.

400 is FAR too rough!!

I am a painter, and I use only 2000 grit wet paper... that has been soaked in warm water with a dash of washing up liquid.

you will never be able to polish it back from 400. by hand or with a machine.

If there are runs, I will sometimes use 600 at the most to scrum them out before going to 1200, then finally 2000.

keep it WET, and and pay close attention, feel for any grit under the paper and wash it off straight away.

sand in straight lines, and polish in straight lines if you are doing it by hand.

The best polish to use to get it back from flat is G3. It is available from pretty much any paint supplier. but not the likes of halfords.

Some more independent car shops may stock it though.

G3 will cut it pretty good, but finish up with a finer polish. I use Mer... but that is just me.

Good Info RB, I use the likes of Megs 2000 then 3000 for bad scratches then cut it back with 3M ultrafina, megs 83, or menzerna Intensive polish.

On the painting side, any chance of a wee write up somewhere on how you would go about painting something from bare metal (EG a bonnet on its own) I have always wanted to have a go at this but pick up huge variences in info from the internet, eg skim of bondo then how many coats of sanded primer, colour and laquer etc.

Ta

Derek

400 is FAR too rough!!

I am a painter, and I use only 2000 grit wet paper... that has been soaked in warm water with a dash of washing up liquid.

you will never be able to polish it back from 400. by hand or with a machine.

Probably my misunderstanding - I got the impression that OP wanted to run the paint down and give it a fresh layer, not just try to polish/rub.

Even then 400 is coarse for a professional laquer, but for a DYI job and a spray can I doubt if finer paper will make difference.

I had the same problem recently (all be it on a bathroom cabinet door). I found 600 was taking its time to shift the peel effect, so dropped to 400. Big mistake. Although generally the appearance is now very good, smooth and shiney, there are a few deep scratches that will not polish out.

As for products, I used well wetted and soaped wet&dry, some cutting paste, again mixed with soap and water, then Megs scratchX, then Sonus SFX1 to 3, all with the PC and sonus pads.

Painting with cans was a pain in the ***. Balancing too little paint/laquer (rough dull finish) with too much (smooth, but runs all over) was not easy. The laquer can seemed to empty at a ridiculous rate.

Phil

Probably my misunderstanding - I got the impression that OP wanted to run the paint down and give it a fresh layer, not just try to polish/rub.

Even then 400 is coarse for a professional laquer, but for a DYI job and a spray can I doubt if finer paper will make difference.

Sorry if I came across a bit sharp! didn't mean it like that.

with 2000 grit, it will take you some time, but it is worth it if you use a lower grit, you will only spend more time rubbing the deeper lines out with 2000 anyway.

if the orange peel is REALLY bad, just use 1200, then 2000

Remember, to fully get the defect of using wet sanding, you need to use a machine polisher as polishing by hand does not break the polish down properly. A machine polisher generates heat due to the friction caused from rubbing against the pannel. Something that cannot be achieved by hand polishing.

May be controversial, but I found the lacquer I used to repair the paintwork on my boot came off with my wife's nail varnish remover...

you can also get "reactivator spray" from halfrauds that breaks down the top coat, supposedly allowing it to re-settle, and smooth out orange peel. Never tried it, so don't know how good it is.

Also a note on the machine polisher heat thingy.......only counts for a rotary (spinny, if your being technical) polishers. Random orbits polishers like the Porter Cable type only spin with light pressure, otherwise they just wibble (again with the technical stuff), and don't generate the heat. Part of the reason why they are much safer in the hands of the partially trained fool (like me). Still gets most of the lighter scoring out though, but will not shift the deep stuff.

Phil

May be controversial, but I found the lacquer I used to repair the paintwork on my boot came off with my wife's nail varnish remover...

If it was single pack lacquer, like out of a spray can, it would do.

proper 2k . 2 pack clears dry/harden by chemical reaction, rather than evaporation. when set they are resistant to things such as nail varnish remover / thinners etc.