Advice On Completed First Paint Attempt

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 4:53 pm
Hello everyone. This is my first post here.

I recently painted my rocket bunny v2 bumper. It is fiberglass, but was costed with a black shiny material (allegedly ready to paint). I went to the local paint shop and got all that I needed to finish this job.

I unfortunately had gun issues being my first time. Once the paint and clear coats were on I had really bad orange peel. I know why, and I believe I know what I need to do next time to prevent (was all gun and pressure issues).

What I am looking for is advice on how to fix my mess ups. I primered (2k) 2-3 layers, paint 2-3 layers and clear was 2 coats. I sanded it quite a few times to correct the orange peel. Overall I was happy with it on its own. On the car it's darker and not as shiny.

I am debating redoing it all, but wasn't sure if it may be better to scuff it up and throw a new coat on.

What do the more experiences people suggest? Start from scratch and sand the whole thing down or scuff it up and throw some paint and clear coat on and buffer/polish it to shine.

Zoom in to see the color mismatch. I also had some spots where I think I sanded through the clear coat like the newb I am.

Image


Image


Hope the imgs work.


Thanks in advance.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:55 pm
Well, welcome and.... darn, no images yet. I don't generally like to comment on what to do until I see pics. but this is what I am thinking..... First, the shiny black stuff on the bumper was a sandable gel coat. You clean those, making sure to get off any mold release butter, etc., and then move on with your primer. Unless that bumper had a bad shape/surface to it you really didn't need that much primer on there. The sandable gel coat, when properly prepped/sanded can usually be hit with an epoxy seal coat and then move on to base/clear.
As to where to go from here....if I really wasn't liking it as much as you say....I'd probably be sanding back to the black gel coat (don't remove it though!) and calling my first process a "learning curve." I mean, it's ultimately up to you but excessive paint film/build can easily lead to premature paint failure. Look up "posting pic.s" on here and give that a go again. This site will actually host your uploaded pic.s.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 11:30 am
Thank you for the response. I have been mulling over it since I did. I do think I am going to just start from scratch. It's not that bad now that I know how to use the gun better.

I will sand to the gel coat and throw one layer of the 2k primer on there. What is recommended for base coat, how many layers? I've heard and been told 2-4 of the base coat and 2-3 clear coat.

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:09 pm
Okay, so guys get wayyyyy tooo hung up on "coats" when it comes to base. You want to put on base until "hiding" is achieved. Make sure you've got good lighting where you are shooting and don't be afraid to roll the car or parts out in direct sun as well to check. Some colors will hide better than others so maybe a couple of coats would do it while some brands of base coat (PPG's Omni is infamous for this) might require 4 or more. Number of clear coats again has to do with "who's" clear, is it a high solids clear, are you doing a cut and buff, etc??? A cut and buff would require a minimum of 3 coats as you are quite literally cutting one entire coat off by sanding.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!

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