I painted the hood stripes with SS Black Satin urethane and ended up with too much paint applied and bad orange peel. (My bad) I sanded back most of the peel with 1000 grit now have it like in the photos. I'm thinking about shooting a few coats of clear over it. If I get a good coat on and sand and buff will that cover the remaining peel or should I sand till I get all the peel out?

that's some bad peel, I would try and get it smoother BUt you don't want to sand into the white. are you going to clear the complete hood ? you do know that the black will be glossy after the clear. I would go up to 600 on the o/p 1000 is just polishing it.
Jay D.

badsix wrote:are you going to clear the complete hood ? you do know that the black will be glossy after the clear. I would go up to 600 on the o/p 1000 is just polishing it.
Jay D.

You should have seen it before I sanded it! I had the wrong size tip in the gun. That's decision #2. Clear the whole hood or just do the stripe. I think just doing just the stripe will make the edge too thick. Maybe do the whole hood then hit just the stripe with a matt clear?

yep, your right about the edge if you just clear the stripe. if you clear the complete hood then do the matt clear on the stripes. you can use the fine line tape, then when you put your paper down just barely catch the edge of the fine line. then shoot the matt clear and right after the last coat of clear pull the fine line tape up the wet clear will gently round off the sharp edge. it sounds spooky but I've done this several times with good results. it helps to leave a tale for the fine line so you can grab it and pull it off. pull it kinda back so it pulls off clean.
Jay D.

badsix wrote:ou can use the fine line tape, then when you put your paper down just barely catch the edge of the fine line. then shoot the matt clear and right after the last coat of clear pull the fine line tape up the wet clear will gently round off the sharp edge.

Excellent idea! An alternative is to put a line of tape about 5mm away from your actual line. 18mm wide masking tap will allow some curves to be accommodated, but if they're straighter lines then 38mm wide tape is better. Then put down your fineline tape with one side to the edge you want and the other overlapping your first piece of tape. Masking paper or plastic can overlap the other side of your first tape. This way the fineline will pull away smoothly since there's nothing over it and any clear on the outside edge will go on to the first line of tape with no risk that it will get on to the painted surface.

That is some serious peel in the base. I'd try to sand it flat but be prepared to have to do it again if you go through (likely). Hold the gun a bit closer and use a slightly slower thinner so you get a wetter surface that won't flash before it flows out.

GOOD way to do the masking. I just never thought of doing it that way, its that mental block thing. THANKS !
Jay D.

Thanks for the masking tips. I'll sand some more and give it a try.

Update - I sanded as much as I dared without breaking through and then shot 3 coats of clear on just the stripe area. I sanded that back the next day and shot 2 coats on the entire hood. Sanded that to 2000 and buffed with McGuires Ultimate Compound. It's certainly not show quality but a heck of a lot better than it was and I'm OK with how it looks. Thanks for the input.

looks good
Jay D.

Excellent!