Hi,

I'm trying to paint a side mirror for the camry I have. I got an unfinished side mirror and I primed and painted with spray paint on the mirror.

I noticed the surface of the spray painted mirror is a bit rough. Should I wet-sand the base paint before I apply clearcoat?

It has been 20 hrs since I spray painted the mirror. It's long enough wet sanding won't strip off the spray paint?

If so, I'd use waterproof sand paper 1000 grit is good enough?

Thanks much.

What are you using to paint the mirror?

I used Duplicolor Perfect Match Touch Up Spray Paint.

Okay, so who wants to explain this......

DarrelK wrote::flatten: Okay, so who wants to explain this......

Darrel, thank you!!! That made me laugh!

Apologies to the OP, I will let one of this site's experts give you the answer that you don't want to hear.

I guess I used the wrong paint... ? Is that the bad news... .

Let me know which is the better paint to put on if that's what's needed.

If I can keep the paint on the mirror for 10 years it's probably good enough for me - I'm putting it on my 2001 Camry.

DarrelK wrote::flatten: Okay, so who wants to explain this......

Meh. Why not?

OP, Your paint feels rough most likely because you held the spray can too far from the surface. The paint has partially dried between coming out of the nozzle and getting to the mirror shell.

The paint you're using is acrylic and while this, in itself, is not a bad thing, it is more likely to demonstrate the problem above since it uses a very fast thinner, and lots of it, in the can.

Base coat is not meant to be sanded, but, since you've let it dry now, you might as well. Using a soft block and P800, take out the roughness. Clean and then reapply another two light coats. Hold the can closer and move faster to get an even, just wet coverage. Allow each coat to flash 15-30 minutes.

Allow to dry for an hour then clear. Presume you've bought spray can clear too?1K or 2K? If 1K then 4 light coats, again just wet. Allow to dry 24 hours, sand gently with P1200 (without going through) then apply 2-4 more coats. If 2K then 2 full wet (but not running) coats.

Spray cans tend to be frowned upon here because few people can use them properly and thus there are lots of calls for help. Even in the right hands they can be problematic, but sometimes I do see an application for smaller components, like mirror shells, where no compressor/sprayguns are available. Don't use them on larger panels - chances of making a mess increase exponentially.

The majority of issues that people have with painting have been discussed repeatedly on this forum.

It is highly suggested that before anyone posts a question, that they use the Search Function and visit the Info Center where there are multiple articles addressing proper techniques and common questions.

Thanks Chris for stepping up to help the OP. Like Darrel and others, I have grown weary with the rattle can posts.

Thanks everyone.

It was just a mirror, but I guess I missed some details to spray closer when using a spray can. I was spraying around 10-12 inches from the paint surface - I guess I'll move closer like 6 inches away.

I have 2k clearcoat spray can I'll follow the suggested steps.

Just a quick update:

So I sanded down the base coat to remove the roughness. Reapplied 2 more coats of base coat spraying from a closer spot like 5 inches. It turned out much better.

I waited for a day then applied 2 coats of clearcoat. Everything looked good except there were two spots with runoff of the clearcoat.

I let the clearcoat dry out for a day and tried to sand down the runoff trails. But I stripped off the base coat as I over-sanded the trails.

So I had to re-spray the base coat again I supposed. I sanded down the clearcoat somewhat, but not completely removing the clearcoat. I then applied base coat again.

I'm not sure if I did it right when I re-applied base coat without completely sanding off the clearcoat.

Someone can tell me if I do need to completely remove the clearcoat first so the new base coat will stick properly, or if just briefly sanding down the clearcoat is already sufficient.

Thanks.