perfect black paint
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looking to achieve that perfect black paint job. I have done some black cars in the past but looking for some info from you guys so I can make it really nice.
Just wondering, since clear is translucent, should the base coat be smooth as possible?
Meaning if there is a little orange peal in the black base, will that affect my final finish?
Just wondering… if I spray the base and completely cover the car and wet sand it smooth with say… 800 wet, could I mix a little more base thinned out to cover up once more and clear? Just a thought? And of course I would cut and rub when all done.
School me please.
Thanks.
the way the base lays out wont have an effect on the finish, atleast the blackness of it and it would be a waste of time to sand the base. the best thing you can do though is to clear twice. clear, block with 400 then reclear with a slow, slightly overreduced clearcoat, sand and buff. here are some pics of parts i did a few months back on a 41 caddy i restored.
[IMG]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/xtremek6/IMG_2498.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/xtremek6/IMG_2503.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m192/xtremek6/IMG_2510.jpg[/IMG]Amazing! :rock
Awesome finish JimC :woohoo:
Looks awesome, little curious to see the whole car now Jim.
[b]RatStang wrote:[/b]
[quote]Looks awesome, little curious to see the whole car now Jim.[/quote]:lol1 me too!! i have got so many cars out there that i did that are really nice and i have been waiting years to get a picture of. problem is i dont do the whole car. metal, body and paint, then they go back to the customer or another shop for the rest so it can be quite awhile until i see anything. sometime these things are people’s life long projects. :S the last two i did, the 41 caddy and 57 chevy shouldn’t take long though. they should have them together by the holidays at the latest.
That looks real slick jim! amazing reflection :exci
Hey Jim, thanks. from the picture it looks awesome. I have heard of that method before, but you say to use 400??? If I use anything less than 600 or 800, I see scratches. Whats the trick?
What method do you take to sand the first clear? Do you sand wet or dry and do you use air or by hand?
less than 600 in primer will make scratches show in a metallic base but blocking between clears is different. you wont see scratches at all in clearcoat. the only way you will is if you get dirt on the panel and trap it between layers. the higher grits just dont work the clear as flat. i dont do any wetsanding in my shop other than 3000 so i block with 400 dry. usually i get the 3m on rolls. occasionally for certain things i will use 400 on a da with a softpad but it doesn’t get things quite as flat. every job i do here always need to go through 2-4 clear sessions and its always blocked with 400 between. what you can do if you are worried is block with 400 then put a softpad on your da and buzz over the panel real quick with some 600 just to smooth things out. its really not necessary though. just work clean and make sure before you do that second round of clear that you clean, clean and reclean the panel so you dont trap dirt between layers.
You know Jim, I’ve always thought you were crazy blocking your clear with 400. :wak
I’d be terrified of burning through. I guess I’m just a pu$$y :rofl
I would imagine blocking with 400 will just be quicker, you could block with 600 but it would take longer.
I also think if you want to block dry you dont want to be using much more than 400, anything higher clogs real easy, and you would end up using twice as many strips.
Well 600 will certainly take longer but it also wont get it quite as flat. Remember coarser cuts flatter easier. if your using a mid solids clear and just pitbdown 2 coats then yes i might be worried about cut throughs but 3 coats of a nice high solids. Clear and your fine…….assuming you bodywork is good
Thanks Jim, I guess your right about the scratches not showing up on the clear. I didn’t think of it that way. I was thinking how it looks on the base with 400.
There is this guy I talk to all the time on a different forum that says he always finishes up with 400 before basing and never See’s any scratches. I tried it one time and had to stop and re sand everything up to 600. I like to do everything up to 600 and then run over everything real quick with 800 before I base. 800 seems to always be the best looking and never had any problems with paint lifting.Just wondering Jim… why don’t you like using water?
Do any of you guys use a Hatchen water bug sander?
Great work!
The biggest problem we have is profile mapping.Wet sanding the clear and reapplying gets rid of the problem.
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