Moved from Detailers forum: Help with new paintjob

[kaotikdt]

Hello everyone, a few months back I was rear ended causing my vehicle to receive a lot of damage. While my first thought was to part it out I finally decided to fix it and save for another vehicle. Finally after 4 months of waiting last week we painted it and today it is ready. Paint looks great but there are some areas that clear had a bit of run off. After some research and a lot of information bouncing everywhere, my questions are: When can I detail it and protect the vehicle? Is wet sanding necessary to get rid off orange peel? Any suggestions are very well accepted.



Thank you!

Wetsanding is the only way to remove orange peel and runs. You can buff it immediately and if you use a wax/sealant that is water based (Optimum Car Wax) you can use that immediately too w/o any harm to the uncured finish.



Isn't the shop going to sand it?

Hello, thanks for the reply. Well a friend of mine was very generous to offer his help as he used to work in a body shop. Now I wished I would've had a bit more time and not rushed through things (we all have something to learn everyday). I got rid off the orange peel and run-offs, but the fear of the worse happened. I burnt some areas of the paint! Yes, I wet sanded and used a wool pad to get rid off the 1000 grit using m-105. Everything was great until I stupidly decided to use an orange pad with 105 (I used a makita). Now we are back to painting. is this correct? at least that is what he suggested.



My other question is, why didn't I burn paint with a yellow pad, but i did with an orange. Same speed was used and it was set about 2 (I forgot the rpms scale). The only thing I am glad is that it happened with my car and not with a customers...

I really need your help as this will be performed again tomorrow. Let me note that it has been cold and may be the reason behind the burnt paint. My reasoning on this is because the clear is significantly soft. I seriously could have used my PC and removed everything. I dont know why I didn't. However I need your help, please.

 

[Envious Eric]

you thinned the paint with the yellow pad, and it finally gave way with the orange pad.



I have a question, why are you stopping at 1000grit anyway? and with harder clears available, why are you not using it? you always here about super soft Jet black and how hard it is to maintain, why would you WANT that? I would rather have audi clear compared to bmw jet black soft...harder to correct, but also harder to mess up

 

[kaotikdt]

Hello, I don't think I specified this well. I only used either the yellow pad or orange pad as the paint is fresh and soft. The reason why I stopped at 1000 is because it was taking for ever to level the paint using the 2000 and I was getting almost the same results, so i opted to use the 1000 for quickness. The clear is soft because it has not been able to cure, as it has about 3 or 4 weeks since it was applied. I believe no matter what clear you used it will be soft if it has not been cured properly. However the problem is solved. Here is what I wrote on the other threat, which I never meant to have two threads of the same, but it still happened. Just so this closes too here is what I wrote. Also, this is a VW Jetta which I would assume the clear is the same as the Audi. Maybe not, but I'm not sure with the VW groupd they do weird things sometimes :madgrin:

Hello everyone, thanks for the comments. The thread has been moved to the professional detailing forum. However, to end the thread here is the result. My friend does not have a shop, so all this was as a favor and he did it for free, so I really can't expect him to do all the work (I gave him money even though he kept saying no). On the other hand, the paint was not burnt or clear was not cut. It has been very cold here in Idaho, and we are almost sure the paint has not been able to properly cure and clear was excessively soft, hence the problem. Now, as I stated above, there were no problems at all on my procedure neither any problems created on the paint so we did not have to re-paint. We sanded off with 2000 grit and polished with an orange pad and 105 using a pc, and this took care of it just perfectly. Seems like the heat (which was not much at all, but mainly due to the paint not been cured) created some reaction with the clear making this weird spots.



I am definitely glad we didn't have to go through the whole hassle again. But if you are ever working with a new paint, and I mean fresh, remember to take weather in consideration and the amount of clear applied. Since I was there almost the whole time I knew I could have not burn anything. But always be careful.

this is the direct link if you are curious http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/134297-new-paint-how-treat.html