Laid the top coat, now what?

[Nessism]

after closely looking at the scuffed basecoat i noticed i'd have to do a few touchups where the primer started showing through (on the edges, as you would expect for a novice ).

so, i opted for another wet basecoat all over followed by two wet clear-coats. also finished off with what you pro's call a control dry coat and that worked a treat. there's some dust crap stick to the top of the tank, i hope that's going to dissappear with sanding

now, in this scenario how long before i can wetsand and what grit to use? 600 again, or something lil' finer?

cant wait to see the decals on!

...patience now, patience...

Yup, cutting though the base coat, or disturbing the metallic layer is why I don't like sanding the base coat. I think you are on the right track; flatten the clear by sanding before applying decals.

Regarding the wait time before sanding, this depends on the type of clear and whether you are forced drying (baking) or curing at room temperature. Read the product data sheet for the particular clear you are using, most require an overnight cure before sanding unless you bake the paint to set it faster.

As a side note, my general preference is for slower drying paints since they seem to be less brittle. PPG 2001/2002 clear was my favorite but its hard to find now because it has higher VOC's than some of the newer clears. The new stuff tends to set up faster which is convenient but I'm just not sure about durability.

[psyguy]

update

I've sanded back the clear with 600 wet to a mostly uniform finish but there are a few dots that i think must have been small bubbles around bits of dust that got stuck in the clear . I hope these will disapear with the next two layers of clear as it doesnt seem practicable to keep sanding back any further. Any thoughts?

I applied the decals to the side covers and while happy with the overall result there are a few small bubbles of air trapped in a few places .
luckily most of them fall righ behind the badges so they wont be visible .
i used the dry method to attach the decals so i think i'll try the wet method for the rest of decals as i assume this would allow for the air to be pushed out more easily.

pics to follow

[Macguyver]

I've sanded back the clear with 600 wet to a mostly uniform finish but there are a few dots that i think must have been small bubbles around bits of dust that got stuck in the clear . I hope these will disapear with the next two layers of clear as it doesnt seem practicable to keep sanding back any further. Any thoughts?

If possible, remove them, if not, try and flatten the tops off of them. They should bury with two coats of clear on top. You will have to wetsand the area flat once the clear is all cured up, then polish it to make it visually blend into the rest of the clearcoat to be unnoticeable.

I applied the decals to the side covers and while happy with the overall result there are a few small bubbles of air trapped in a few places .
luckily most of them fall righ behind the badges so they wont be visible .

Trapped air bubbles can cause your decal to peel because of expansion/contraction of the trapped air when heated/cooled. (read, bad)
If you are going to clear over them, take a pin and carefully poke a tiny hole in them and gently work the air out. The clearcoat will seal them up so the hole won't be open anymore.

i used the dry method to attach the decals so i think i'll try the wet method for the rest of decals as i assume this would allow for the air to be pushed out more easily.

You got 'er Pontiac. Just make sure you get as much of the water out from under them as you can.

pics to follow

We like pictures!

[sschering]

Just wanted to make a comment about the dust..

One of the tricks my painter friend uses when he has to use old dusty paint booths is to wet down the floor and intake air filters..

the dust stays trapped in the water and not flying around the booth when the air starts blowing.

[psyguy]

thanks Mac

If possible, remove them, if not, try and flatten the tops off of them. They should bury with two coats of clear on top.

i have flatten the bubbles and they now look like a small shiny circles aprox 2mm in diameter.
still a prob you think?? i sooo dont want to mess it up now!!

[psyguy]

decals all done now

[psyguy]

question:
what do i use to plug the holes for the tank badges' screws when clearcoating?

[Macguyver]

thanks Mac
i have flatten the bubbles and they now look like a small shiny circles aprox 2mm in diameter.
still a prob you think?? i sooo dont want to mess it up now!!

To be sure, I would have to see them, but if they are as small as you can get them, I say go for it.

question:
what do i use to plug the holes for the tank badges' screws when clearcoating?

I believe I used a 1" long piece of a round wooden shiskabob stick on the last tank I did that required it. You could also use a long bolt that is the right size/thread pitch.

[cyclefvr2]

thats the first place it will rust, cause of bare metel screw/ holes
when you put the screws back in you might use a sealer, sillacone or something?

[psyguy]

good point on the rust from the emblem srew holes! i've let some clear in and with stainles screws hopefully it should be all right.

i've now clearcoated the lot (pics to follow).

the sidecovers look great so that's it but the tail and the tank i'm not 100% happy with. the tail's got a few imperfections around the edges (as they are rolled/rounded or raised, if you know what i mean). but that's not going to be a prob as with the side covers now done i know i can get equally good result on the tail. i hope

on the other hand, on the tank there are areas that are not fully gloss but more satin. i'm a noob so not sure what might have gone wrong. i think the problem may be that after i sprayed the whole tank i went back to a few spots where i thought it needed more clear (as it looked a bit like orange peel). is it possible that in doing so it disturbed the surface that was already there and that the last spray did not blend in?

i guess the good news is that i have lot's of clear and sanding paper so it's just elbow grease to do it one more time. or a few more times, lol.

[psyguy]

all done

thanks for all the help guys, couldn't have done it without you!

here's some pickies for all you gs lovers

[psyguy]

damn, why are the pics so small??

[psyguy]

[psyguy]

ok, that's better!

[psyguy]