rosco wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2018 7:46 pm
Bit busy at present, Craig - but always in contact.
Hope you are not waiting on me for procedure......?
Ok, so - we have our canopy etched... which etch did you use?.
Do you intend to spray in acrylic (thinner based)?..... if so, have you been down this track before.
Acrylic is just so "forgivable"... even if you stuff up spraying, you can recover and produce a pretty good finish by compounding...
If you are looking for a "mirror" finish - I can walk you through how I go about it, but - to match that of the Ute... we are probably aiming for a little less "finesse"....
I would encourage you to use a "guide coat" - a cheap black paint which only serves to be removed by rubbing it back to the point of removing all dips and high spots...
It is only a "misting" coat..... the more you put on - the more you'll have to rub off....hence the term "guide".... it is meant to be totally rubbed off.
Once you have the primers built up to the point that this guide coat reveals a level surface - we can go about running some top coats over it.....
Rubbing them back will produce the finish which parallels that of the Ute....
Final top coats will build up further build to work them down with a buffer to produce the finish you seek....
It's really all about how much work you wan to put into this to match what you already have.... I am guessing, the Ute is not mirror finished and more than likely has a "fluttered" sheen to it... with some "mirror" spots which have been worked down by numerous hand applications of "polish" (which actually has cutters in it) over the years..... ?
For now, with a deadline and time constraints - I'd recommend hitting it with a number of primer builds... not too heavy, but say - three good sprays of a reasonably generous coat - with perhaps 10 minutes between each for the thinners to find most of their way out.
Let that go for a good two days in good ventilation (air ) without sun on it... then, the very light "mist" of black guide coat.. 20 minutes, then start working the primer down with as hard a block as you can find and as long as the panel will allow for a continuous run when rubbing......
Work this wet with water..... stop! if the undercoat of etch shows through.... it will then be a "high" spot - rubbing further will bring you back to the substrate..... we need to build up the primer again..... and, another two days.....
When you reach the point where the guide coat disappears and no etch shows through - you are then ready for top-coating....
It's then only a matter of applying a number of coats to build a surface from which a great finish can be achieved.....
If your top-coats become "grit".. for goodness sake stop - no number of further coats is going to help... the paint had dried before it has hit the surface - and nothing will fix this other than blocking it back..... to a "dull" flat surface onto which further top coats must be sprayed....
This "sand" is a result of either the paint being too thick, temperature too hot, distance too far from the gun or the gun passed too quickly on the run...... once it shows up - stop!.... you can't "fix" this by further spraying.
Too wet is not so bad.... it can be blocked down and yet a good finish achieved..... but, it's far from desirable...
You really need to find a "balance" between wet, speed and distance - that's all that spray painting is about.....
I'd suggest, finding a "donor" surface to work on before applying top coats to your job.... an old fridge door is absolutely perfect...
Play around with pressure, mix, distance and speed of the pass on this door before you commit to the workpiece.....
and finally, confidence.... if you dilly-dally with a job (much like welding).... you are not going to be able to achieve the end result....
You must be able to walk up to this and hit it like Mohammed facing the mountain.... here, that fridge door will work wonders for your confidence......
Acrylic is the easiest of paints to apply with spray painting... I absoluetley love it... I have achieved some magnificent results (pat on back here) using some pretty ordinary equipment ( an airbrush at times)..
Let me know if you want more... but for now, you seem to be at the primer stage.... you will need some firm rubbing blocks (do not for one moment believe that you can achieve this by simple hand rubbing with fingers on a piece of wet and dry)... hard, and long...... and criss-cross your rubbing .... the guide coat will then show up all the "voids" which either need more primer/filler or where etch will show through to reveal the "high" spots........
I'm certain we'll be posting more here...... time is your biggest enemy.... primer needs time and airflow to let the thinners out... or you will find it will "sink" if you attack it too soon....
frats,
Rosco