I don't think that's fixable. That's one of the reasons metallics, pearls and candies are less desireable for less experienced painters (like me!) is because they are a little more of a challenge to touch up. What I've done on metallic touch ups is to first realize you need to spread the repair over a larger panel. For instance, if you need to touch up just a bit of that edge, hold the gun a bit farther back (like a foot) and gently mist the paint on until it's a close enough match as far as mettalic content and color. Also, you know how you're supposed to keep the gun parallel with the surface when painting? Well, touch ups are just the opposite, that is move the gun farther from the surface as you exit the repair area. I've had good luck with these methods, but maybe someone else can offer another plan.
the main reason most people have trouble doing repairs with bc/cc is because the base reducer is so aggresive, and it bites back into the clear (this is why base will lift clear until the clear has fully cured) try this: wet sand the entire fender with 600 wet or dry, cut it flat, dont just knock the dirt out.mask the rest of the car, and wipe the fender down with prepsol...now the fun begins! mix up enough base to do your repair, assuming you dont have any already reduced (with a high metallic, you want the same reducer as the car was painted with to start with, as it does make a difference how the metallic lays down) fill your cup about half full, and to this add just a splash (1 ounce or so) clear reducer. stir it up, and just dust the color on the area that needs it... dont get carried away, it will still lift the clear! dont just keep dusting, as you will get a dry area around the repair. after each coat, tack the whole fender, and add another dusting. after you are satisfied the repair is covered,blend your color back into the panel, tack one more time, then clear. one thing to remember, silvers and high metallic bases need to be sprayed just as they were to begin with, if you dusted color on when you painted the car, thats how you need to do your repair
Why? Doesn't the clear coat instruction label require reducer?jikelly said:
For best results, always remove every component possible. Not removing the front and rear fender moldings is a mistake. The base coat will be attracted to both sides of the seam leaving the area just inside the seam too lightly coated. Same with the clear coat, plus it's more likely to cause a web between the two parts that will crack later when the cast aluminum fender molding expands at a different rate than the steel fender.jikelly said:
short on base... oh noooooo!!! actually, you should be ok to have another pint mixed up, just stay away from the hood, and any other panel. YOU COULD use the new base to get the repair covered, and then use the first mix for the last, say two coats,,, how much color do you have, anyway? did you shoot it with a gravity feed gun? you could use a handful of clean marbles to displace a bit of paint if you are using a siphon gun (been there, done that!!!)your last coat should cover all the base youve applied, and medium wet, not heavy. btw, most clears allow for reduction with the proper reducer to help the clear to level itself. (less orange peel)
I actually over-reduced my clear by about 10% to help prevent orange peel. I'm not sure what brand of clear you used, but I've never heard of one that was simply shot straight out of the can. Does the catalyst act as reducer as well? Anyway, here's a shot what my door and fender look like before buffing, and laying on very wet with HoK clear.
Another possible problem is wrong tip size an/or too low of air pressure. Clear is typically very thin and requires a small tip. I use a 1.3 tip and 23 lbs of pressure at the gun, which on my gun equates to 10 lbs at the cap. Before you try again, spray a scrap panel with a bit of base and then clear and try slowing your gun speed down, moving a bit closer to your work and thinning your clear to see what the results would be and how far you can go without creating a run. I'll bet you'd be amazed at how wet you can get it, provided you let the previous coat flash.
chromedog said:
What you are saying may be a problem with low quality paint products, but good urethane clears will not lift with new basecoat applied over them. The problem with lifting is when you have sanded through the clear and the existing basecoat is re-wet by a new application of basecoat. The re-wetting of the existing basecoat causes it to lift under the clear. We do spot repairs all the time over fresh clear using Sikkens paint and do not have lifting problems.
i know im going to p@%% someone off, but here goes anyway...
chromedog said:
It sounds like you have a lot of experience with many refinish products. However, the first statement is absolutely not true--I work for Akzo Nobel, we formulated and manufacture Sikkens paint. There is no lacquer here. Lacquer is as aggressive as you get--that is why we clean our guns with it. As for chemical differences, many of the solvents used by the paint manufacturers are from the same sources and are the same. Formulation is generally different, but many of the basic raw materials are the same. The ingredients for Sikkens basecoat reducer are (from our MSDS): Isopropanol, methyl isobutyl ketone, 2-heptanone, butanol, hydrotreated light naphtha, ethyl alcohol, and butyl acetate. The first four items are the main ingrediants. Butyl acetate is between 1 and 5 percent of the volume by weight. The lacquer thinner in my garage is primarily butyl acetate and is a non-compliant product for California. Other cleaners are often methyl ethyl ketone. Compare the ingrediants for the Sikkens reducer to what you are using and I will wager they are very similar. I have, in a very desperate moment, used BASF R-M reducer in my Sikkens basecoat without a problem.
As for DeBeers, when a company hires a whole bunch of chemists from Sikkens (such as DeBeers did), the resulting products are going to be very similar. Our recent patents for our 5 minute curing clearcoat and waterborne products will be the separater as we move into the future.
One thing we do agree on is that the basecoat reducer is quite aggressive (even Sikkens), in fact, I occassionally use it as gun cleaner if I run out of lacquer thinner. Works great, but would probably be too expensive if I had to buy it specifically for use as gun cleaner.
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