painting problem

[302fordracer]

ok so I painted my new front bumper about 2 weeks ago and I'm looking at it and the finished product looks and feels rough and not quite as shiny as the rest of the car...did I miss something??
I primed it (3 or 4 coats), painted (5-6 coats) and clear coated (4 coats)..

 

[95riosnake]

Everything I've painted so far on any car, I usually wet sand and buff it after the clear....that's a sure way to get the glass smoothness. I dunno if everyone wet sands and buffs, but that's what I've always done.

 

[302fordracer]

what grit sandpapr do you use, how wet do you get it and do you just use like a rag or what to buff?

 

[95riosnake]

I usually use 1000 or 1200 grit paper, and just keep dipping it in a bucket of clean water (it will get paint dust in it eventually though, this is ok) to keep it nice and lubricated while I sand LIGHTLY until it feels super smooth to the touch. After that I use a high-speed buffer and buffing compound, I'm not sure you could buff it out completely by hand, I've always used a high-speed buffer.

Also, for the sanding, if you can find some of the bendable foam type sanding blocks in 1000 or 1200 grit, they will help keep your sanding more uniform.

 

[RIO5.0]

Ya what Dan said....Get a block for sure...that'll help "flatten" the clear which gives a real nice look...All those little nerds in the clear wanna be sanded flat..
Dont wait either...the clear is easy is get flat when its fresh...as it gets a chance to age its MUCH harder to work...with 4 coats of clear youll hvae plenty to sand away the bumps...
A good buffing will get the look your after...

 

[302fordracer]

hmm it has had like two weeks sitting there..you think it'll still work??

 

[95riosnake]

yea it will still work...Rio was just sayin that the longer you wait the harder you will have to work to get good results, but 2 weeks isnt too much. Technically you can wet sand and buff a 20 year old paint job, it would just take a really long time lol.

 

[302fordracer]

I'm so pissed cause I know I have a buffer I just can't for the life of me find it

 

[pwcracer]

here is another thread, sim topic
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=531718&goto=newpost