Painting brat, how to get smooth finish?

Flowmastered87GL · Post by **Flowmastered87GL** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 10:28 pm

I am repainting one of my brats in my garage. Since its only a $500 brat to begin with its getting done with Krylon. Dont laugh or kill me, it actually looks good where the surface was smooth.

I had sanded the whole body first, but the hood had some areas where the color below had been kind of peeling. I had sanded it to where it felt smooth, but now its still showing through the paint. You can kind of see where the paint looks less smooth and shiny (where its over nice paint) and then its kind of rough looking where its over the nasty stuff.

Do I have to sand it all off down to the bare metal and re-do the hood?

Or can I just sand it slightly, maybe re-prime it and then re-cover it?

Or hell, just maybe wet-sand it and then hit it with another coat?

I am using the little red handle with the spray trigger... gives WAY better results than a finger on the nozzel. It actually has a smooth shiny finish on the fenders which were good to begin with.

For those wondering its basically rally blue from the WRX, just in Krylon form.

ScreaminMimi · Post by **ScreaminMimi** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 1:20 pm

You could just wet sand itand give another coat. The paint wll flow better on the painted surface than the roughish parts where there's more tooth for the paint to absorb into. If you redo it, you'll have take it all the way back to metal and prime so you have the same tooth for the paint to grab.

I'm in the process of filling a gazillion chips on mine made by those tech school students... fill/sand, fill/sand, fill/sand. Almost ready to buff them out... it's a long process. It's a straight enamel with no clear coat, so it's a rather brittle paint to start with and chips easily:(

blubaja03 · Post by **blubaja03** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 2:41 pm

Hey,

I am in autobody school. I have paint class this semester. If you really want your finish to be smooth, you're not going to get it from krylon, or any paint cans. I'm sorry if this isn't the answer you are looking for. But it is hte truth. lol. You should wet sand the whole car down with 800 grit sand paper. Very tedious, yes, but worth it in the end. Macco sucks primarily, but if you have any other options, such as friends who have paint booths, try them. Anyway, wet sand it down to the primer, or basecoat. Then, Macco it. Good luck.

Frank X.

cyphergirl · Post by **cyphergirl** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 3:27 pm

blubaja03 wrote:Hey,

I am in autobody school. I have paint class this semester. If you really want your finish to be smooth, you're not going to get it from krylon, or any paint cans. I'm sorry if this isn't the answer you are looking for. But it is hte truth. lol. You should wet sand the whole car down with 800 grit sand paper. Very tedious, yes, but worth it in the end. Macco sucks primarily, but if you have any other options, such as friends who have paint booths, try them. Anyway, wet sand it down to the primer, or basecoat. Then, Macco it. Good luck.

Frank X.

Hey, I've got two buddies who have absolutely beautiful DutchBoy finishes on their cars.

Flowmastered87GL · Post by **Flowmastered87GL** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 6:54 pm

Sorry I cant get this brat the paint job it deserves, but Krylon generally is the answer in this case.

It has 205K, it runs great but has rust on the left rear 1/4 panel and some on the right rear rocker. I am fixing all that, but its not going to be a show stopping piece. Just a nice respectable, looks good from 5 feet away brat.

ScreaminMimi · Post by **ScreaminMimi** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 7:11 pm

Do the wet sand and second coat... that blue will shine no matter! Besides who's gonna worry about it with all the MUDDING you're gonna do!!!! I wish I could get into the real mud! I got my Brat's feet dirty on the road to the junkyard! edrach sent me some pics of his Brat and I think I saw Qman's? You run with them don't you?

Flowmastered87GL · Post by **Flowmastered87GL** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 9:00 pm

At this time when I do rallycrosses with Ed and Qman I use my 87 GL wagon.

Both my brats are uninsured at this time so I cant drive em. Not to mention the mudder still has a bad clutch. This blue one is the street brat.

I'm thinking wet sanding and afew more coats will fix it.

The coats have been light so it may take a couple to make it smooth.

The doors already make a nice reflection with one coat though

If this blue brat happens to be finished and up for sale during the next rallycross... I'm running it!

Flowmastered87GL · Post by **Flowmastered87GL** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:43 pm

Well the paint coverage is looking better now...

The whole body will get wet-sanded after I give it all a uniform coat... still need to take off the cracking and peeling stripes from the roof and then touch up the rear rockers and left rear fender (rust cut out and weld in patches)

After that its getting a herculiner lower tone and bedlining and its done!

Its already looking awesome with the rally blue!

Pics will come once Its rolling around outside again.

ScreaminMimi · Post by **ScreaminMimi** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:58 am

Whoa... don't wet sand the final coat of paint unless you're planning on clear coating it. Even the finest grit paper will dull the finish.

Tim's repainting his 1950 F-1 truck right now... it looks awesome. He's at the stage of wet sanding to knock down the hard shine and orange peel in the clear coat and buffing to a nice rich shine. It's pretty labor intensive.

cliffhanger · Post by **cliffhanger** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:34 am

good luck with that paint job, im sure it will look nice!

Flowmastered87GL · Post by **Flowmastered87GL** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 10:47 pm

at this point I was planning on clear coating once I get a nice uniform smooth coat of paint on it.

Or maybe sanding it smooth then hitting it with one more master coat of paint... either way should look good as the paint is good and glossy as long as it has a nice smooth layer beneath it.

ahyesiam · Post by **ahyesiam** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 10:48 pm

If you want it to shine more and hide some of the blems left in the master coat,lightly scuff the coat you have on it now with a scotch bright pad (a new clean one not one from the kitchen sink), Wipe it down with clean water with a few drops of dish soap and a cap full of rubbing acohol befor you spray it. Put two or three coats of Krylon clear on it and you will be amaazed. You dont need to have a shine on the master coat to do this just good coverage. The clear goes on smoother and will be more durable. With a couple of good coats of clear you can buff out any over spray or orange peel with a mild rubbing compound. Use 2000 grit and wet sand the orange peel if needed before the rubbing compound. Just becareful not to go through. You can still do touch ups later if you get scratches in it.

However 15 can of Krylon at 3 bucks $45 and a gal. of American finish and a gal. of reducer is $44. I am a painter by trade, mostly sign these days and I do the Kylon thing alot on signs just becuase it is faster and no gun cleaning. I just finished spraying four cans on a 4x8 sign today to give it a good seal and to keep it from fading. Thats the big problem with Spray can paint is it will fade fast and get dull. the clear should be good for 2 to 4 years and longer if kept waxed.

BTW Krylon is the best for using in an airbrush. the consistancy is perfect.

Good luck and lets see some pix of your progress.