Repainting the car
08-19-2009, 10:04 PM
#21
Registered User
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Danville, CA
Posts: 258
Car Info: Audi Q5 aka "the old man wagon"
wet sanding just works better and makes the paper last longer, so just depends on how hard u wanna work. wet = easier.
one tip tho, let the sand paper soak in water for atleast 20 mins before using it and keep wetting it.
If you are going to use primer, use a sandpaper around 500 grit, maybe even more coarse. I used 220 on an orbital sander to make it go quicker, but I had most of the car to sand.
Usually you just need 2 coats of primer, but if you have really deep pitts in the paint then you may need more. Primer is mainly to hide imperfections in the body.
Then for base color you should do 2 coats minimum with 15 to 17 psi. If you have the money do a third coat and a fourth mist coat with the air pressure turned down to 12 or 13 psi.
Don't sand the base color!!
As for clear coat, I've heard a few ways of doing it, but they all involve 2 coats. I've had the best results doing a light coat and then a heavy coat, both with 10 to 12 psi.
Its tricky tho because you have to get the clear just to the point where its going to drip, but doesn't. If anything its better to go a little heavier and let it drip because you can sand drips out, but adding more paint would be a pain.
Finally sand the clear coat with 800, then 1000, then 2000 and finally rubbing compound and then polish.
The sanding is really where all the time goes into these projects, but the better job you do sanding, the better it will turn out.
one tip tho, let the sand paper soak in water for atleast 20 mins before using it and keep wetting it.
If you are going to use primer, use a sandpaper around 500 grit, maybe even more coarse. I used 220 on an orbital sander to make it go quicker, but I had most of the car to sand.
Usually you just need 2 coats of primer, but if you have really deep pitts in the paint then you may need more. Primer is mainly to hide imperfections in the body.
Then for base color you should do 2 coats minimum with 15 to 17 psi. If you have the money do a third coat and a fourth mist coat with the air pressure turned down to 12 or 13 psi.
Don't sand the base color!!
As for clear coat, I've heard a few ways of doing it, but they all involve 2 coats. I've had the best results doing a light coat and then a heavy coat, both with 10 to 12 psi.
Its tricky tho because you have to get the clear just to the point where its going to drip, but doesn't. If anything its better to go a little heavier and let it drip because you can sand drips out, but adding more paint would be a pain.
Finally sand the clear coat with 800, then 1000, then 2000 and finally rubbing compound and then polish.
The sanding is really where all the time goes into these projects, but the better job you do sanding, the better it will turn out.
