Paintwork !!

Just resprayed my rear panel in Lhasa Green but couldnt get an exact match, pretty close but not perfect !
it may be a stupid question but thought i would ask anyway, is it best to T-Cut it before i laquer or after ??
at the moment the paint looks quite dull, i am assuming when i cut it back and laquer it the paint should blend in and take on a gloss effect  :dontknow:
does anyone have any advice

cheers

I'm guessing but the paint IMO needs to be smooth before u laquer otherwise it will highlight any imperfection

Not much point T cutting a laquered car, clear doesn't really fade?!

I wouldn't laquer bodywork, it's doesn't seem right to me.

You have to leave paint a couple of weeks before 1200 grit sanding as neccasary and T cutting. Then apply a good wax, buff it up nice and leave it.

Peter.

Hello tallpete!! U not been about much lately. (sorry to go off topic!) Are you and Gareth venturing up to Gaydon this Sunday from darn-sarf?!! :wink:

Be good to see you both again

andy

RAW44 said

Just resprayed my rear panel in Lhasa Green but couldnt get an exact match, pretty close but not perfect !
it may be a stupid question but thought i would ask anyway, is it best to T-Cut it before i laquer or after ??
at the moment the paint looks quite dull, i am assuming when i cut it back and laquer it the paint should blend in and take on a gloss effect  :dontknow:
does anyone have any advice

cheers

You need to spray clear laquer over metallic paint, otherwise it will always look dull (this is why metallic paint costs extra on most new cars - there is an extra coat of paint (laquer) on it).

Not sure if you need to rub down the paint before the laquer coat - best ask a  paintshop guy, but if you are doing it, use rubbing compound (ask the guy about it), not T-cut (T-cut is for renovating old paint, by rubbing off the top layer, but it would be very aggressive on new, softer, paint).

You need to spray clear laquer over metallic paint

Would the Jury please disregard my last statement.

Andy,

I am coming, I am working on Gareth who is muttering about lack of cash?

Peter.

Use single pack laquer over the metallic - do not thin it - use it straight from the can.

I would not sand or cut the metallic unless it is really bad - just dull and the laquer will do the shiney bit.  Polish or cut the laquuer back if you don't get a great shine  

Guys, if at all possible don't 'flatten' base-coat !!! The lacquer is what gives it the shine. Don't leave it too long before you flatten the lacquer though otherwise it will get too hard and you will never get any marks out of it, best idea is if it's not in an oven to leave it until next day after lacquer then 1200 grit with PLENTY of water you then really need a machine ( buff ) and preferably 'farecla G3' ( you'll get this at www.frost.co.uk ) 'T-cuts' rubbish in comparison. Leave this another couple of days then go over it again, after this you can then wax it.

tallpete said

You need to spray clear laquer over metallic paint

Would the Jury please disregard my last statement.

Andy,

I am coming, I am working on Gareth who is muttering about lack of cash?

Peter.

Nice one pete - tell Gareth to get his pikey arse up there!! lol (Can you tow his Black Gti behind yours to save his fuel costs?!! :dontknow: )

As Cero said RAW44 its pretty straightforward.
Paint your rear panel in Basecoat,give it at least 2 even coats and make sure its not patchy.
Let the base dry and it should look dull.
2k laquer is the best to put on it but if you do have to do it with cans try and get at least 3 coats on but give time for the paint to tack off between coats or it will run like mad.
As Cero said,give it at least a day then 1200grit it with soapy water then go for 1500superfine it to give it a pucker smooth finish.
As its a back panel you can get away with polishing it by hand with G3 if you cant afford a rotary polisher.
Oh and last but not least,stand back,admire your quality work,and have a big beer!
Hope we have helped you out a bit.

Timski
         nice to have a painting expert on board   Have you any tips for the first time 2-Pack painter doing top coats in straight colour ?
Done loads of celly work over the years and have purchased and used my air fed mask to put the primer on , i am using Leckler products , i will leave it to go off a bit and will then wet flat ready for the top part . Any tips ?

Cheers..

Hi mate,firstly,good choice of undercoat as i find leckler very good to rub down and the finish is very very good.
This is how i normally do it but people always do it differently as it all depends on time etc
When you`v prepped the shell for paint i e DA`ed it or blocked it by hand with up to 1000 wet and dry(optional as people have preferrences) i give it 2 to 3 heavy coats of primer.
I then LEAVE IT to cure for at least 3 or 4 days sometimes longer so all the fluid/ vapours have completely evaporated and any sinkage has occured.(even when it goes in an oven straight away sinkage will occur)
Next spray a light film of matt black over the whole primered area (guidcoat)and let that go off before you rub the primer down.
When rubbing the primer down i start with a 500 grit DA disk and rub it down so all the matt black guide coat has dissapeared.I personally block it further with up to 800 or 100 grit wet and dry to give it a supersmooth finish but some people dry flat it with a just 4 or 500 grit disk but it all personal preference.

So once you are happy with your undercoat give it a good wipe down with panelwipe/pre paint to get rid of any dust/grease etc and you are ready to topcoat.
I normally give it a light first topcoat and let it tack off before puting a heavier second coat on and again let that tack off so it doesnt run before your final coat on.
If your not painting it in an oven  i usually leave it a good few days to harden off as i find the finish is better when you go to flat and polish it but some people only leave it a day and i said its personal preference or time that dictates this.
lNext to last but not least,wet flat it with 1200 grit wet and dry in soapy water and finish it off with 1500 superfine for a quality finsh
Lastly (i`m tired now!lol) put some G3 cutting compound on it and polish with a rotary polisher but be carefull not hold it on any point to long as it will burn through the paint with the friction.
JOB DONE
Admire work
Go to the pub and admire said car from the pub window!
I hope this has been of help to some of you.

Great advice guys   .

Chudd - which air fed mask setup did you go for in the end and how much was it? Did you invest in a new compressor just to feed the mask?

Cheers,

Chris

Great advice thanks Timski  . Now waiting 4-5 days    before i can crack on .




Chris

I purchased a "Willson" air fed mask and run it off my 14 Cfm 150 litre compressor with no problem . The mask was new on ebay delivered for ?80.00 [retail at about ?130.00] i did my home work first and would only recommend buying new for safety reasons .
The only thing i had to do was regulate the air to the mask at 35 psi using a simple guage so the spray gun still gets a full 60 psi .




Cheers……..

Thanks Chudd,

Not wanting to hijack the thread here, but just to check - you run the gun and the mask off the same compressor with a seperate regulator for each?

Also do you have to make sure the compressor is outside the garage when running it to ensure a non contaminated supply of air to the mask?

Does the mask you show in the pics come with a filtering system included or was that extra?

Last question, promise  :wink: . Can you post the ebay seller for the gear you bought (or PM it to me if thats easier). Have to say that garage is superb - loads of space - must make working on the golf a lot easier!

Cheers,

Chris

hi you will never realy get a 100% match,you need to realy do the rear quarter and blend it in with the door or even the whole side of the car,you need to apply your base coat which dries dull,then your 2pk clear laquar at least a couple of coats,the first as a dust coat leave till it goes tacky then a final top coat,or two,the probs with metalic is if you just put another coat of laquar on one panell it will apear darker,thats just how lacquar is,once painted leave over night and the lightly go over with 2000 wet and dry not 1200,then you need to polish with G3 this is a polish which feels gritty,after this you need to finish of with finesse it,you can get both these from any car accesory shop,which stocks paint,i wouldnt try painting metalic with aerosols you will realy struggle.good luck.steve.

Well hijacked sorry
Chris

Q .You run the gun and the mask off the same compressor with a seperate regulator for each?
A.Yes but off one air line if that makes sence i have a tee piece on the charcoal filter "supplied with the mask" [blue thing in the picture] , one goes to the spray gun with a small regulator and guage via a small hose and the other in to the mask filter . By regulating 30Psi in to the filter and 60 Psi in to the gun it works fine  . Check this link Regulator


Seller still selling masks but the not the same as mine click here Mask



Oh and yes my compressor is out side in a purpose made box sucking in fresh air .

Cheers…….

split60,as i said before,people paint and polish in different ways,you do use 1200 if you wish to take the top off the base coat,if you use 2000superfine you will be there all week.
I, like a lot of other painters use 1200 to take the hard top off the cured laquer then go up to 1500 superfine which is totally fine for the job and gives a great finish,using 2000 is a personall preference so please dont tell me 1200 is incorrect as i do this for a living and here are some pics of a car i did recently using 1200/1500 grits.


As for blending in the rear quarters,if you are just giving your rear end a tidy up there is absolutely no point doing this and is a waste of time,you hardly see any of the rear panel for light ,bumpers etc and blending is for a proffessional finish and not really for cans.
All in all people always have a preference on how they like to do things,there is no `1 way` of it so whatver way you think gives you the best finish is cool

And by the way `chudd`bloody good effort on your car fella,good to see people getting hands on with their cars!