raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

ive been painting small parts and random body panels off the car for some time
and it worked better for me when i just lay one very thin layer of clear let it dry for 5 min and then lay a thick *** layer of clear that looks like water surface. then let it dry and rotate the part to even out any runs that are starting until it dries enough and about 90% of the time it comes out clean.

but on a car having panels like doors fenders and q panel vertical i cant just blast it with clear coat since it will run.

but when i try to lay 3 coats of clear it still looks grainy in the end.


im using crossfire from napa most of the time cuz its cheap and im not a pro to waste expensive paint.


what do i need to do to get that nice smooth clear coat without runs?

how do you apply multiple coats
how thick each following coat needs to be and how much time to wait in between each coat

and is there any tricks to painting the roof? its kinda hard to reach when painting in your carage

PanchoEK

What kind of paint gun are you using, and do you what fluid tip size it has on it?
as far as getting a good shine,I would say it all about experience, the more you do it better you get at it. remember to try and overlap each coat about 50%. The way I do flash times between coats is I feel if the clear coat is tacky, if it is, that's when I apply my next coat

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

i use cheap *** harbor freight guns for now im still learning.
i did good when i just lay that last coat thick as water and let it dry it turned out very nice. but i can only do it on panels that are flat.

i tried that on quarter panel and got few runs

and i dont know the exact steps for doing mutiple layers of clear.
the thickness of each coat time between coats etc. whats the general rule to start practicing from?

heres my first full car




and heres using the touchup gun (the licence plate inserts)

PanchoEK

try and do 2 medium coats, and a little bit heavier 3rd coat, also go on youtube and look up now to spray clear coat, there are tons of how-to videos

raverx3m

iTrader: (1)

i watched some lol

i just cant figure out how thick to spray the last coat because if i spray too thin it comes out grainy and too thick its nice and shiny but has runs or am i mixing the paint wrong if that happends?

aftermath1312

iTrader: (20)

I also have a harbor freight gun. Actually I have 2 of them and they spray great. The tip on once of them is 1.4 and the other is 1.5. The 1.4 tip has work the best and doest leave orange peal. If your having too much orange peal on your last coat, then you can mix some reducer to spray your last coat of clear. You cant go too heavy or it will run since the clear got thinner with the reducer. The reducer will let the clear expand evently before it dries and leave you a more smooth finish.

NOTE: If you get a few runs on the clear you can always wet sand and buff out. Either way the car has to get a wet sand and polish. (if you want a celan detailed job.) After a few more tries you will know how much to spray so you wont get runs.

I painted my car 3 years ago and done many other cars.
I start with a thing overspray coat. move to a medium coat and 10minutes alter finish with a heavy coat.

Here is a photo of my car.

Hidenplanvew

Spraying clear, if you are getting ruff surface, you are spraying it to dry. You can turn up ur air presure at the gun for better atomaziation.

1 coat, 80% coverage
2 coat, 100% coverage looking more how you want the finish product to look.
3 coat, 100% coverage looking how you want the finish product to look.

I wouldnt be so worried about making it look like glass rightaway but learning the skill. You want each pass to overlap by 50%, yes it takes longer to finish but will apear better in the end. Also you dont need to wait 5 min, you are looking for a tacky almost "stringy" clear. You dont want your clear still wet but almost dry isnt good eather. Runs in the clear are telling you, you are to close or moving to slow.