So I finally got a sprayer, and before I takle anything big, I want to get some practice on smaller projects. I was thinking about painting my splash guards on my civic to match the body. As far as prep work, would I be better off going with light layer of filler and sand or would just sanding likely be enough to get a smooth, uniform layer?

 

first and foremost what you want to do is clear the living crap out of it.

use wax and grease remover on it and clean it up properly.
then inspect the part and see if it has any flaws on it ie. deep scratches, pits etc...


depending on the condition:

for light scratches/pits use 400 grit sand paper and sand it down
for heavy scratches use anywhere from 180-320 sand paper and sand it down

then you have to finish with a 600 grit dry sand paper MINIMUM.

now if you have heavy scratches make sure you use 400 grit aswell on it to take out the sanding marks left from the prior sand paper and then the 600 grit aswell.

if light bodywork is needed use some 2 stage spot putty and then sand as necessary and then primer it and sand that down before paint

if there is no bodywork needed then apply some adhesion promoter on it (spray) and then let it dry for about 5-10 mins and then apply your coat's of paint in thin layers with 5-10 min intervals. after that shoot the clear and then do the same in terms with dry time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Team Rukus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">first and foremost what you want to do is clear the living crap out of it.
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I think you mean CLEAN...right?

The have putty that is specially for plastics. You cannot just use any kind of filler because of the plastic being able to flex.
A good spray adhesive to check out is "bulldog" adhesive...
Good luck

 

great thanks for the replies! ill get some pics up as soon as i get some time to work on these