I did my the smart parts of my e-brake w/ krylon fusion red, came out well w/o any primer. its got some chips in the paint after 8 monthes of use however since you pull the e-brake every day.

 

Well folks, this is what I have so far.

First, I removed the three dash pieces, washed and sanded them:


This is my tarp. lol. I also have a dehumidifier (cant spell) running to keep the humidity around 50 - 60%. I am using the USPS boxes as "props."


Here are the troops!


Primed...


All ready for paint.


Well, thats five coats of paint. I'm too afraid to wet sand now.


Ready for clear in the morning.

 

Does any one know why the clear coat isnt leaving a high glossy shine? I wet sanded the paint this morning, then I did 2 coats of chear. Then wet sanded, then another 2 coats of clear. The clear is also leaving kind of a rough finish. Any one have an idea?

BTW, I have a dehumidifier in the room keeping the humidity at 40%, and a small heater keeping it around 82-83 degreese F.

 

First, it looks like you took the necessary precautions to successfully pull of a point job without a spray booth. However, the lack of gloss may be due to your choice of paint (I am assuming that you primed the panels first). Back when I used to shoot my own restoration projects, I preferred automative lacquar since you were able wet sand the stuff to a beautifully high gloss as enamels do not typically respond well to wet sanding. That being said, I've gotten seriously nice results using hobby-type paints, specifically Tamiya Sprays which dry to a high gloss finish with no extra work on your part, particularly their clear coat which drys like glass. Of course, you have to make sure that your clear coat is completely compataible with your colour coat - I'd stick to the same brand.

You may have to strip off the old stuff but that's not really much of a hastle - there are many such strippers out there at regular hobby shops which work on their own and don't involve the tedious scraping of the old days.

BTW, I've used the same tarp and prop technique as you with good results.

 

Thanks for the reply. All the paints are compatible and yes I did prime the surface first. I think my problem is that it is too warm in the room. I am going to turn the heater down, wet sand, then apply another coat of clear.

Thanks

 

You will find taking the parts to a pro painter won't be that expensive, you should call around. They'll probably use an epoxy-based paint and then bake on the finish with multiple wet-sands, probably only about 75 to 100 bucks if you find the right guy.

 

NCdave, did you use Tamiya TS paint?

-Cody

 

This is so weird....I mean, if I wet sand, I can glide a MF towel over it with no prob. If I apply a coat of clear, I cant even move it over the surface.

 

You can't say I didn't warn you though . Spray painting is a PAIN IN THE ***!


I had similar problems when I attempted to do this on my own with the clear coat not making the paint shine. Like I told you in the PM, wait a couple days and go at the panels with some rubbing compound (make sure you work it in REALLY well). If all else fails, bring it to the body shop to get done...

 

Yes - Tamiya TS Paint is absolutely brilliant. I've used it for years for scale modeling and found that it works amazingly well on lots of other applications.