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Building Tips and technical articles. => Building techniques => Topic started by: Clint Ormosen on December 29, 2007, 02:07:10 AM
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Should I sand each coat of color before spraying another? For instance, If I shoot a base white should I smooth it before shooting red over it, and then sand that before trim colors and clear coats? I'm thinking a good rubdown with 1500 or 2000 paper would be in order.
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Clint,
It really depends on the surface quality of the color. If its level and smooth then just a light scuff may be necessary. With dope I wouldn't even do that. Now if you have some orange peal, nibs (gritty) or other irregularities, you'll want to smooth it before you add trim color. This will both save weight and aid in final finishing.
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Thanks Randy. It is dope and the white base came out pretty smooth except for a couple of little spots.
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If it were me I'd just spot sand, careful not to break through though, it'll read through.
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Kind of a pay me now versus pay me later. The rough spots won't get better and will cause you grief if/when you DO over-coat with another color.
Never hurts to break the shine when you got more color & top-coat clear on the way...
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As Brothers Randy and Dennis have said, it is all a matter of the quality youare looking for. The smoother the substrate, the smoother the finish. If it candles out smooth, a 800-1200 sanding would probably be real good, but light so as to not go through your base. If it were full of orange peel or other problems, then yu would need to sand it down until that is gone then repair as necessary. All the clear in the world will not take out imperfections.
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I would make one note. If the colors are solid, sand away. Just don't get it too thin. Colors like white, black or cold colors (blue, green, etc.) usually do fine. You have to be more careful with more transparent, warm colors (red, oragne or yellow) because they will change tone as they get thinner, especially if there is a bright undercoat. If you are using metallics or pearls or similar, you can't really sand them at all. It will just cause you grief, Trust me on this.
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I would make one note. If the colors are solid, sand away. Just don't get it too thin. Colors like white, black or cold colors (blue, green, etc.) usually do fine. You have to be more careful with more transparent, warm colors (red, oragne or yellow) because they will change tone as they get thinner, especially if there is a bright undercoat. If you are using metallics or pearls or similar, you can't really sand them at all. It will just cause you grief, Trust me on this.
Thanks, Randy. I was at Aaron's house and out of my element (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). LOL!!
Randy P. is 100% correct.
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Well right now all I have to worry about is the white. I want it to be as smooth as possible because I really don't want to touch the red with sandpaper for just the very reason Randy stated. I also want to keep the finish as light as possible so I dont want to have to put down any more than one coat of red. I'd rather have an extra coat of clear if I need it.
Thanks for the tips guys.
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Hey Clint, remember to heat the masking a bit when you remove it, I garantee it will save some pain.
Happy New Year!!
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And all you need for heating the masking is a hair dryer - not a heat gun. Too easy to scorch things, including your fingers, with a heat gun.