Fresh acrylic lacquer, now what?

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rgfllamas

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I've read as much as I can find and I'm still not sure how to proceed. I've got a '63 vette roadster that I just resprayed with a dark blue metallic acrylic lacquer, 3 coats ss base then 3 coats of clear. It was done a week ago. No sanding was done between the coats so I do have a fair amount of orange peel to deal with. Two days after spraying I wet sanded several panels using 3M 1000grit wet on a spongy pad just to see how it would clean up. I didn't get too aggressive, maybe removing 80% of the peel on the panels. Looks OK. The car had been disassembled prior to the paint, then the doors, hood, deck lid and rear valence were temporarily reassembled for paint. I'll have everything off again, so I can work on most of the surfaces horizontally when I finish them. I also have a lift to raise the car to work on the side panels.

Here's my plan: finish wet sanding with the 1000 then repeat with 2000 and finally 3000, then use a Flex 3401 with M105 and on to M205. Then in a month or so seal or wax it.

I've got zero experience. I have none of the equipment but I'm willing to get whatever I need. From what I've read I don't think I want to attempt a rotary and I'm not sure a pc would be enough, therefore I'm thinking flex. Am I on the right track? Is lacquer soft enough to get by with a pc?

Any input is welcome

Thanks,
Ken
 
Well that is a fun project you have there! It is a rule here that you must post pictures of this! I don't have experience with acrylic lacquer but I believe I have read it is soft. The real question is about the clear coat as that is what you will be working with. I personally wouldn't tackle this job without my rotary. You may want to invest in and look into machine sanding as there will be alot of sanding taking place.

In my experience with painting and finishing take your time with sanding. The more thorough/meticulous you are with sanding the better your finish will turn out.
 
Hey Ken,

First things first; :welcome: To Autogeek!

Now for the fun stuff.

You certainly picked a classic Corvette to cut your teeth on but if you have patients and proceed slowly you should be OK. :props:

Was the paint actually dry enough after only 2 days? I did this a long time ago and we used to wait at least a week to give the paint enough time to out-gas the remaining solvents and harden up.

Was the clear one of the new urethane clears used on todays automobiles or was it just clear lacquer?

I agree with Jon, a rotary polisher if the way I'd approach this but if you have a Flex 3401 this will work, just take longer.

Instead of going through a step by step, Mike Phillips has done a great job writing on this particular subject. Take some time reading through what he has to say and then stop back.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...8-wet-sanding-color-sanding-damp-sanding.html
 
Thanks for the replies.

I've read a lot of the articles Mike has posted and found a wealth of info,I'm still reading them as I find them.

I agree that 2 days is too soon to try to finish lacquer, I guess I was just testing to see if I had enough paint to clean up the surface without breaking through the clear. I didn't try to get it perfectly flat, knowing I would be going to a finer paper to get it really smooth. by the time I get back to it close to 2 weeks will have passed, should be pretty stable at that point

I guess my primary concern is the lacquer finish, yes the clear coat is lacquer, I understand it's softer than the new catalyzed finishes and I'm sure most if not all I'm reading is based on the newer finishes. In one post, I read about the 105 taking out 1500 grit scratches by hand then in the next post I see recommendations to use a rotary with 105 to take out 3000 grit scratches. Seems like one extreme to another. If lacquers relatively soft and I finish sanding with 3000 shouldn't the flex be the way to go? If I get an assortment of pads should I be able to get a combination that works well? I'm going to have to buy whatever I end up using, so I want it to be as versatile as possible. I gotta think I would probably never use a rotary again and the pc or similar is going to be a little light for the job at hand. If the flex can handle this job I'm sure I can use it to brighten up my other toys as well. Yes?

Are there other methods or compounds I should consider? My choices here are based solely on what I've read in numerous posts. The flex seems to be highly regarded as does the M105/205.

Will try to post some before pics in the next day or so.

Thanks once again,
Ken
 
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