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started the process of painting with a base coat, but being so out of touch with painting I'm on my 2nd coat. To much orange peel so have had to sand a good deal. My problem was the gun I didn't have the air pressure settings on the secondary adjustment for air open enough which caused a few drips of paint from the tip. After i fiddle with the main air and paint vol and couldn't get it adjusted right I just went with it. Once it dries I'll sand it down some then try a third and hopefully final base coat. If i get good results with painting tomorrow I'll try and shoot some pics and post them. If it all works out then it'll be time for some clear coating.
Been postponing trying to weld with that cheap flux core welder and looking at some welders maybe even a mig welder. Though tig welding entertains me as it is a more controlled weld, but costly plus all the accessories you would need tips etc...
Since all this hold on welding, i'm thinking of starting to paint areas on the QTR panel that are far from the rusted areas to help protect it in the meantime. Just means more feather work at painting,
okay it turns out that playing with the air nozzle was a mistake. The point being is I got a major splatter playing with a different air nozzle which had a different pattern of air atomizer. Needless to say once i put back the original things got a little better. I was told by someone online who paints daily to leave the final base coat as is, do not sand it even with orange peel to add all paints have some sort of texture finish, just clear coat over it with a few layers of a good clear coat then sand to smooth out any orange peel or over spray. And then again someone else who also paints daily mentioned to me that if you want to get a deep rich flat glossy look sand the base coat then clear coat and then sand the clear coat. Kind of confussing when all these different people chat with you telling you different technics of how to paint. Since its a solid black sanding maybe the way to go just before clear coating.
Yup did that CDD408 put 2 coats on, but prior to that I sanded down the base coat to a smooth surface using 500 then a light 1500grit sanding using running water. After that I blew it with air and then let it sit for a while to dry through and through. Next day wiped it doe with Naphtha (yeah I know not the best product, but seems to be the only one that wont take off the coating) then gave it a coat of clear let it dry and sanded again with 500/1500 with running water. Blow dry then let sit for a few hours. Wiped down again and added a second coat of clear. Well I guess I'll be sanding down all this next, turns out I should of washed down the clear coat after sanding with soapy water and then hand dry it removing all the water. Turns out that even after sanding with running water blowing off excess water I had stains left from the water wash and even after wiping it down with Naphtha. After the 2nd clear coat I started sanding down the with 1500/2000 and all those left over water drop let left a stain on the panel you couldn't see almost immediately. Was very disappointed, but I should have known that Black is such a difficult color to deal with.
Well, I guess I'm on another 2 or 3 day venture to paint these panels. Haven't decided to either base coat paint again then clear coat or just sand down to the base coat (takes for ever) then clear coat.
Originally Posted by coryc85
I can't even see the orange peel on that fender. Looks pretty good to me.
Hey Cory, thanks, but if you look at the fender wheel well at the bottom of the pic you can see how blurry it is. If I ever get it to the point I want, I put up a pic to compare this and what finished product I'm looking for.
I'm not giving up though, just focusing on some other project too,like getting rid of those metal hurricane panels and going to Poly-carbonate panels which are way lighter and easier to handle. To bad the local hardware store I usually buy from is out of stock. either way I've been also drilling new holes to mount these new panels with, but I need to make a few metal brackets for areas that the more than one panels is necessary or required in this case like the garage door and the back sliding door which is a 8'x6'-8" opening. Now only if I could get the 2 of the neighbors to cut down these 45' high trees...
I would do all your painting at once, don't sand between layers. Paint your base coat and let it dry but not cure then clear coat let it tack up before applying the next layer. Anything you do between coats will be visible, unless you are a pro you would just be adding contaminates between layers. Don't worry about orange peel until after your clear is applied. Let it cure overnight and hit it with 1500 or 2000 grit wet sand until you get a good amount of the orange peel out. Then buff out the sand marks in steps moving to a polish. I usually start with a medium cut and work down to a polish on fresh paint.
Last edited by Spacemonkee23; 08-13-2018 at 07:12 AM.
I would do all your painting at once, don't sand between layers. Paint your base coat and let it dry but not cure then clear coat let it tack up before applying the next layer. Anything you do between coats will be visible, unless you are a pro you would just be adding contaminates between layers. Don't worry about orange peel until after your clear is applied. Let it cure overnight and hit it with 1500 or 2000 grit wet sand until you get a good amount of the orange peel out. Then buff out the sand marks in steps moving to a polish. I usually start with a medium cut and work down to a polish on fresh paint.
Hey Spacemonkee.... Thanks for the input. I have variations of ways and yeah especially on the Dark colors everything shows up especially black. Everybody shop has a different style and opinion as i have scoured around and gotten input all around. Some say paint tack then paint again and then clear coat in one shot. Some big time custom houses say sand between base coats with a final base then clear coat. Other hobbyist insist that each coat should be sanded down to remove imperfections prior to adding another coat. Since I'm just since I'm just and on and off hobbyist I'm taking the hard road and sanding each layer. Now to be honest with you so far sanding seems to give me a better flat surface and other than the water rings i don't see any sanding marks under the clear just the water marks (hard water rings). Either way to get those ring marks out its either sand and base paint black again then sand wash and clear coat OR sand down all the clear coat then clear coat again. I have time to ponder it right now and really considering what you said and putting a good coat of clear coat.
Okay I've had a few days of pondering this painting thing. Here's what i decided:
1) Light sanding to remove some imperfection, over spray, bugs, dust, etc...
Been told by many that the outcome will look better and the color brighter. Then again been told that it will change the color.
2) After sanding clear coat heavy, because i want a smooth finish I will end up sanding to a somewhat smooth surface.
Will make multiple passes using the wait a few about 20 min then spray again. Looking to get a good layer of clear on there.
That would be starting Tomorrow since the day of thought is over. Also After i clear coat it i will let it sit for a few days to harden.
In the meantime I've been asked by my son to drive with him up to Orlando, Florida where he's going to school to make sure he gets there AOK.
That means I'll be taking the long way home I'm guessing greyhound to Miami. With that there should be enough time for the parts to dry and be
ready for some wet sanding. So Monday and Tuesday will also be blank days for me as I'll be in transit.
If and only if these part come out great, I'll shoot some pics and upload them.
Getting ready to start on HOOD and CAB ROOF and QTR Panels.
Okay today i got a little painting done all the way up to 2 coats of clear. Still a little fuzz and didn't adjust my gun to good had the paint flow a little to open and got some runs on the first panel so that areas going to need a little more sanding to smooth that out. Still got a lot of orange peel, I assume that's do to the wind and humidity since it looked to rain today. not the a very bright idea to paint outside today, but hey I'm just trying it out. Going to cost me base paint, clear paint and acetone though. Anyhow I plan to sand done come Tuesday or Wednesday when ever I get back from Orlando the land of Mickey.
Here's a pic that shows you the orange peel plus if you look really good you can see the dust and some foreign stuff. Counting on that I put a good coat of clear to sand and smoothen it out a little better. Going to get some higher number sand paper to finish clean it up and then some polishing compound to clear it up. Hoping to get this done this week so I can start on the hood or QTR panel.
Will take somemore pics after its sanded and polished, for now these are being set aside till tuesday/wednesday to be sanded.
Okay got back on Tues late from Orlando after dropping my son off and leaving hime the 3rd gen 4runner. Smooth ride coasting at 65mph. Only on hipcup along the way the O2 sensor and Evap. Will have to work those out when the truck is back in Miami. Getting ready to buy a few things for it that are important like new timing belt, water pump and oil pump. Valve cover seal and spark plug seal, organic(red) radiator fluid and tires(maybe). Other accessories like parking sensors and rear camera underdash lighting I want to add as well all in good time.
Worked on the 87 4Runner yesterday a little considering the rain and the rain now I'm at a little stand still. i was able to sand with 1000 grit very lightly to remove some of the larger stuff, still see the Orange peel, but went on to 1200 grit and got rid of a little more. Being very carefull as to how much a sand and basicallt it just skimming the surface and yes it will take a long time to get to a somewhat flat surface. After the 1200 I moved onto 2000 grit be before i did even though I could a lot of OP I can see a dull or hazey reflection. Did the same thing a very light drift of the sand paper. I got one of those old sanding brick pads (soft not hard) like a sponge i use that as my sanding block. Thats one reason i just skim the surface cause if I use a lot of pressure I would same the entire surface rather than the crown of the peel. So far it looks like its doing the job, but again so little being scrathed off taking so much time. I'm sure there are easier ways, but i want to be patient with it as this is a learning curve. Looking over what the 2000 did, it did cut more of the peel just enough to look like a splash stain, but still orange peel. Went onto 3000 grit and you can still see some peel, but the surface feels smooth as a babies skin. If i get the chance today, i'll sand a little more with the 3000 to see if I can get rid of more of the silhouettes of orange peel, but this final sanding I'll use running water and some soap cause I notice some scratches probably from some dirt that flew onto it. Some people say to use soap with every sanding, but by knowledge if you do and happen to leave any bit of soap suds on there chances are you have fish eye when you try to paint after a sanding, so only the last and final sanding will be with soap since no further paint will be done. Running water to keep clean water rinsing out and foriegn material that may scratch it the wrong way. Of by the way if you're wondering, now DA sander just hand sanding like wax on wax off.
If everything works out I Will post pics on the final sanding just before the finish polish.
Oh yeah one more thing I haven't touched the cowl cover yet as I'm waiting to see the out come of this. The valance as well, but I'm think it would probably be better to not sand the valance and go straight to compound and polishing since the valance will be taking most of the beating when driving.
Thanks Cory... Looking to get outside shortly to sand some more with 3000, but I also have one sheet of 6000 I just think that's way to much.
I'm looking over all the rubbing compounds out there and Polishing compounds to see which I want to try out. Also thinking of what I want to use to polish
as everyone has a special polishing wheel they work with. I may just try a disk and drill to see how that works.
Okay, looks like I'll be doing a touch paint job soon. I didn't notice while I was spraying or while I started sanding. Noticed it way after so I sanded most of it down to clear it up, but I took out enough to reach the base coat which means I need to try and feather some clear coat later. Any how, I've started rough sanding the cab area of the truck just inches away from the windshield because eventually I need to pull that windshield and do some major welding, grinding, etc... i just don't want the the reat of the area to bad so I figured I'll paint it up anyhow. plus it'll be good painting practice trying to feather paint.
Here's a pic before I sanded of the area that i over sprayed with the run, I just can't understand why I didn't notice the first time.
I've sanded down a good deal so far and like i said I'm going to have to touch up that front part, but I won't do that until I'm ready to paint another part which I have started sanding down the cab to prime. Once I start painting the cab section, i'll do a little touch up on that front section.
Well started out doing some things around the yard AKA Yard work along with rough sanding the cab minus the area around the windshield. Removed a bunch of surface rust then rinsed down and let dry. Going to sand tomorrow just before coating with a little etching primer, then going to prime with the other primer. While I was doing that I started to sand the panels a little, but got curious as to how it would look once finished sanding. My neighbor was out doing some polishing on his ford, so I asked if he would hit me up with a little polishing in a small section so we could see what it would look like. Still have a bunch more sanding to do, I'm just lightly sanding so its a long process.
Here's a pic of the polished area and you can see some orange peel where I circled in red.
That shine is really amazing you can see the tree leaves above its like a reflection on a glass.
Did a little work on the roof taking off some surface rust, but what i noticed what may have been a flaw in the OEM primer. When I sanded it down there looked to be spots and worming of the coating(like someone water splashed no rust though) just flawed. Whom ever painted before me must have noticed it. I sanded a little with a flap wheel sanding disk because this wasn't coming off easy at all. In the pic to follow you can see where I went to bare metal. I did smooth it down a little with 220 to get a bunch of rough scratches out. I primed it with some etching primer and the a can of primer filler. Weather looks bad today to even thing about sanding so I postpone doing and work sanding it down, cause I'll end up priming again later with my 2k primer filler then paint.
Also did a little work on the hood, but didn't snap and pics of it. I have to fix the common problem with the hood which panel bonding the inner frame back with the actual hood. i might just do that today if I get the chance. Still working on those fenders. Got my pack of 3000grit sand paper in the mail yesterday and i have to say what my neighbor gave me is pretty much different that what I got. the one I got seems to sand better and the paper used seems to be tougher. I do like the quality of what I got. I even return a sheet to my neighbor so that he can try and he himself noticed the difference his quote was "harder to tear sheets and seems to grab better" which basically means it was easy to tear and you can feel it sanding.
Well I hope to get somethng done today if the weather clears up.
Didn't get a heck of a lot done in the last couple of days for various reasons including weather. So I had to stick with doing some smaller stuff. I needed a alternator for the engine I'm working on so I disassembled most of the one that blew on me a while back. Looks like all the major parts are fine including the rectifier and the only thing gone bad was the rear bearing which required to be pressed out and I had not setup my shop press yet so I stopped there. I did a search for alternators and found some guy up north about 30miles from me who had a in the box re-manufactured by Denso Alternator he stated that he was going to put in his truck, but before he could do that he got into an accident and totaled it. I offered him 35 because i have to drive up to him to get it and he agreed to the price,but he has yet to send me a location to pick it up. So waiting on that.
Since I couldn't work on anything big, I started working on something that had been bothering me for a while which was the gas door. Seems to be a common problem that the hinge rust and break. I ended up grinding the ends off to remove the pin and spot weld the hinge back together. Once spot welded and sorta cleaned up I fitted it up and there is such a big offset I had to stretch the hinge to seat it to were it look good. you can see in the pic number 3 where how its stretched and that is where it was welded.
#1 and #2 are where I grinded down the ends so that i could push out the pin. #4 is the pin after I hammered a little to straighten as it seemed to have curved a little, after that sanded it down to smoothen out the rough spots. And again #3 is the hinge welded back on and you can see how it stretched. Oh yeah, after welding the hinge I drilled the through hole to make sure it would fit snug.
I haven't primed it yet, i wanted to sanded it all down remove all the peeling clear coat and maybe coat the area around the hinge with some thing like an epoxy primer paint or a rust reformer. After painting and finishing, I plan to paste grease those hinges to keep a little longer.
Okay going to try and work on the hood this weekend, but I need a little help on what to use that isn't extremely expensive to adhere the hood frame to the hood panel. I tried yesterday using an epoxy weld to glue it back together and that snapped even after the 120 min waiting period as stated, but the minute I lifted it up the parts just snapped apart again. Sadly i don't want to pay $38 for a tub of panel bond which i hear is way better than it use to be. I saw some vids on U-tube showing the different products JB wled, loctite, devcon and gorilla comparing them. Turns out JB weld original and Devcon are better at holding up. Still not sure which way to go, but if anyone has a better solution please chime in.
08-05-2018, 02:08 PM
Starting up again
Any how, I've started rough sanding the cab area of the truck just inches away from the windshield because eventually I need to pull that windshield and do some major welding, grinding, etc... i just don't want the the reat of the area to bad so I figured I'll paint it up anyhow. plus it'll be good painting practice trying to feather paint.
