i have been doing lots of research on 2k spraying and after painting a bonnet, a scoop, and a few doors i think i am starting to get the hang of things. however i am still getting the dreaded orange peel effect, although its not perfect its not far off the new car jobs! my question is, can you sand the base coat to flatten the paint, then apply the clear, sand that flat and give it a good polish/ buff to bring the shine to it? or.. how would you guys (pro's) do it in a shed environment? like primer, sand flat etc. first base coat very light, second coat full coverage let flash (15 mins or so?) then second coat full coverage. let flash then get straight in the clear coat? and maybe give the clear a light sand say 1000 wet/dry then polish to flatten and get shine? sorry for the long post but id like to gain as much info as i can. thanks guys.

theres no point in sanding the basecoat, as it will just make it look ****, and ur orange peel comes from ur clear coat anyway. ur best bet is to put the clear on wet enuff so u have minimal peel, but not too wet that it runs. you can then wet rub with something like 1500-2000 and get rid of all ur orange peel, being careful not to rub thru the clear, then give it a buff and polish, and it should come up a treat. with ur other question prime it wet sand with a block 400 then 600 wet sand by hand with 800 apply ur base in 2-3 coats, not wetting it up too much otherwise it will go patchy then once thats flashed off, 2-3 coats of clear, letting ample flash off time in between on ur last coat try to get minimal peel then get a light sand to remove any peel, and polish it up im a spray painter by trade so im not just talking ****.

umm ... i am not a spray painter but watched my mate paint black a gemini in 2pac ... until i see him again and ask him i am not sure he used clear .... i doidnt even know 2pac had clear He Cut the black back several times and its the flatest black i have ever seen !!! he uses some polish i will get the name of and also a 3m brand ... Dose 2 pac have clear coats? ... i thought it was an enamel of the gun etc

if the car was a flat black, (no metalic) then it would of been a direct gloss colour which means no clear would be needed. anything with metalic particles in it needs clear.

ohhhh well there you go ..... thanks NightmareZVL.

The best way to get a show quality job from 2 pak is to flow coat a car. Ive never done it (But i was a spray painter with qualifications to prove it) but ive seen it done. U Paint the car as per normal and apply ur 2 coats of clear. U then sand the clear dead flat. U then re mask the car and re apply a coat of clear ( i presume just one as i said ive seen it just not done it b4) and of course u apply it really wet. It WILL come up like glass , flat glossy and deep. No peel.

2 pak loves to orange peel good luck trying to get none.

Quote: Originally Posted by holdonv8 2 pak loves to orange peel good luck trying to get none. Ive painted 2pak (non flow coating) without orange peel. Also depends on the quality of 2pak i guess... i only used expensive quality stuff.

just paint as normal, then cut back the clear with 1500 / 2000 and buff it

i think why people get orangle peel in the clear is because they are scared of getting runs so they move quicker and not putting it on wet enough.

My point is the whole purpose of 2pak is off the gun gloss. Thats Y it exhists. Thats what 2pak is for. If ur gonna sand and polish and entire car u may as well paint it in acrylic. Saying that acrylic is easyer to polish than 2pak. And after being polished come up equally as good gloss wise as 2pak. (some spray painters ((not me)) even think better) So if u plan on sanding an entire car down to polish just paint it acrylic.

Quote: Originally Posted by spirit77 My point is the whole purpose of 2pak is off the gun gloss. Thats Y it exhists. Thats what 2pak is for. If ur gonna sand and polish and entire car u may as well paint it in acrylic. Saying that acrylic is easyer to polish than 2pak. And after being polished come up equally as good gloss wise as 2pak. (some spray painters ((not me)) even think better) So if u plan on sanding an entire car down to polish just paint it acrylic. i couldnt agree more with with spirit and by the soumds of things he really does know what he's talking about. remember: whole purpose of 2pak is shinny off the gone. now orange peel can happen for various reasons, i will give you a few: -if pain is too thick, (some paints cheaper ones need to be thinned out more than others) -low air pressure, less means it will spit out and not flow out - ventilation, if your painting in a garage sometimes 2pac overspray sits in the air and falls back down, causing a peel effect. -dust, remember to wet floors and everything as when dust gets onto or into pain it damages the flow. many of the worlds gretaes car restoresr use acrylic as there are many examples of acrylic solids having are much finer and flower rich look, acrylic is pretty much constatly emitting vapours and remember unlike 2pac it doesnt set to concrete hardness, its softer which makes it more repsonsive to a buff. i personally prefer 2pac, and by the way i have flow coated, and it is trully amazing. requires heaps of patience and a lot of stamina and hard work . u need to apply roughly three nice coats of 2pac clear over the base, then hit it with 1500 - 2000, i did it with 2000 3m and i spent three days rubbing being careful not to eat thru the clear. i thinned out the clear to increse flow and, hit the car with one heavy coat. let it sit. and wala finsish resembled a fregin mirror, well worth it. i wouldnt reccomend someone with little experience doing this as u need to be very comfortable applying the clear and knowing exactly what viscosity to mix it with and how slow/quick to spray a panel without getting runs. check all the little points ive put above practise on a panel a couple of times, and u should nail it.... good luck cheers joe

this is a good thread .... i am going to have a few little plays with this info.... might even buy a compressor Thanks guys Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

block the clear with 2000 then give it another coat of clear will look mint!

dont bother with a flow coat give it a extra coat or if ur confident u put enuff clear on and wont chop threw then dont bother then chop it all flat with 1500 making sure u dont get any grit on ur paper u will hear it also u can put a little soap in the water if u want it makes on paper glide better use plently of water too then machine buff with compound make sure u dont get too much heat into the pannel then give it a soft buff then wash then hand ploish

thanks you very much for this information, it is much appreciated, and hopefully it will help others aswell. i have spoken to a few local spray painters and they have given similar information. and as orange vl said i think half the issue is worrying about getting runs and not applying it thick enough. thats what i was told, the bloke said you want it on as thick as it can be without runs (easier said then done!) i have done a few panels and i am starting to become comfortable with the gun etc. i think for a backyardie job the trick is to do it in sections and not get to a head of yourself. i was goin to do the sections, like the front end, then sides, then roof.

Just a quick qustion, if i wanted a metallic paintjob, will i have to spray on a solid base(basecoat white for example), before the metallic paint??

Quote: Originally Posted by Smokeshow Just a quick qustion, if i wanted a metallic paintjob, will i have to spray on a solid base(basecoat white for example), before the metallic paint?? metallic paint the sparkels so to speak are in the can, you dont need base color unless you are puting a light color over a dark, then you can put a dark base down, just saves on good paint and wont take 30 coats for it to cover, or if you mean flakes, you put down your color and flakes go in the clear 1 or 2 coats of flake clear depending on the amount you want then 2 or 3 coats of clear with no flakes, hope that helps by the way nice work guys on the help for the other blokes site could do with more of that cheers

Quote: and by the way i have flow coated, and it is trully amazing. requires heaps of patience and a lot of stamina and hard work . u need to apply roughly three nice coats of 2pac clear over the base, then hit it with 1500 - 2000, i did it with 2000 3m and i spent three days rubbing being careful not to eat thru the clear. I have a question in regards to 'flowcoating'... How is it that once youve blocked back the original clear coat then sprayed another coat of clear over the dulled surface does the dulled finish not come through in the last coat of clear? If you get my drift....

The finish has not been "dulled" . It has only been finely sanded (scrached) so the peel is gone and so the paint will stick. The 1 flow coat fills in those scratches , removing them.