In what order (Paint/wet sand/clear)

[BlackDak]

I am painting my splashguards. I already scuffed them, primed them and sanded them nice and smooth. I painted them with spray paint from the dealer, they look pretty good.

I know I need to wet sand, and I know I need to clearcoat. I don't what order to do them in?

[MoPaR DaK]

If there are no imperfections in the actual paint then you can lay the clear right on.. If it comes out really good you won't even have to wetsand or buff.

[BlackDak]

There are some imperfections, as they were well used when I started working on them. I would like to let the clear do most of the work, though. They are down low on the truck and are going to get abused anyway.

In this case, would I clear, then wet sand and buff?

[MoPaR DaK]

That is correct :biggthump

[scat_pack_dal]

as long as you are happy with how the paint is laying and you feel no need to try and soften any high or low spots then you would go ahead clear and wet sand.

[grumpy44]

realy depends on what finish you want. What type paint was it? Acrylic urethane, single or 2 stage, acrylic enamel. After you shoot the color if its a single stage urethane, the clear is a option. If you do spray clear its best to wet sand before your clear. And it depends on how much paint you shot on it as to how much sanding you can do. I like 5-6 coats of color before I wet sand, that way you don't take a chance of burning through. then shot your clear. and then if you want a show shine with no imperfections, wet sand (color sand) the clear and buff it out. You can do the same with the 2 stage. Most people don't use acrylic enamel that much anymore, its more of a poormans paint, pretty much just shooting it and leaving it. You can wetsand it and clear it to improve it. But if I'm going to shoot for a really nice job I go for a 2 stage. The only problem with these paints are they can be really expensive. Red being the most because the red pigment is the hardest to come by. One of these days I'm sure they will figure out how to come up with a sinthetic pigment and hopefully make every color the same. But I don't see it happening any time soon.

[realdeal7369]

usually with each coat of paint, with a wetsand of 1500-200 grit in between, will deepen and richen the color. try two to 3 coats each with both the paint and the clear. dont sand it too hard either. all you need to do is smooth it over. helps take the imperfections out. . good luck


http://www.automotivetouchup.com/spray-paint-directions.htm

[KREWZER]

sheeessh didnt u take shop in highschool? Wet sanding is just to get runs out or any other imperfections, like said earlier. The more coats you put on and wetsand between each coat, the better its going to look. I dont even know how many times im gonna do it on my bumper yet, probably like 8 or ten times.

[blue92]

What about primer? Additional coats?