how much clear to lay down and how long to wait before wet sanding?

[hirevn]

i have a 73 camaro thats been restored with all new metal and is being prepped for paint now.im wondring how many coats of clear should be used if were fully intending on wet sanding the fresh paint and how long it should dry before wet sanding?
the car is a drag car but has the metal work of a show quality car and i want to make sure to the amount of clear so we can get out the peel and imperfections without the worry of going threw the clear.
thanks for any help.

[Mike Phillips]

One other consideration is

After wet-sanding, cutting and buffing, you still want to have plenty of clear coat for future problems, such as accidental scratches, etchings, etc.

One of the things we address in our Saturday Detailing Classes is how you are limited to what you can do, (defect removal), by the film-build, or thickness, of your car's paint.

That's one consideration.

Another consideration is what are they, or you, going to use for a sanding paper, and also for your compounds and buffing pads. Meguiar's system is focused on d creating a swirls free finish while leaving as much paint as possible on the car. Most other systems are focused on speed, which tends to make them more aggressive, and thus while they're faster, you may have less paint on the car when you're done and tracers and swirls in the results.

[hirevn]

not sure what you mean with your response but i understand to only lay down 2 to 3 coats of clear to avoid cracking and peeling.only want to wet sand and polish the finish once after the paint job.

[Mike Phillips]

Sorry for any confusion,

What I meant to explain is that besides the amount of paint you're going to sand and buff off, after you're done, you still want plenty of paint, (film-build), in case you get future scratches, or bird dropping etchings so you can remove these safely. (When you remove a defects like a scratch, or a etching left by a bird dropping, you have to remove a little paint).

Each painter has their own system for painting cars and this will vary how thick each coat they apply will be. For this reason, no one can simply say,

"Apply 4 coats"

4 coats of one painters system might be 3 coats of another painters system, or it might be 5 coats of another painters system.

Talk to you painter, tell him you want enough clear on the car so that after it is wet-sanded and buffed out, there is still plenty of clear on the car for any future polishing work.

There is a balance between too much, not enough and just the right amount for the life of the car after wet sanding.

Your painter should understand if you discuss this with him. Off the cuff, you're probably looking at the 4-6 coats of clear and assume that 2-3 will be sanded off depending on the skill of the person doing the sanding, buffing and the products they use.

[hirevn]

thank you,that makes much more sense. iagree:
we will be using sikkens system from there wash primer,surfurcer,sealer,color and clear.

[Mike Phillips]

Is the finish going to be hand sanded, or machine sanded?

Are you going to do the work, or help with the work?

[hirevn]

i will be doing the final block sanding (wet 400) after guide coating the surfacer and blocking it out with 180.
after color and clear is done my painter has started to complain he doesnt really want to wet sand and polish the whole car because of the amount of work involved and thinks it will look fine anyway.id really like to go with a wet sanded and polished finish but i have no experince in wet sanding a brand new finish myself .
can it be done by hand to a point?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi hirevn,

Quick Question,

Have you done much buffing with a rotary buffer?

[hirevn]

i have a nice mikta rotary buffer that ive used a few times on older finishs but thats the extent of it.by no means am i an experinced pro at it but i have the right tools and the basic theory but not the practice.

[travisdecpn]

If you are intent on doing the work yourself, I would highly suggest locating some practice panels from a body shop or parts yard. You don't want to ruin your beautiful new finish by instilling holograms or nasty other buffer marks due to lack of experience with the makita rotary. The more time you spend on some practice panels the better you will understand the limits of the machine and get a good feel for it on both horizontal and vertical locations.

Same can be said for wetsanding, practice, practice, and then practice some more. It is more of an art than anything else that takes time to develop the skill. Pay close attention to edges, corners, and any other raised areas where the film build is substantially lower than flat areas. The last thing you want to do is remove too much of your clear forcing you to paint again. Hope this helps.

[alanceperson]

Agree with travisdecpn . To learn you got to burn.