1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

[Chimera012]

Hey guys im in need of some advice.
im currently doing a garage paint job on my 98 vtec.

rustoleum automotive quarts are not available in South Africa so i decided to rather go for a waterbased enamel.
i sprayed down 4 coats and it lay down super flat,one or 2 dust nibs..
i used an electric hvlp paint sprayer,700watt,1.8mm nozzle

the car has been baking in the sun for a month now,its around 32 degrees Celsius daily here,
i plan on doing a clear coat..
i have found an acrylic based enamel clear with a hardener locally for a good price..

so my question is...should i wetsand the base with say 400griit so the clear coat can adhere to the paint?willl the clear fill in 400 gritt sanding marks?

[TobyU]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

I think 400 is way too coarse for sanding any paint. 600 is the absolute coarsest I have ever used on paint that only on thick paint.
800 or 1000 is better. I'm not worried about sticking or roughing it up. I am looking for high quality appearance.
I did a motorcycle once and it looked like good professional.
Paint 2-3 coats of paint and let dry thoroughly. Wet sand, then buff with compound and polish until perfect finish. The degrease and use correct clear that doesn't bubble the paint.
One thick or 2-3 thinner coats and it will probably be very nice. On some dark colors and depending on how paint was laid on you might have orange peel that you might want to wet sand clear with 1500-2000 and then buff to perfection.

[Mike Pennington]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

You might also want to check with the brand of clear you got? I am sure they can guide you in the proper prep / grit(s) to get the right adhesion properties their clear.

Let us know how it turns out !

Mike

[Chimera012]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

Thanks for the response guys,
almost everything iv read online says to never sand the base coat,i just thought t might be a little different because i am using enamel ,not really a BC/CC system.

im scared of sanding the white base and then the sanding marks will show through my clear coat

[Chimera012]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

oops,didnt realize my ganja plants are in the backround of the pic lol!!!! well its legal here in SA,since September 18 last year for home growing and usage,just not sales,incase anyone was wondering

[TobyU]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

Well it's all relative. BC/CC was set up to be a duller looking base and it has orange peel. The clear gave it the gloss and smoothed out the orange peel and you could still wet sand the clear to get even better looking.
You have to polish out ANY thing you sand unless it's primer.
I will agree sanding base or actually in my case and yours too the base was actually a finishing coat. It was designed to be the only or top coat as your enamel was too.
I just decided to clear for more durability and more depth of shine.
If the enamel looks good enough which it might because white is not bad as showing orange peel, you can just wipe down with pre-cleaner and clear it and it will look even better.
With dark colors and spray cans or not the proper high end equipment and guns etc, you will get so much orange peel and possibly have some bugs/dirt specs or runs so I sand the color coat to correct defects then buff to near perfection....then I want to seal it better and since I have sanded some thickness or paint off. The clear makes it look even better but sometimes I have to wet sand and buff the clear too.
I don't do much now because since I do not have the right equipment and do not know how to do it fast and right.....it takes to damn long. I have done some show quality results in the past but too much work. A real painter could do it just like that and look just as good.

I had a couple of those plants one time but it wasn't legal then. I don't know how they got there, but I will say they grow like a weed.
Never smoked them. I don't like the stuff. They are like mulberry trees. A bird can poop a mulberry seed and 3 inch diameter tree will be there in 18 months. I do eat mulberries though.

[Chimera012]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

Thanks guys.
Okay so this is what ill do...
ill wetsand my base with 1000,1500 gritt
then ill use meguiars ultimate compound. ill let the car sit in the sun for another week.
ill then wash the car with a degreaser
then ill paint the clear coats.
then again wetsanding and polishing

[tomsteve]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

was the paint you used a basecoat or a single stage?
either way, i wouldnt wetsand,then buff, then clear. the surface needs the scratch pattern from sanding so the clear will have mechanical adhesion. beings a solid color id sand with 600 then clear. 3 coats. then wet sand 1000,1500. then cut and buff.
the only time a base or SS isnt sanded before clear is when the clear is applied in the recoat window,which is when chemical adhesion will occur.

[Chimera012]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

was the paint you used a basecoat or a single stage?
either way, i wouldnt wetsand,then buff, then clear. the surface needs the scratch pattern from sanding so the clear will have mechanical adhesion. beings a solid color id sand with 600 then clear. 3 coats. then wet sand 1000,1500. then cut and buff.
the only time a base or SS isnt sanded before clear is when the clear is applied in the recoat window,which is when chemical adhesion will occur.

its a SS paint,hmmm mixed views on what to do here from members yet your way is what i also believed would work, so 600 gritt...

sand until the surface is even and dull with no low spots..
then i can start the clear...

will the clear bring back the shine and fill in those 600gritt sanding marks?
the clear im going for is a local product

http://www.autopaintcentre.co.za/product/plascon-flowline-1k-nc-clear-knl-20/

[Chimera012]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

was the paint you used a basecoat or a single stage?
either way, i wouldnt wetsand,then buff, then clear. the surface needs the scratch pattern from sanding so the clear will have mechanical adhesion. beings a solid color id sand with 600 then clear. 3 coats. then wet sand 1000,1500. then cut and buff.
the only time a base or SS isnt sanded before clear is when the clear is applied in the recoat window,which is when chemical adhesion will occur.

I agree with you,i also thought i should sand so the clear has something too bite onto.
its a SS paint...

funny guys give contradicting advice lol so im second guessing everything
so 600 gritt...would clear be able to bring back the shine and fill in those sanding marks on the base?
im going to use a 1k clear called Plascon Flowline 1kNC clear

[tomsteve]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

if the paint wasnt sanded, it could- and probably would- peel/flake off in due time because there isnt anything for the clear to bite into.
im not knowledgable on that clear, but if its being sprayed from a gun, it should fill and cover. the reason being is typically cleears that are getting sprayed from a gun are thicker and have more solids than rattle cans, so they'll lay a thicker coat. spray bombs are thinned down quite a bit to get them to spray at the lower PSI's. being thinned,they have lower solids to fill.
if possible, i suggest doing a sprayout on a piece of metal. doesnt have to be big- just something like 6" by 6". spray some of that SS on it, let it dry, then sand and spray the clear and see how it performs.
lookin up that clear, i dont see 1kNC, but do see KNL20. If this is the one

http://www.autopaintcentre.co.za/product/plascon-flowline-1k-nc-clear-knl-20/

im reading 2-3 coats=20-30 microns. if thats from a gun, that should fill the scratch pattern, but i still suggest doing a sprayout first.

id also suggest looking up the tech sheet for the product.. there are some waterbased products that have a specified precleaner they want used

[TobyU]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

I suggest you do a test piece too.
Does the paint instructions say anything about clear top coating and specifically within how many hours?

I think with white you will be ok even if you sand and don't buff. I understand the thought process of having something a little rough to stick too but I feel on a darker color or any blues or reds past medium levels, you would have very dull undesirable results sanding a base coat then clearing.
It just wouldn't get the depth or wet glossy look enough.

I think clear peeling has more to do with the quality or lack thereof of the product than the application. I hear that 2K clear stuff is pretty good for low DIY.

As I said, I'm not a pro or trained in painting. The motorcycle I did came out show quality and I sanded buffed then cleared but I have no idea how it would have held up to the elements as it was garaged and only rarely saw outside or sun and never rain.
I could have painted it with finger nail polish and it would have lasted for years!
Am I the one that has ever been with lady picking out nail colors and standing there thinking...man that would look good on a car/bike??

[TobyU]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

Also, remember before BC/CC you basically had enamel and before that lacquer. Enamel was rarely cleared. I think some tried but if never got popular.
I guess I should say single stage enamel. Isn't bc/cc enamel too.
Anyway, they painted it on thick and heat lamp backed it in drying rooms.
Enamel held up better than lacquer but not as high quality look I guess.
You could simply lay lots of white on and let dry well then sand out any imperfections and buff and keep a good coat of was on it or a sealer later I guess.

Now that makes me remember, I was supposed to ask the professionals about wax.....off to a start a new thread.

[tomsteve]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

Anyway, they painted it on thick and heat lamp backed it in drying rooms.

i know a guy that worked in the paint dept for ford way back in the day.back when people sprayed the paints. there was a time they were producing more cars than they could paint and have baked/cured/dried properly and quite a few cars would skip the curing oven and head out to the parking lot in the summer with the paint still wet.apparently it wasnt uncommon to have a new car owner come back soon complaining about bugs in the paint.

[Chimera012]

Re: 1998 civic vtec rustoleum paint job..well kinda

okay well iv decided to wetsand the AE with 600gritt.finished that now,putting her in the sun for a few days and ill shoot the clear this weekend. she looks flat enough i rate