Rubbing compound

[kevster[TK]]

I've been testing it on smaller pieces but my paint keeps coming out horrible, nothing but orange peel. I'm sure its just too hot here right now and i'm going to try and paint in a spare bedroom to help reduce the orange peel. I can't find any grit higher than 600 at the stores around here so I was wondering if anyone has used some rubbing compound to great effect and then finished up with a polish. If so, what did ya'll use? Thanks!

[TK_LEPER]

I would let the it sit for a week to completely dry, and sand it smooth. After that coat it once more real good. The trick is getting it on thick, just before it starts to drip. Then let it dry for 3-4 days before touching it again.

 

And the weather also makes a difference in how your paint goes on. If it's real hot and humid, best wait till night when it's cooler. Cool and dry are ideal for painting.

Edited June 12, 2011 by TK 4702

[gazmosis[501st]]

I painted my armor and was fairly anal about the finish. I too started with 600 grit and LIGHTLY sanded it until I smoothed the paint to what i wanted. You will get some paint removal here. There will be no shine at this point. Then I moved to Turtle Wax rubbing compound for clear coats. This on a wet rag and I really went after it. With two coats of paint, I never accidentally sanded through the paint. The gloss will start to come out. Then I moved to Meguiar's "ultimate compound". Unlike the turtle wax which is a paste, this is more of a liquid. Go after it with this as well. Now you will be able to pinpoint your gloss. When you think you are there, wipe it down with a wet rag, and buff it with a soft towel. There will be a tell tale high pitched squeek when polishing that will tell you when you're almost there. Look at your shine using a light as your reflection. IF there is any haze, keep going with the polishing compound, wash and buff until you get a mirror reflection. Then I moved onto Meguiar's Cleaner Wax. No water here, just a soft application towel and get after it. This will fill in all the micro scrathes. Let dry, polish with a soft towel, and marvel at your gloss. This takes time and some elbow grease but it's worth it!!

[john danter]

Are you spraying it outside then bringing it back inside?

 

Apparently a change of temp will cause a bad surface.

Wait for a nice day

Spray it outside

Leave it outside

[kevster[TK]]

Well, i've done a little bit more testing, and it looks like I just wasn't spraying on enough to begin with. If I painted it outside, it would be outside for a few hours before i would bring it in though. I would barely wet sand with the 600 grit and would go right through the paint on the corners of my drop box. But its getting to almost 100 degrees here in the day, and then at night humidity sky rockets lol. So painting outside is pretty much impossible for more ideal conditions. I'm going to try and work something out for painting in the spare room we have. I'm not too worried about having that absolute mirror finish shine on it, I'm finally happy that the paint is smoothing out instead of this! lol thanks for the posts guys!!

 

I used a flashlight to show just how bad its been for me

[TK_LEPER]

Yeah, I get that when spraying, just means it needs more paint there. But you need to do it while it's wet, or it won't be totally smooth. Just have to keep an eye out for those areas during the spray-painting process. Focus on painting once piece at a time, if you have too many going at once... you might overlook it.

Edited June 13, 2011 by TK 4702