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So I have puttied (many times) all my dents, sanded down (also many times ), primed, spray puttied, sanded, primed again and finally painted my final gloss black coat, with a high heat enamel paint (did three black coats). My issue is that it hasn't come up as shiny or glossy as I would have liked, its more of a dull gloss. So my question is; how should I go about buffing/polishing to get the shine/gloss that I am after???
The issue is the high heat enamel. Why did you choose to top coat with this product? It's reserved for items which are exposed to high temps which also help it cure, also high temp paints are rarely glossy.
If it was me, I'd be sanding all the enamel off and top coating with acrylic solid black, then chop it and flow coat with a few coats of clear, light sand and buff.
hmmmm my nightmare coming to light haha, i guess it was what i bought for my engine, and didnt want to go get anything else.....ahhh my impatience getting the best of me....i guess, i will sand it back then? or could i sand it with some higher grade wet, then apply the acrylic over the top of it instead of going back to the bare metal? I am a new to building bikes, that includes painting etc so any help will be appreciated. I have found that painting is one of those finiky things....i really enjoy it though ;D
Yes, whatever paints you decide to use. You need to make sure that they are compatible; clears can be especially particular in what type of paints they will work with, also pay attention to cure times and don't try and rush them.
You don't have to sand down to bare metal. You can just scuff the paint enough to get the new paint to stick. Your problem now is that you need the engine paint to cure, or the new paint will chip easily. To cure it, you're going to have to bake it in an oven.
I would wet send it lightly with some 400+ sandpaper, and then top coat it with some Spraymax 2k (rattle can FUEL RESISTANT clear coat)
The spraymax has a super high gloss, so I think you'll be fine.
LIke jsharp said, you need to cure it. Its still summer, toss it in your car for a day in the hot sun and that should take care of it.
if yoiu used a high heat paint i hope that you where able to cure that paint so it does not chip/flake... high heat paints need to see heat ranges to cure if not they will be a very weak finish. is there a reason you went with a high heat on your tins?
don't know why you would use high heat paint on a tank. But alas. I would wet sand with 1000 grit do another wet coat of the color allow to dry and then spray with spray 2k clear coat. It's $20 a can but if sprayed right comes out like glass with virtually no wet sanding or rubbing compound. If you are cheap or just dont' want to put in the work you could probably wet sand the color coat you have and then build your forearms up with some 3m rubbing compound. It will gloss but nothing near what you will achieve with that 2k
Thanks for the feedback, i do feel like a right tosser hahaha, i am thinking of just stripping it and starting again.......read more before i jump in with any old paint that i find. It was jabbing me in the back of mind that i was using high heat....i knew i would have issues, but i was wait to impatient, I guess these things teach you to be patient right?? thanks for the advice. I will do more reading before i do it again. Do you guys reckon getting someone to do it would be cheaper and better the first time?
Getting someone else to do it for you will seldom if ever be cheaper. They will probably use a more expensive, higher quality material and charge full rate for their time. The original question of buffing and polishing can be done with products like 3M Perfect-it or Eastwoods Liquid Ice 3 step polishing system and a low speed polisher. Polishing can be done to the paint color or the clear top coat. If you are not going to sand the high temp paint off completely I would sand it and go over it with good etching primer before using another type black. Just FYI, you don't need to use a high gloss black if you plan on clear coating it. High Gloss Black and Flat Black will look identical if using the same High Gloss Clear. Just make sure what ever base coat and clear coat you use are compatible with each other.
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Here is my tank i did with duplicolor auto zone spray cans topped with spray 2k
I would do it myself with excessive attention to detail and definately buy the spray 2k that stuff is so worth it.
Doing it yourself will definitely be cheaper. I'd sand off the high temp paint and start over. You can get a good home paint job using the right paints and a good clear like Spraymax 2k. I've done 2 bikes with the stuff and both have turned out great. The first I used just plain old Duplicor spray cans waited a week for it to gas out and then cleared it with Spraymax. The second I actually used color paint made by Spraymax, that stuff you clear 1-12 hours after laying the color. Your prep work is what really makes the paint job though, any imperfections will show through your final paint, that's why I suggest starting over.
Here's the 2 tanks I've done:
66 Auto Color is a good source for paint, here's a link to the high gloss Spraymax 2k clear everyone recommends: http://www.66autocolor.com/Spray_Max_Glamour_High_Gloss_Clear_coat_Aerosol_p/spm-3680061.htm
And here's a really good write up on painting: Rattle Can Bling - http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=10993.0
I remember when I first painted my Sportster in my 3rd floor apartment. Like any paint job the finish all depends on the base prep. Black will show every imperfection more than any other color. I used Testors model enamel from the little tiny spray cans. I spent hours spraying and wet sanding between coats and I was amazed at how it came out. My brother took pics of it in the living room and you can actually see and read the posters on the wall in the reflection on the tank in the pics.
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), primed, spray puttied, sanded, primed again and finally painted my final gloss black coat, with a high heat enamel paint (did three black coats). My issue is that it hasn't come up as shiny or glossy as I would have liked, its more of a dull gloss. So my question is; how should I go about buffing/polishing to get the shine/gloss that I am after???
