theastronaut
Promoted Users
I started out with a soft pad and 220 grit to smooth down the All-U-Need. It had more ripples than I was expecting afterward. There were a couple of spots, one on each side towards the front where the concave to convex areas transition that I wasn't happy with so I blocked those spots with 180 on a thin flexible acrylic block, then guide coated and blocked out the rest of the hood with the same thin block and 180 while I was at it. The ripples/texture of the poly is clearly visible after a few swipes with 180. The surface was smooth but not flat before blocking with the acrylic block. I thought it was pretty interesting to see the ripples/texture this way. After going over it with the thin block some of the overall waves of the factory panel were still there but the choppy ripples were cut flat. A skim coat and thicker/less flexible block would've made it too straight for the rest of the car. This is more of the look I wanted, it was overly choppy with just 220 on a soft pad. Urethane high build instead of poly, then 220 on a soft pad might've been the right amout of texture compared to the rest of the car.
I went up to 600 grit, then shot three coats the new batch of base with a little hardener added to get good color coverage, waited an hour, then shot all of the remaining batch of original base in two coats using slower reducer. Three coats of clear, then 1500/2000/2500 on a soft pad to cut down trash and peel. I'm pretty happy with the color match; I didn't do a test spray out card since there was very little original base left so I just winged it.
I went up to 600 grit, then shot three coats the new batch of base with a little hardener added to get good color coverage, waited an hour, then shot all of the remaining batch of original base in two coats using slower reducer. Three coats of clear, then 1500/2000/2500 on a soft pad to cut down trash and peel. I'm pretty happy with the color match; I didn't do a test spray out card since there was very little original base left so I just winged it.