Learning how to repair minor mistakes

[Chris Martin]

Hello dear SPI friends,

So progress on my project is going very well. I think my little plane is going to fetch some awards at the end of this tough trek!

Spraying is going well, still learning to adjust my technique but I am more relaxed which makes it a little more enjoyable. And thanks to the your advice, waking up early and spraying in the colder morning hours is helping greatly.

But I guess with that, and I think age is not helping, come more mistakes. This morning I forgot to tack the part so got dirt specs all over. And the part before that came out fantastic but sprayed little thick so I got a couple of small runs, not bad. BTW, I got the booth working great so if not for the dumb mistake this morning the parts are coming out pretty much dirt free. I think I am making every mistake in the book but learning.

So my question is could you provide some advice on how to fix minor runs (in this case about 2" long) and the dirt specs. I guess specifically:

Note: I am spraying White Single Stage. And not looking for perfect flat surface. Keeping the slight orange peel is OK so everything looks nearly the same.

1.- When can I start doing the repairs?
2.- Is there a maximum time before making repairs are a problem? Personally, the more I can wait the better (too many things in my plate)
3.- Sand paper grits to use and brand? Is the Kovax Toleblock system worth it? Carbide block?
4.- Polishes and pads types and brand?
5.- I do have very good 6" Dynabrade DA sander. And a Flex rotary polisher.
6.- And finally, how do I do this?

BTW, so far all my parts are small. The largest (today boo boo is about 3' x 4').

Thanks for the help getting this thing look as great as it is so far. Getting there.

Chris

 

[Chris Martin]

BTW, I am reading postings (which I have been doing for a long time). Found a good one pinned to the top of this forum section so I'm good with technique on removing runs (although trying to figure the safest for a noobie). Still need to figure sandpaper, polishes, pads and a way to rid of nibs in larger areas.

Chris

 

[Lizer]

Hello dear SPI friends,

So progress on my project is going very well. I think my little plane is going to fetch some awards at the end of this tough trek!

Spraying is going well, still learning to adjust my technique but I am more relaxed which makes it a little more enjoyable. And thanks to the your advice, waking up early and spraying in the colder morning hours is helping greatly.

But I guess with that, and I think age is not helping, come more mistakes. This morning I forgot to tack the part so got dirt specs all over. And the part before that came out fantastic but sprayed little thick so I got a couple of small runs, not bad. BTW, I got the booth working great so if not for the dumb mistake this morning the parts are coming out pretty much dirt free. I think I am making every mistake in the book but learning.

So my question is could you provide some advice on how to fix minor runs (in this case about 2" long) and the dirt specs. I guess specifically:

Note: I am spraying White Single Stage. And not looking for perfect flat surface. Keeping the slight orange peel is OK so everything looks nearly the same.

1.- When can I start doing the repairs?

The next day if you wanted to.

2.- Is there a maximum time before making repairs are a problem? Personally, the more I can wait the better (too many things in my plate)

Generally just the longer you wait the harder it gets so won't sand and buff as easy, but depends on which single stage you use as well. Somebody with experience with that one will hopefully be able to advise you.

3.- Sand paper grits to use and brand? Is the Kovax Toleblock system worth it? Carbide block?

There's a lot of favorites to use, I use Meguiars Unigrit for wet hand sanding. If you have a lot of open flat panels you might want to try sanding it with dry discs using the 'Jim C' method. I might finally start trying that myself.

4.- Polishes and pads types and brand?

For foam I use Chemical Guys Hexalogic, Lake Country is a popular one, there's some other threads down in this forum that have preferred wool pads. I have been using the Chemical Guys V compounds and polishes for the last ten years but the 3D 500 or 501 compounds seem to get a lot of love here and allegedly cut much faster than CG, so I think I'm going to switch to that.

5.- I do have very good 6" Dynabrade DA sander. And a Flex rotary polisher.
6.- And finally, how do I do this?

Here was a blog entry I written some years ago on cutting and buffing. This was the 'Shine' method.

Cutting and buffing: Part 1. Cutting

Warning: what I'm about to describe is not for the faint of heart. However, it is the method used by some of the best and most meticulous p...

joshlizer.blogspot.com

Cutting and buffing part II: Buffing

Buffing is a lot more rewarding than cutting to a degree, but it also makes the cutting rewarding, especially if you took your time and didn...

joshlizer.blogspot.com

 

[Chris Martin]

Thanks Lizer.

I was writing this as your message came in. Thanks for the info and in particular the time window. I guess I'll go ahead and order materials once I come up with a plan and work on repairs in between painting so as not to wait too long. I also think I will try 3D (seems good price and somewhat popular).

After some reading, video watching etc this is a proposed plan:

1.- Level defect with carbide denib tool
2.- Tolecut K2000 to finish nib or run
3.- DA sanding 3000 (skip if small fix, use Tolecut up to finer grit)
4.- Rotary buffer wool pad 3D ACA-510
5.- Yellow foam ACA-510
6.- Gray foam ACA-520 (or I heard to use 3D One too)
7.- Blue foam (don't know what to use as final glaze from 3D) (heard to use AAT-505 but concerned about the AIO claim although suposedly safe on fresh paint)

What do you guys think?

Chris