I just finished painting an 03 Mustang in my homemade booth. There was a decent amount of trash in the clear which I expected, however, my question is what is the best route to take moving forward. I was thinking of going panel by panel (one panel each day) and sanding with 600-800 to get the trash out and shoot one additional coat of clear. I believe I could control the trash much better this way and get an overall better finish. Of course, the other option would be to sand and buff the entire car. Aside from the trash, the clear texture came out pretty good. The car is still taped off and has 3 coats of SPI UV clear (base coat was Wanda metallic). I'm new to this and am open to opinions/pros/cons on this process. Thanks in advance.
Re-Clear vs Cut and Buff
- Thread starter ml504
- Start date
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
3 coats of clear is not much depending on how heavily it was sprayed. Most newbies tend to spray light coats so to be safe I would suggest you sand it flat and shoot at least two more coats, three more would be even better.
Thank you. Given the less than ideal conditions of my booth and colder temps, is there any disadvantage of doing this panel by panel? I think I can keep it much cleaner this way and also keep heat on the one panel for an extended period of time rather than worrying about the entire car.
I would get the car out in the bright sun light and check for stripes or mottling, especially on the hood, top, and trunk lid before continuing. BTW, we all assume you want a nice paint job.
These guys have a lot more painting experience than I do, but you're being new to this, I would think an extra 3-4 more coats might be safer for you. You don't want to have to learn how to blend also if you should accidently sand through the clear, you don't even want to sand through the second round of clear to the first round. Be especially careful sanding close to the edges, you could even tape the edges.
Last edited:
Lizer
Mad Scientist
If your temps are less than ideal you will struggle getting a smooth finish that flows out and will have a lot of texture, and there’s no guarantee you won’t have as much trash in the second round.
I’m of the camp that you may cause more problems for yourself trying to shoot more clear NOW than if you cut and buff what you currently have. The first complete paint job I ever did myself was with 3 coats universal clear, then I cut and buffed. That was about ten years ago.
You are ok if you were spraying medium coats and you did not have dry spray from light coats.
Based on your description of limited texture I can only assume you sprayed it reasonably wet.
I’m of the camp that you may cause more problems for yourself trying to shoot more clear NOW than if you cut and buff what you currently have. The first complete paint job I ever did myself was with 3 coats universal clear, then I cut and buffed. That was about ten years ago.
You are ok if you were spraying medium coats and you did not have dry spray from light coats.
Based on your description of limited texture I can only assume you sprayed it reasonably wet.
They were wet coats. I guess the reason I'm not too intimidated by spraying more is that if it is okay to go one panel at a time I can keep concentrated heat on it and not worry about the cold. Trying to do the entire car again at once I would be worried about not keeping it warm enough. It would take me a week to do it if I did one panel each day, but I have the time currently if that is a good option.
MJM
Promoted Users
I don't see a reason why you can't panel paint if all you're doing is applying more Universal Clear. Sounds like a good idea so you can control the heat the panel needs.
Yes sir
Whitesnake
Newbie
I would at least try to cut and buff one panel and see what you get for results. Chances are your going to buffing after the re clear anyhow.
Its a lot of work to sand it and spray more clear, and you're the one that makes that decision. If you decide to respray, here is something to think about.
Barry said that most of the trash comes off the painter. After hearing that, I had a job that let me put it to the test. I was doing the body and paint work on a farm tractor hood and fenders, but he just wanted it painted, and not sanded or buffed. Hanging them upside down from the ceiling would make sure that any trash in the paint would not be coming off of me, and that worked out very good, it only had a few small specks that I was able to use a nib file to make it all disappear with out doing any sanding or buffing. Painting was done in the same space I do sanding and metal work in, just swept the floor.
Painting upside down is not practical, but my point is to cover your self up as well as possible. I like this suit, it fits well, lite weight, made of anti static material, nice hood, and it has knee pads and it costs $94, Luma lll
This picture is one of their customers that gave a review. I posted it so you could see how well it fits, including the hood. Looks like it will even stretch around a big belly, if you have one.
Barry said that most of the trash comes off the painter. After hearing that, I had a job that let me put it to the test. I was doing the body and paint work on a farm tractor hood and fenders, but he just wanted it painted, and not sanded or buffed. Hanging them upside down from the ceiling would make sure that any trash in the paint would not be coming off of me, and that worked out very good, it only had a few small specks that I was able to use a nib file to make it all disappear with out doing any sanding or buffing. Painting was done in the same space I do sanding and metal work in, just swept the floor.
Painting upside down is not practical, but my point is to cover your self up as well as possible. I like this suit, it fits well, lite weight, made of anti static material, nice hood, and it has knee pads and it costs $94, Luma lll
This picture is one of their customers that gave a review. I posted it so you could see how well it fits, including the hood. Looks like it will even stretch around a big belly, if you have one.
MJM
Promoted Users
Its a lot of work to sand it and spray more clear, and you're the one that makes that decision. If you decide to respray, here is something to think about.
Barry said that most of the trash comes off the painter. After hearing that, I had a job that let me put it to the test. I was doing the body and paint work on a farm tractor hood and fenders, but he just wanted it painted, and not sanded or buffed. Hanging them upside down from the ceiling would make sure that any trash in the paint would not be coming off of me, and that worked out very good, it only had a few small specks that I was able to use a nib file to make it all disappear with out doing any sanding or buffing. Painting was done in the same space I do sanding and metal work in, just swept the floor.
Painting upside down is not practical, but my point is to cover your self up as well as possible. I like this suit, it fits well, lite weight, made of anti static material, nice hood, and it has knee pads and it costs $94, Luma lll
This picture is one of their customers that gave a review. I posted it so you could see how well it fits, including the hood. Looks like it will even stretch around a big belly, if you have one.
Nice paint suit. I have a couple of paint suits but, I don't like the construction of them. They seem cheaply made. No reinforcement in the knees or elbows and they don't have any elastic banding in the waist line. The first one I bought torn in the butt area when I crouched down. The hardest part for me is finding a XXXL paint suit. Being an overly large man is a curse for daily life especially since Omar the tent maker went out of business.
I'll do a search for that Luma III paint suit.