Waves in hood

K

kmatch

After longboarding with black SPI epoxy and wet sanding as a telltale to what appeared as a perfect hood, 2 coats of red base followed by 3 coats of clear, this thing is horrible in certain lighting with foot long sections of highs and lows and in most angles looks great . Any hints at all on levelling this without a redo as it appeared FLAT throughout the whole process. I'll be levelling the whole job with the Trizact system in a few days. Anything to save me some grief on the hood would be welcomed as I sure missed all the signs before paint/clear.
 
What sanding block / process are you using? A warped board will make the guide coat or gloss from epoxy come off as if it was straight.
 
A warped hood can be a very tricky thing. Without actually being there, I don't know if it would be smart to offer any suggestions, except to say that if it is that unacceptable, there is little that can be done to a finished piece that won't involve a redo of some kind.
 
kerristallax;6647 said:
What sanding block / process are you using? A warped board will make the guide coat or gloss from epoxy come off as if it was straight.
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It's one from a parts house. Nothing unusual that I can tell about it. I used an X pattern with either 120 or 180. The problem I have is the fact these waves went unnoticed all the way up until clear! The hood was shot vertical as shop conditions were less than perfect and dust was an issue. Can this cause a shift in the clear that might be worked out? Sounds far fetched to me, but I'm having issues with being blind up until this point... I'm expecting a reshoot, but that also seems pointless as I've already been there, done that, and didn't even earn the T shirt the first visit.
 
i have found more times than none it takes a few times to get panels extremely straight...

if i want something as perfect as i can get it,i work it over and over then paint and do it all over again!
 
Does anybody have any tricks to check for straightness before top coating?

I am just learning, but I hose down a wet sanded panel and look from different angles under the best light possible. I also stare down my black epoxy before it flashes. What else can I try?
 
when you think the part is straight wipe it down with mineral spirits-(best) or solvent based wax and grease remover and sight down the panel checking for waves. There's too much surface tension or polarity for water to work well for this. Make sure your blocks at straight and flat or you're just wasting your time, use light pressure when sanding hoods and pattern your strokes to work across the whole panel evenly in the final stages of blocking. picture one slightly low area on that hood-the rest of the hood needs to be cut down to that level for the defect to disapear.
 
Thanks Bob,

I didn't know mineral spirits was safe to use that way. Would I have to use a wax and grease remover on it before more coats?
 
I always use wax/grease remover for checking a panel. Water will give you false results. I've also found that a paint stick is my best blocking tool for flat panels like a hood or a roof.
 
No pictures, yet, as I'm not sure they'll come out as other issues I've tried to capture with no results. As for water, yep, that's probably what bit me as with water it was flawless, as well as wet epoxy. I'm thinking I used too much pressure sanding after verifying with wet epoxy and created waves not visible with water. I just thought I'd fish for a shortcut before redoing it as sometimes there's a better way I don't know about...
 
Thanks, Shine. I was going to look into that in a few days and see what I could get away with before redoing it. I'll let it setup for a bit and scuff with 600 then shoot it laying flat. We'll see what happens...
 
Ive botched up enough panels while blocking that I learned light pressure, let the paper do the work.
 
Shine, when you clear how do you block. I know many guys have their own ways.

If I lay down 3-4 coats of a high solid clear, Ill block 800-1000-1200-1500 buff. I know its probably a lot of extra work then I need to do.
 
I always tell people this and I will continue....

Body work is a feeling way.. What do I mean??

You can block sand and guide coat all day long and have wavy panels.. There are a ton of reasons why u still end up wavy, but that is not my focus in this post...

When you think a panel is paint ready.. Run your hand over the panel.. Close your eyes and FEEL IT.. If its on the money, you can feel it.. If its off, you can FEEL IT.. If you dont feel anything, put a dry shop rag under your hand and use that.. Or a pair of jeresy gloves... For whatever reason they help you to feel if a panel is straight or wavy etc..

I also think if you rely on your eyes to tell you its right, you will end up with what you have now..

Just my opinion here guys, but i learned a long time ago, your eyes will let you down, but the ole hands can feel what the eyes cant see!!!!!
 
first clear - 3 coats -long block 600 -2nd clear 3 coats- long block 1000 then da up to 3000 .
 
I believe that if you see waves before buffing then it's probably gonna be there when your done. Or you will be paper thin on the highs. I'd suck it up and grab a block with real sharp 80 grit and run over it to find the lows and possibly bump them if you can get at them. Ifeel you should only be cutting the wave out during the wet sand/buff stage. If it's that bad then convince yourself to eat it. Maybe your lighting needs work? You should see evidence of flatness during spraying the black epoxy and when blocking.
 
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