DupliColor....

Rattlecan guru's......

Shot my 650 tailpiece with duplicolor Enamel, over duplicolor primer, which was prepped with soap and water, 600 wet, more soap and water, and a going over with 800 wet, washed again and dried completely.
Color went on really well (except for a bug! Grrrrrr...), and sat for Fri nite/Sat. Started the clear late this afternoon. Seemed to go on OK, but at 8- 10 inches away per instructions, sure seemed "orange-peely" to me. Ended up sweeping coats a bit closer, but a touch more quickly to avoid curtains and runs. Can said 10 minutes 'tween coats, which I waited, finish all coats in an hr. or wait a week. Check...did that.
As it dried, sure smoothed up alot better than I thought. Gloss isnt what I expected, tho...
So.....what you guys recommend, and how long do I wait, to polish/glaze/otherwise bring out the shine???? And if i cant/dont get it to shine, can I rough it up after curing good and just start again with the color? Can instructions are less than good.
Thanks
p.s.......1st shot at rattlecanning something important

Are you using laquer or enamel? Ive only worked with the duplicolor laquers and I like them. Is your clear kind of foggy? I think when its foggy it means its too thick. If its just not as shiny as youd like once you buff it out may be amazed. I used Turtle wax polishing compound on an cloth diaper and was impressed.

The first pic is mine unbuffed and the second is a final shot

Post edited by: danoz7five0, at: 2005/10/16 19:43

I got the turtle wax polishing compound. Shot clear this afternoon. How long I wait to polish it?
Used enamel. Clear isnt foggy, just was expecting more gloss, I guess.

OH!...I like yer reading material.....2nd pic, upper left corner....

indykaw77 wrote:

I got the turtle wax polishing compound. Shot clear this afternoon. How long I wait to polish it?
Used enamel. Clear isnt foggy, just was expecting more gloss, I guess.

OH!...I like yer reading material.....2nd pic, upper left corner....

I cant really say when to start polishing. Id wait a day and then start in a small inconspicous spot and see what happens.

I like my Playboys like I like my motorcycles, old. No seriously though I "inherited" a 20 year collection from my dad. Made a few good bucks on EBay with the oldest ones and havent been seeing them sell as good lately and the 1980 issues are a PITA to sell

I would wait the full cure time, should be the time listed last in the recoat instructions...1 week. Then, wet sand the orange peel with 800 grit. If it doesn't sand out easily, use 600. Personally, I sand orange peel with400, but the others give greater margin for error. Follow with 1000, then 1500. Sand it until the water stands there looking like clear coat. Then dry it and check for orange peel when dry...you'll see it if it's still there. I use 3m super duty compund to buff it out, followed by 3m microfinishing compound, followed by Maguiers swirl remover. If you try to buff out orange peel, very slight amount may buff out. If not, sand it out as above. It will shine up to a deep gloss, just be careful of the edges! Buff only on the edges...not sand! Hope that helps. The long wait is why lacquer is so poular, but the enamel will look fine, too. I dare say it may end up a little more gas resistant, too. Be very careful putting gas in the tank for at least a month, then wax it like crazy to protect it. That is, if you do the tank.

Post edited by: ronboskz650sr, at: 2005/10/16 22:34

Got a 3M place right here....supplies all the dealerships and body shops around,....will look into that micro-finish stuff.
"orange peel" kinda went away as the clear dried....lot smoother than when it sprayed. Will see how it polishes up when I get back.....gotta go to upstate New York this week....

If it looks smooth, try buffing it first, you can always sand it if it won't buff...but I'd definitely wait the cure time...good time to go to my home state. Where are you going in the empire state?

On the road to Rochester and Verona...out this trip with The Temptations. May hook up with Rivman15...waiting to hear.

When you've finished the color coats, hit with wet/soapy 800 grit. Wash, dry then 3-4 coats of Duplicolor clear. Let cure overnight then hit with 3M rubbing compound/liquid. 2 weeks + 3-4 coats of turtle wax.

With the enamel, you can wet sand between the two times in the recoat window, but if you buff, you will be rubbing uncured paint around and it won't get shiney. You can wetsand before the first time in the window, usually (but not dry sand), then recoat before that same time. Since your trip will take you well past the first time, you have to wait for the second time. I have wet-sanded enamel between the times to a very smooth finish, but it won't buff glossy until the curing is done.

With lacquer, the solvent evaporates, and that's that. New solvent will melt the paint (and enough solvent will actually make it look like wet paint again), that's why you can recoat it anytime...it bonds with the lower layer. The solvent in lacquer is a hotter mixture than enamel, too. That's why enamel goes over lacquer but not the other way around.

With enamel, the solvent evaporates, then a chemical reaction continues to "Cure" the paint under the surface film. That's why it can be dry and you can still press your fingernail into it and leave a dent. Once it's cured, the orignal solvent won't melt it anymore. Before it's cured it will...that's why it will wrinkle or lift if you recoat it between the dry time and the cure time on the can. A different solvent, like the one in lacquer, may melt cured enamel, but not always, depends on if there's a hardener, or if it's baked, etc. Lacquer doesn't require that long a wait before buffing. I've sanded lacquer well within an hour of painting it, and buffed it just a few hours later. Still, patience is a virtue that can help avoid a mistake due to extended drying time if it's cold or humid. If you can stand it, I'd wait until the next day for sanding lacquer, too, then buff right afterwards...That's how I did this...

Post edited by: ronboskz650sr, at: 2005/10/18 00:42