50$ Rustoleum Paint Job - Orange Peel

[BrutalGT]

For the past couple weeks I have been slaving away on the 50$ Rustoleum Paint Job. I didn't exactly go about it efficiently where I wanted to experiment on some parts off the car.

Oh the hood I sanded it down, primered 2 times, sanded, 2 coats of paint, sanded (600 grit), 2 coats of paint, sanded (800 grit), 2 coats of paint. After about 4 coats it looked really good but as everything I read said a minimum of 6, I kept going.

After the 5th/6th coat, it now has insane orange peel and the reflection looks like stained glass. I don't really get why as I spent hours sanding out 75% off the orange peel before these last coats as per instructions on the net, but the end result is incredibly disappointing now. I suspect it may be due to the last 2 coats being made a bit thicker than the first ones and perhaps not laying flat.

Once the 6th coat dries, should I...

A) Go ahead and sand with 1500/2000 then use Meguiar's Compound.
B) Sand it back down again and lay 2 more coats before proceeding to Step A?

[allenk4]

It makes sense to me that if you sanded out 75% of the OP....you still have 25% of it left

Sand out the remaining 25% of the OP and proceed to applying clear coat layers. You cannot leave bad OP in the color coat or you will see it thru the clear

Once the CC is applied you will have OP again...sand flat with 1500, 2000, and polish

Looking forward to seeing the pictures

[Nomadsto]

You don't need to sand OP out of the base coat at all my friend! Besides you should be spraying the clear within.....whatever the directions on the can say. you'll really only need to worry about OP in the clear. Just forsake most of the info online to start and use the directions at lease for the painting. But Mike Phillips has the definitive instruction videos on wet sanding right here on auto geek, you should definitely check those out to get that show car finish you're looking for.

[BrutalGT]

What doesn't make sense to me is when I sanded between the previous coats, I didn't realize what I was doing and got maybe 5% of the orange peel out. The coats after that went on perfect and looked beautiful minus 1-2 minor imperfections.

I realized my mistake the second time around and spend 3 hours sanding out almost all of the orange peel and did 2 thicker coats, which resulted in a hood that looks like it was painted with a black orange.

I am thinking my mistake was going with thicker coats on the last 2, where I guess the thinned out coats lay flat better. I guess I will sand it again and try another 1-2 to see if I can get it looking good again.

[allenk4]

You don't need to sand OP out of the base coat at all my friend! Besides you should be spraying the clear within.....whatever the directions on the can say. you'll really only need to worry about OP in the clear. Just forsake most of the info online to start and use the directions at lease for the painting. But Mike Phillips has the definitive instruction videos on wet sanding right here on auto geek, you should definitely check those out to get that show car finish you're looking for.

That is not my understanding

In OEM paint systems it is much more common for the OP to be in the CC

The OP is stating that he has OP in the base coat. Spraying CC over it won't make it disappear

[EVOlved]

Take this with a grain of salt as I am no painter but from the logical side of my brain..

spraying cc over a piece of sandpaper it's still going to be a piece of sandpaper. You want the base coat to be perfect the clear you can always sand/polish after to even it out.

[Nomadsto]

That is not my understanding

In OEM paint systems it is much more common for the OP to be in the CC

The OP is stating that he has OP in the base coat. Spraying CC over it won't make it disappear

In my experience thats exactly what happens. However I am using custom mixed base from Automotive Touchup (Magnetic Black), with Spraymax 2K clear coat. After wet sanding & polishing I got perfect color/clarity match to OEM. No sanding of base coat though. The base appeared matt, patchy, and had OP until sprayed with 3 coats of 2K clear. Perhaps OTC spray paint behaves differently.

[BillE]

Are you planning on 'clear coating' over the Rustoleum or 'single staging' only?

How are you applying the paint-spray or ...?

Curious minds want to know...

Bill

[BrutalGT]

I plan to do a single stage only but may try clear coat on a small area later down the line. I used 2 coats of Rustoleum Primer on everything i've done thus far and plan to do 6-8 coats of enamel, then compound with Meguiars and wax it in a few months once it cures.

I am a bit delayed today with Birthday plans but think I may just sand it down again with 600-800, do another 2 coats (thin this time, heavy backfired on me) and then finish up with 1500/2000/compound.

Are you planning on 'clear coating' over the Rustoleum or 'single staging' only?

How are you applying the paint-spray or ...?

Curious minds want to know...

Bill

[brondondolon]

Post some pictures. Also is this a rattle can rustoleum or are you using a spray gun and compressor?