Sad and polish or sand and respray my orange peel?

[Silverbullet91]

Recently I bought some replacement fenders for my truck which came primered. It's an old truck and I am new to auto body paint so I figured painting them in my 10 degree (50F) garage would work well. Maybe it was the cold (the paint can which I ordered in the proper colour from an auto paint store was inside the heated house before painting) or my application being too thin but my paint came out VERY orange peeled.

I've included some pictures of what I mean, is it better at this point to sand with 1500 then 2500 and use cutting compound then polish to get rid of this or am I better off to just sand the peel off with 1000 and respray in warmer conditions and thicker coats?

[ken tuep]

That picture doesn't really show what's going on, but appears more like dry spray. Almost like there wasn't enough clearcoat sprayed on.

Temperature and air pressure will play a big part in how it looks. How your gun is set up, and what kind, tip size, etc. Also how close your gun is, how quickly your moving, the viscosity of the clearcoat, and the cleanliness of the area you're spraying in.

I would resand it, and reapply the clearcoat. You basically spray it how you want it to look. If you want it dripping wet, watch as you spray to achieve that.

Its difficult to describe, maybe watch a few videos, and practice on some spray cards. Get the technique down, then respray.

This is all assuming its dryspray, which is what the pictures look like.

If it is orange Peel, then wetsanding with 1000, 1500,2000, then 3000(optional). Compound with a wool pad, then polish with foam.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

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[Silverbullet91]

Probably should have mentioned that the paint place recommended a single stage spray from the rattle cans they made up for me rather than a base/clear. So that is just several coats of paint with no clearcoat. The paint does look pretty "rough" and appears dull. You can't see a clear reflection in it like you can in the adjoining panels.

[chris.ganucheau]

I dont think there is any saving that. you can sand an polish to make it look a little better but you get what you pay for. Also 50 degrees was probably too cold to spray it.

[Blackthorn One]

I dont think there is any saving that. you can sand an polish to make it look a little better but you get what you pay for. Also 50 degrees was probably too cold to spray it.

50 degrees is too cold to spray paint, especially out of a can. I agree. If paint is too cold, it won't atomize properly, and will come out in larger droplets and go on gloppy.

An excellent trick is to put a spray can in very warm water, to get the paint as thin as you can before painting. I don't know if it would be enough in 50 degree weather. It would definitely help.

Paint atomizes and sprays much better when you do that.

Obviously you need to dry the can well before you spray.

Some kind of space heater should be used to warm up the garage to try to get to 70f at least. You do need to keep the space heater far enough away from the area you are painting so that you don't ignite the solvents in the atomized paint, though, so as not to start a fire. Just a suggestion.

Also, if you are in an enclosed garage spraying paint, you had better be wearing a respirator.

I wouldn't trust a simple dust mask.

Since I am in CA, I wait until 80F to paint.

[Blackthorn One]

Recently I bought some replacement fenders for my truck which came primered. It's an old truck and I am new to auto body paint so I figured painting them in my 10 degree (50F) garage would work well. Maybe it was the cold (the paint can which I ordered in the proper colour from an auto paint store was inside the heated house before painting) or my application being too thin but my paint came out VERY orange peeled.

I've included some pictures of what I mean, is it better at this point to sand with 1500 then 2500 and use cutting compound then polish to get rid of this or am I better off to just sand the peel off with 1000 and respray in warmer conditions and thicker coats?

Sand it off with 1000 and respray it when it gets warmer. It's the only way. Sand it now while it's easiest.

[Silverbullet91]

Thanks for the helpful responses guys (and potential gals). I've arranged to use a friend's heated garage and will take the highs out with some 1000 grit and respray in warmer conditions. Lee is always bragging about how well his garage heat works! Funnily enough, I already have a respirator appropriate for this exact thing from when I mixed auto paint at a PPG plant as a College summer job. I'll also try heating up the can.

I assume by "sand it now when it's easiest" blackthorn means before the paint hardens over time?

[ken tuep]

It depends on when it will be the easiest. I'd wait till just beforehand, in case you accidentally sand through to metal. Then you can spot prime accordingly. I'd also probably sand with 400-600 grit, so the new paint has some tooth to bite into and hold strong.

It wont be any easier sanding now or later. That's in my personal experience.

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[Blackthorn One]

Thanks for the helpful responses guys (and potential gals). I've arranged to use a friend's heated garage and will take the highs out with some 1000 grit and respray in warmer conditions. Lee is always bragging about how well his garage heat works! Funnily enough, I already have a respirator appropriate for this exact thing from when I mixed auto paint at a PPG plant as a College summer job. I'll also try heating up the can.

I assume by "sand it now when it's easiest" blackthorn means before the paint hardens over time?

Correct. The longer the paint has to cure, the more difficult it is to sand.

Sanding is easy in one or two days. It starts to get more difficult after a week. How difficult it becomes depends upon the paint.

1000 should be adequate grit to sand paint. 600 is what you use to sand primer. You can use 1200 to sand in between every few coats if you like, to ensure a smooth finish.

A guy I know who is a real perfectionist considers 15 coats to be a quickie, sanding every 3 or 4 coats. 30 coats is what he used for show cars.

I would sand every 3 or 4 coats and go 10 coats at least if it was my fender, if I was painting from primer. If there is already paint there, I would adjust accordingly.