I'm not going to even post pictures, because if you have ever done a full-on metal flake paint job or have worked with thick clear coats, you probably know what I'm talking about.

I was thrilled with the 3d depth of my job, 3 coats of factory blue poly urethane topped with 8 coats of PPG clear. A teaspoon of green ghost pearl in coat 3-4 and a couple ounces of .04 mini Canadian Blue metal flake on coats number 4 to 6.

Buried it with no flake in coats 7 and 8.

Except for the horrid orange peel, the job looks amazing in direct sunlight. Excellent flake dispersion and no mottling or tiger striping with the teaspoon of green ghost pearl.

So, I went to town with 600 grit paper (twice) and stopped just as I started to break into the flake layer of coat number 6.

Call me crazy, but I just won't reshoot the car with my spray rig, so I went to town with 6 cans of Spray Max 2K clear, a truly amazing product albeit with a pretty slow hardener.

What I was left with NIGHT AND DAY BETTER, but still has fairly significant orange peel with low spots that amounts to pitting (similar to, but not the same as small fisheyes).

I estimate the finish as now needing 1200 to 1500 grit wetsanding and can see the remaining orange peel disappearing almost completely, but here is my issue:

What about those awful little pits, and do you, in your professional experience, have any last words of advice before I go at it with 1200-1500 grit and 6 or 8 more cans of Spray Max? When I did the 600 wetsanding, I realized getting all traces of wetsanding residue off and tacking the surface was going to be critical before spraying and I think I did a pretty good job of that. I'm hoping a 1200 wetsand and one last coat of Spray Max will carry me for a few years. Any last words of advice given my situation are appreciated. I also don't know jack about polishing, especially when the clear coat is a bit thin or imperfect.

 

If you already used 600 grit sandpaper to wet sand then you shouldn't be reluctant to buff the paint. Even if you wet sand with 1200 and 1500 grit sandpaper you'll still need to buff the paint with a polisher. You can get a polisher, pads and even chemicals at HF pretty cheaply.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-5...her-64528.html

I have the HF polisher and these are the pads I use:



Before polishing on the Olds I suggest testing your skills on a daily driver. I used the polisher on my wife's DD, my DD and my truck before I ever used it on my OIds.

Here's the pic you uploaded to another thread. Post more detailed pics if you can. I've never sprayed metallic flake or BC/CC but I did spray SS urethane in OE Sandalwood on my 71 Olds 98. I'm definitely not a "bodyman" but I know you won't be satisfied with your paint until you finish wetsanding and buff the paint.

 

I wasn't going to post images but okay.

Here is a video for starters: https://tinyurl.com/y3r9ddz6

Did you catch the greenish tint in the sunlight. That's what 1.5 teaspoons of green ghost pearl does.

When dealing with heavy orange peel common on heavy clear coats, it's not that easy to just sand away at will.

Often, the low spots cannot be removed because it would cut too deeply into the flakes or pearl layers and seriously distort their appearance.

I could not go deeper than this before re-clearing the car because the flakes were just staring to break through, whether you can see it or not.

This is not unusual in metal flake jobs, and I did not want to risk more than about 8 heavy coats of clear for fear of cracking, meaning there was only 2 sealer coats that were totally clear on top and available to be sacrificed and sanded away.




If you can believe this- the above finish went directly to what you see below now after just 6 cans of Spray Max 2k clear.

What you can't see very well in the direct sunlight is the moderate orange peel and fine pin hole pits still remaining in places.



Notice the greenish tint and the gradient top to bottom? You will only see that in direct sun.




See the remaining orange peel and pin holes in the bottom half of the bottom photo?

If you look in the corner, the greenish reflection (satin green ghost pearl) shows up well.

The video does not do justice to the depth or to the lack of flaws you see in direct sunlight.

If I can seal these pits or get some additional good advice, I can salvage this paintjob.

Btw, that buffing product looks excellent and affordable for boat maintenance as well as car maintenance!

I blew well over $2,000 supplies and around $800 on a nice gun and compressor setup..

It should be noted that I painted this behemoth singlehandedly and it took around 4+ hours to lay on 12 coats including 3/4 gal of base and 1.9 gal of clear mixed in precisely measured 25oz batches. I painted this outdoors with no sun under an improvised tent at 94 degrees. I only had three blackflies land on the car during the entire job!

When your're slapping on 8 or 9 coats of PPG clear coat full of a 15:1 mix Canadian blue to Emerald green flakes, just a plain black or plain dark colored basecoat is a good starting point because it will be thoroughly buried. No need for fancy or premium basecoat as long as it is dark and correctly applied to start a metal flake clear and/or a pearlescent clear.

Yes, as long as there is no sun and you carefully use the correct chemicals, 94 degree paint jobs can be done. Always follow directions and agitate and mix the products constantly!

If any paint and clear coat experts want to comment on my plan to do 1200 grit and 6 more cans of Spray Max on this slightly pinholed surface, I'm definitely listening!

 

Thanks for posting the pics and the video. IMHO, your paint turned out GREAT! Especially for spraying it in the backyard.

I sprayed my Olds in a paint booth at the local vo-tech and I ended up with some orange peel and some flaws. To pull off the paint job in the back yard and get it to look good is a herculean task.

Forgive my lack of "bodyman" knowledge but I thought the clear you were spraying wasn't professional paint?

Is this what you used?


I thought the clear in a BC/CC paint needed to be matched chemically to the base? Also, you mention that you spayed 12 coats. I thought a BC/CC paint job had far fewer coats even when including the primer, base and clear.

There are "bodyguys" on our site that I hope will chime in soon.

 

You can mix and match base and clear. Manufacturers will say no for warranty purposes.. go after that clear with 1200,1500, 2000 than polish it will come out smooth

 

It looks crystal clear and shiny in sunlight, especially topside, but most of the side of the car has "refrigerator finish".

Metal flake never looks good in shade, but the bottom photo is particularly unflattering,.

I just started 1200/1500 grit sanding will report back before applying my final clear re-coat.

The car show is Aug 31st and I have to get the chrome back on.

 

Look forward to seeing more pics. Good luck with the wet sanding.

 

After much delay, I am throwing another $120 and a solid week of work to try and knock down more of the hammered finish and make my 12 coat metal-flake paint job look better in diffuse light.

The car looks devoid of orange peel and just plain amazing in full sun, but anything less than full sun and you see the wavy, hammered finish.

So, I'm now going at it with 1000 and 1500 grit and then 6 more cans of Spraymax 2k clearcoat.

I consider this a rescue operation because I blew over $2,000 in materials and shop supplies to make this pearlescent blue-green look a reality. The initial level of orange peel was so heavy! The wet look provided by SprayMax 2k is as good as any product I've seen, and remember, I'm using it to topcoat 8 coats of PPG clear that's full of metal flakes!

The improvement was stunning the first time around after using 600 followed by 1000 grit, so I am hoping to get the "refrigerator finish" down just normal orange peel level, so it's less obvious in the shade or on on cloudy days.

Fingers crossed. The weather is supposed to be a solid 68 degrees with 45% humidity in a few days. A bit cool, but acceptable for slow hardening cleacoat as long as there is low humidity!

Tip for anyone not using a spraybooth: you can't take a car out of a cold or warm garage into different air and just start spraying. You can trap condensation under the clearcoat and cloud or bubble it, especially if you are spraying cool metal in warmer air. That hasn't happened to me thus far and if anything, the Spraymax finish provides clarity like a wet diamond on sunny days.


This is an overcast day. This is the finish after my initial 600 grit and 1000 grit wetsand and a recoat of SprayMax. No further sanding or polishing (yet).

You don't see any of this hammered effect in direct sunlight. What looks amazing in the sun looks hammered on overcast days.

Trunk lid getting ready for second reclear with SprayMax 2k. The finish has been wetsanded cross-hatch with 1000 and 1500.

 

I hope the weather holds so you can get some work done on the Olds. Look forward to an update.

 

Do you have enough paint build to sand it smooth without going through into the flake?

Unfortunately, anytime you spray over a rough surface, the new paint always lays on just like whats under it. The next sanding then gets back down to the previous level where you are now with the new paint only filling the pits & an uneven finish.
You need a smooth top coat before you add more clear.

 

I agree completely with your assessment, but I've pretty much sanded through all the 2-3 top coats of clear I allowed for sanding and polishing. When the sandpaper hits a metal flake it's easy to spot. It becomes a tiny white spot and you can't sand any deeper, even with gentle 1000 grit, or it would get worse quickly.

My thick metal flake clear coat over factory dark blue base shows no signs of cracking or clouding after 14 months. This is a big deal, given how much product is on the car. The finish is blazing bright in full sun and it weathered a couple weeks of light driving on the sunny days this summer.

Yes, the remaining pits will always be there to some degree. I'm going to live with the results of this next 1000 and 1500 wet sanding and skim coat of 2k product. I'm going this route because I'm afraid of using my HVLP gun to lay on more heavy clear for sanding only to have it crack! That would be worse than orange peel and would show up under all lighting conditions.

 

good luck the car looks nice hope you can improve what youve done so far

 

Three fold problem: not enough clear, spraying it with cans, and an uneven surface to begin with (heavy flake). You need to sand it as smooth as you possible can, without breaking into the flake, put more clear on it, sand smooth, and perhaps repeat again. Usually flake jobs got anywhere from 5-12 coats of "real clear", sprayed with a spray gun. Most often, they'd be knocked down with 500 grit, and more clear shot again, to get rid of the "flake texture". Canned paints shoot very thin coats, and the paint is thinner than regular mixed paint out of a spray gun. SO you don't have nearly the right amount of clear to bury the flake in.
Been shooting custom paint for over 40 years...…...

 

This thread came to my mind this weekend. The paint on my 96 Regency is quite damaged and I have to do some wetsanding because buffing didn't do much for the scratches. I hope you get some good results with your wetsanding 1976-88.

 

How did this come out 1976-88?? I want to offer that to 98% of the people who look at your car with the pits/orange peel YOU see, will think it is beautiful. I am sure I would feel the same way if I were you about not getting perfect results after all the $ and time you have spent, BUT you still have a car to be proud of. The next one you do will be easier and look at all the experience you have gained!