So I've painted my grill, but after spraying the clear I've ended up with a rough surface I'm not pleased with. I tried polishing compound and it's just not getting it where I want it. I've read all the DIY threads and such, but I think it may have been too humid or hot when I sprayed the clear.
My ? is, can I wetsand the clear with some 1800 to smooth it out and spray antoher coat or two of clear?
I'm just not sure if you can sand between clear coats or not...
Thanks in advance!!

 

No if you sand it take it down to the surface...All paint and clear gone. Start over and do it later at night when its less humid and allow it to cool overnight before installing it back on the car. Also what brand of clear did you use, if you went cheap that may be the reason you are not happy with it, try duplicolor or something else reputable. GL!

 

Primer, color, and clear and are duplicolor acrylic.
The color looked great, it's just the clear that ended up a rough surface. I read the pack of sand paper, it's amazing what you can learn from a pakage lol, and 1800 is meant for wetsanding clear. Anyways I spent prob a good 2 hours wet sanding it all nice and smooth. I had no intention of sanding back down to plastic, and obviously if you sand down to plastic you have to start over...
Gotta pick up another can of clear after work, but I have pretty high hopes at this point.

 

If you wet sanded it all you have to do is buff it. It should get nice and shiny. Since you used 1800 you should be more than fine to go straight to buffing with polishing compound.

 

as long as you didn't sand thru your clear on any radius, then you should be ok to either re-coat (which you may get the same problem) or polish/buff it to a shine.

you may be spraying too thin of coats too. also, you are gonna get rock chips, so just going with a high gloss black would probably do just as well, and be easier to re-spray in a year or so.

 

Thanks for the help. I re sprayed the clear and got crackling... I think some of the polishing compound I tried before I went with 1800 contaminated the surface. I did thoroughly wipe every surface with alcohol, but I dunno. Guess I'll try 1800 again and hit it with polish instead of trying to spray again. I've spent enough time at this point what I get is what I get.
Maybe redo later when the rock chips bug me, or make a OEM style aluminum and get a hard black ano lol!
If nothing else I dont think it was horrible experience for my first automotive style painting, definately learned ALOT.
Thanks again for the help!

 

hit me with a PM if you wanna try it again, i'd be happy to give you advice or pointers.

 

redo it in your basement.
anything over like 70 degrees and the paint likes to partially dry before it hits the surface.

 

spray can clear is junk. buy a spray gun and air compressor. its your best bet.. or pay a paint shop 20 dollars to paint it nicely.

 

x2... spray paint = sh;t

My HVLP gun and compressor are one of the best investments I ever made.

 

Spray can clear is fine for a grill on a daily driver. But even then, its overkill. High gloss black is good enough.

And there isn't an automotive paint shop that is gonna even let that thing thru the door for $20.

And buying a compressor and HVLP gun and line filter, mixing jars, and respirator seems a little much to paint a grill. Not to mention if he even has a proper location.

 

Seriously........most of us have gotten by with rattle cans painting grilles/engine covers and small items without investing in a spray gun. I've even sprayed Harley/Bike frames with great results with spray cans, it's all about quality and know how! Careful wet sanding with your 1800, light compound and wax should have your grille looking great!
Gary

 

It actually turned out amazing! I'm a machinest so I have a VERY critical eye for detail, I was rather dissatisfied until I put it on the car. You cant see anything that I was unhappy about.

Before



Installed after wetsand, polish, and wax



Primered


Finished painting before sand, polish, and wax...



The pics arent great, I took them all with my droid.. I just finished washing the car too, been putting that off til the grill got done. I'll try and get some real pics to post in the Lakeshore thread, I'll post a link when I get it done! Thanks again for the advice!

 

GOOD. glad to hear it turned out well.

 

Gary