Preparation | Painting Scooter

[runningbuck]

Now I am no expert but with base coat clear coat paint the base coat is thin very thin even with several layers or coats it is only for color nothing more so if you sand it you will break through and have to add more paint not a good thing the clear coat is the finish coats you can sand but best to have 3 to 4 layers or coats before you sand then add more coats to thicken back up for the gloss look the more coats or layers the deeper the look , if you sand every 3 coats or layers to work out imperfections and add more clear it just gives you a deeper look

[runningbuck]

If I am wrong please say so for I am a backyard mech and primarily only work on my stuff that way if I f it up it mine and I don't care because it's mine I use to work on others but got tired and now only work on my own stuff it's much less hair pulling and head banging this way and if it has imperfections in it it's mine and I am no pro and even pro's are not great I have seen their work (worked for a few also) so IMO go ahead and paint it the worse that can happen is you pay someone to fix it that is in the worse case but usually you can live with your mistakes learn and move on just try a little harder next time and improve on what you did before

[tsimi]

Finally I found time to prep and paint the smallest scooter part.
I did the following steps.

Dry-sanded with 180 around the deep scratches.
Switched to 240, 400 and 600
Then wet-sanded with 600 over the whole thing.
Applied primer 2-3 coats.
Then color 3-4 coats.
Clear coat 2-3 coats.

If people tell you to sand in between the color coats, DON'T do that. That is bullshit advice! Unless you made a major mistake during painting and you need to fix that.

I now first time see and understand what they meant with "orange-peel". The scooter part looks great but if you look close you can see the orange peel. I bought some rubbing compound and will try that first. If that should fail I will have to sand down lightly the clear coat and use a different compound with a rotary buffer.
I don't expect "flawless" results for my first paint job though...

[niz76]

Sounds like you're doing a nice job Tsimi! I (wet)sand the orange peel out of the clearcoat with 1000 or 2000 grit and finish up by buffing with a foam buffer in a household drill and I really like the 'Blue Magic' Headlight restoration compound for this final buffing. It makes it so glossy and smooth usually better than the factory paint! Shoot- I've wet-sanded and buffed paint only with no clearcoat and it still looks better than factory paint haha.

[tsimi]

niz76

I would be very happy if I could achieve a similar result as you did with your Jog.
I hesitate to sand anything at this moment since I am afraid to mess up all the work.
But I guess sooner or later there will be no avoiding anymore. Tonight I'll try the rubbing thing and if that shouldn't make any difference then I'll sand the stuff down and buff it as you did.

Here is a nice video that shows very good what orange peel is and how it can look after doing some sanding and buffing.

youtu.be/RxnnA7ntDUo

[runningbuck]

Tsimi wet sanding with 2000,1500 or 1000 will be the way to go rubbing compound on wet paint is not a good thing to do it will usually mess the paint job up more just wet sand the orange peel out and buff to a shine and also the proper painting technique is
step 1 Primer
2 coats primer
600 wet sand (if any imperfections or break through then repeat step one)
step 2 base coat
spray as many coats as needed to to get even color letting tack in between coats
if imperfection occur wet sand with 800
step 3 clear coat
while base coat is still tacking (dry on surface usually about 30 min) apply 2 coats clear
if basecoat is hard the part should be wet sanded with 800 lightly to break the surface for clear to adhere better
let it sit for 18 hrs to dry then wet sand part if imperfections arise if first clear coat 800 then repaint clear other wise 1000 or higher and buff out to shine
if first clear looks great lightly sand with 2000 and apply a finnish coat of clear

[tsimi]

runningbuck

Thanks! The paint should be dry by now...will see when I get home from work...

step 1 Primer

2 coats primer DONE
600 wet sand (if any imperfections or break through then repeat step one) WAS NOT NECESSARY

step 2 base coat

spray as many coats as needed to to get even color letting tack in between coats DONE
if imperfection occur wet sand with 800 *DID WITH NO GOOD RESULTS (*That could have been my lack of skills though...)

step 3 clear coat

while base coat is still tacking (dry on surface usually about 30 min) apply 2 coats clear DONE

if base coat is hard the part should be wet sanded with 800 lightly to break the surface for clear to adhere better WAS NOT NECESSARY

let it sit for 18 hrs to dry...

THIS IS WHERE I AM AT THE MOMENT

if first clear looks great lightly sand with 2000 and apply a finish coat of clear

****************************************************************************

You say

if imperfection occur wet sand with 800

and after that apply clear coat? Or re-apply one more color coat?

[runningbuck]

Usually in the clear coat steps after you wet sand 800 the first layers start like fresh 2 coats and wet sand with 1000 now many pro for a deep wet look will do a 3 coat 800 wet 3 coat 1000 wet 3 coats 1500 wet 3 coats 2000 wet then buff polish to shine if any orange peel or fish eyeing they sand out and go back one layer with about 48 hrs in between coats for drying time unless you keep part in a hot room usually around 90 f but I warn you part must be up to temp before painting and paint flashes and dries faster in higher temps so painting must be spot on and have a fast hand when painting in a hot room and make sure no sweat drips on parts or start all over
Tip( when done wet sanding use rubber gloves and don't touch part with bare hands and uses a tack cloth before painting )helps to reduce fish eyeing and orange peel from the oils in you skin

[tsimi]

That is lot more (wet)sanding that I had in mind.
I just want to have a nice red scooter nothing more.
I see what I can do tonight and if I should mess up i just sand down the whole thing and start again.
Hope I can post some images later on so that you guys can see how the paint looks like.

[tsimi]

Back at home....here first some pics of that scooter part.









As you can see terrible orange peel. So I took my finest grid sandpaper that I had at home which is 1500 and wet-sanded the part partially to remove the orange peel. Doing this gives me this mat-ish look with fine scratches from the sandpaper.
Then I tried this scrubbing compound....well it gave me this very nice mirror kinda polished look and a very, very nice smooth touch feeling surface but it was not able to remove all the scratches from the sandpaper.

So I will sand down the whole thing again and start fresh, then go buy the rotary buffing thing like niz76 uses and give it another go. And after all that maybe use the rubbing compound as a final touch.

Stay tuned....

[runningbuck]

nope that is not orange peel that is the prep work I would just lightly sand again with 1500 put 2 coats of clear on then wet sand with 2000 and buff to a shine , what you have is what is called poor prep work it is the reason you sand the primer flat if the primer is not flat the paint will not be flat but with a couple coats of clear and the part being on the bottom of the scoot you will not see the imperfections and if any one asks just tell them it's the look you were going for

[tsimi]

oh I see...thanks for all your advice, very appreciated. Then my prep work for the bigger scooter parts will be better.
I still gave it another few tries with the rubbing compound and it is looking lot better.
With a little bit of elbow grease the fine sandpaper scratches "almost" disappeared. Still would prefer a rotary buffer though, after five minutes rubbing my arm got numb.
Here more pics where (I hope) that you can see the difference. If not, right side rubbed with compound, left untouched.

[niz76]

Yessir Tsimi- with the pad in a drill or whatever you'll have that shine in about 1 minute!

[runningbuck]

yes like I said one or two more clear coats would bring up the shine and fill in the 1500 sand marks then you wet sand with 2000 and add a little bit of dish soap to the water and sand the surface flat and with a good polishing compound or wax buff to a brilliant shine

[runningbuck]

yes I know its a lot of sanding but it is worth it in the long run it shows in the final piece the more time you spend making every step right the better the outcome most people want the easy spray and go and then wonder why their paint job looks like crud next to a friends that spent the time to make it right it just depends on how well you want your job to be their are many corners one can cut to make it faster but all and all the paint and finished piece says it all thanks for listening keep up the great work and use what you learned on your next piece and always heed advice but not always use it