almost ready to clear coat

[american dreamer]

okay so my mouth got ahead of my *** once again and i said i could paint this helmet .(first time with omni au urethanes) full face,black helmet
with eagle over american and welsh flags .it is a cover up of factory applied sticker.
all is sanded and redone with new design and ready to clear.

problem is some hard edges around graphic . will this be hidden by 3-4 coats of clear? can i smooth them without marring the colors or adding scrathes to my flags? do i add more reducer to the clear?

any help would be appreciated as this is the second time i've painted it .i'm kind of outta time for more trial and error. before switching to urethanes i thought i was done and 30 hours worth of cutting and painting wiped right off.
thanks,

 

[TAZ]

Dave,
If your edges are real hard and thick, you may have to apply clear, resand with like 600 DA (dual action sander), then reapply clear again.

The thing here is to make sure you put enough coats on the first time so you have plenty of material to DA (600 grit) off before applying the second.
Also, make sure you get all the lines sanded out. If you don't, you will still have them when you apply the second set of coats.
Be cautious when sanding, do not go through the clear and ruin your work

Be sure and wipe off the helmet real good with a cleaner and tack rag before shooting the second set of clear.
All custom work should be done with basecoat type paint instead of urethanes (I'm sure you realize this now though

).

You should still get your helmet to come out good using the above method.

 

[american dreamer]

thanks scott, that sounds like it should do it.
i don't own one, but i have access to a da sander . i'll need to go there to shoot the clear
anyway as my 2 gallon compressor doesn't work for the larger gun.
i beleive i'll leave these jobs to you pros after
this helmet is finished. i'll go back to doing jackets and walls with hand brushes. my hat's
off to you guys who make this look easy.
i'll come back with links to some pics in a few days. thanks again

 

[Mac_Muz]

I found the dupont select clear to be as thick or thicker than primers....

I also found that paint could get under frisket film.

SO when it was to late to do much about my stars but scrap off the under seepage which occured on each and every side of every single star, I leaned to try clear over any more tape and tapes.

I wish I had know about that long before.

SO when it came time to shoot red stripes, and the tank was ready. I did not shoot red first, but rather clear, which sealed the tape edges.

So now there was a very high red stripes area after the red had been shot on the clear...

Fairly wavey surface....I shot 6 coats of that clear and things self leveled for the most part...

The buffing took care of that pretty much....

And for my first ever effort, even after allthe dust, chem reactions, and other things that went wrong, I am still pleased..

I hope to see what you have done when your ready...

If you make an album like I did, be sure to post it here, and to make it so all public can see it, or those you choose can see it... the only other option is so you alone can see it.

Good luck....... Mac

 

[american dreamer]

Thanks Mac! It will take me a few days but I will post an album. I,ll have to do that elsewhere too, as I no longer have a scanner.