Fibreglass flares

[80cruiser]

Greetings from Australia! This is my first post. I am a novice at painting. I am trying to paint some OEM fibreglass (gel coated) flares I recently got my hands on. I am practicing on a spare flare. I am looking for a super smooth finish but my first attempt did not yield very impressive results. I used rattle cans from the local auto parts shop so perhaps that is my problem, I'm not sure.

My process was as follows:

1. Wash
2. Sand with 80 grit, then with 120 grit
3. Apply wax and grease remover
4. Apply 5 coats of acrylic primer
5. Appy 3 coats of enamel base coat (gloss black) (I am also aware that I used acrylic primer and clearcoat but enamel base. Not sure if this is catastrophic or not)
6. Apply 3 coats of acrylic clearcoat

I am yet to buff and polish the flare as I am waiting for the clearcoat to dry. The finish I got is as pictured:

I am aiming for a finish more like the one pictured here:



What is the cause of my poor finish? What do I need to do to achieve a finish like the one in the second photo?

I understand this may be an open-ended question that is difficult to answer (I have lots of experience of noob questions on forums where I have a much better understanding of the subjects discussed), but as I said I am a complete novice.

Cheers.

 

[chopolds]

There's just so much to say here. Suffice it to put up the major things. Getting to be a good painter takes years of practice. And using good equipment. And knowing how to work with the particular brand of materials you use. Most brands are similar, but they do have their own quirks.
First off, it's MUCH harder getting a good finish out of a spray can. They don't put out a good pattern, are much thinner than regular paints out of a spray gun, and usually cheaper materials. But even using good spray equip., a beginner is going to have to learn: how to set up a spray gun, distance to object you're painting, spray pattern overlap, speed of passes, and holding the gun at the proper angle all the time. Then there is what materials to use. There are good paints out there, that are expensive, and cheap ones that provide poor results. Environment: what temperature you're spraying at, sometimes humidity is an issue, air flow (wind?), and where you are spraying (outside, enclosed garage, and what type of ventilation?)
In short, you're in for an uphill battle. A lot of problems with painting can be solved with a good sanding and buffing ( another long subject), but with spray cans, the paint film thickness is very low compared with spray guns. So you'll have to be very careful not to sand, or buff the clear right off of the base.

 

[80cruiser]

Thanks mate, I appreciate it. I thought this was probably the case!